...But, while I have sympathy with your wish for a grammatically correct style, and understanding for your rants to the extent that "own style" is not an excuse for false grammar and spelling, especially not to the extent basic spell checking programs would catch them, I also concede, that there may be people, that feel the urge to put ideas "on paper" in English, simply because they want to share them with a wider or international "audience", thus using a more universal language, which is not their own....
Yes, you're right. Most of the stories I've seen on writing forums are experimental however, there is such a thing as experimenting with style and experimenting with style while being ignorant of grammar rules. It's the last that is extremely frustrating to wade through (and what I often encounter).
The point being that writing sites (if this is what we are, indeed, talking about and not just 'blogs' or personal sites) are a place where one is [usually] expected to improve their skills. If you post an experimental piece, that should be stated somewhere in the message. Most of the 'bad' writing I've seen comes from people who have never realized that writing actually requires skill. Winterfox's analogy of the spelunker who explores caves without the basic equipment is a perfect example of the person new to writing. I've seen many examples of people who decide to put pen to paper without the proper tools. The result is 99% disasterous. And, the necessary tools are: a working knowledge of the rules of grammar and having a basic sense of style. The way we write and speak today is not a good style in which to write a story that takes place in 17th century England. And frankly, I've seen a lot of people who attempt writing such an historical piece without ever reading anything from that particular time period.
[Edit: btw, the word 'style' does not necessarily mean or pertain to historical writing, or 'how' we write. 'Style' also means grammatically correct. I wanted to clear that up before any ensuing confusion.]I've stated numerous times on this board that writing does not exist in a vacuum. One cannot break rules if they do not know what they are in the first place. And that is exactly what 'taking literary license' means. So, from a critiquing point of view, it is most frustrating to spend time giving advice to a new writer who hasn't bothered doing their homework. Equally frustrating are those who receive feedback, employ the advice 'verbatim' and repost it within a half hour's time. That tells me they have not considered how that advice might affect
their story,
their style and
their voice.
For the casual reader this may sound 'snobby'. It might be. However, if you are serious about the craft of writing, it's important to learn how a story is designed. What are the elements that make Mark Twain or Edgar Allen Poe's work better than the average 'joe schmoe'? If writing were easy, everyone would excel at it.
So, while I agree with you that experimental pieces often times fill an urge to get something on paper, most people who claim their work is 'experimental' have not taken the time to learn the rules of grammar.
@@to Elliot, et al. You guys aren't going to believe this but I recently went through my 'favorites' list and somehow deleted my writing links. Aarg! I spent the better part of this afternoon trying to a) find it on my computer - perhaps as a back-up file and b) reconstruct it. I do have a list of sites that I sent to another forum member, which I have saved in my homepage here at the forum. I will post that sometime tomorrow. I just didn't want you all to think I was weaseling out on you. LOL
Faralas <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mage.gif" alt="" />
