Just finished rereading Tales from Mist World by Anotherp08.
Another example of a good story suffering from poor writing though I have to assume that english is not his/her first language. I am talking about mistakes in almost every paragraph. One of the most glaring is using would and could instead of wouldn't and couldn't.
(I have)Just finished
poor writing (full stop or comma would be good) though I have to
most glaring (comma)is using would
It's not easy you know, trying to write well...
Just finished rereading
So badly written you feel the need to "name and shame" it, yet good enough you have read it at least twice...
What exactly do you want for nothing...?
Instead of bitching about the writing, why not offer to edit a story which you obviously enjoyed...??
Or is editing to much effort compared to just bitching?
So badly written you feel the need to "name and shame" it, yet good enough you have read it at least twice...
I didn't see him shaming it. I thought he praised it as a good story. But that it was hard to read because of the writing issues.
No need to shame him.
No need to shame him.
I actually have to agree a little with JoyR. When you get something for free, there is always going to be a caveat of some description involved. And yes, offering to edit would be the adult way forward. However, the OP rules that out as an option by their own mistakes.
I was originally going to finish my first post with the deliberate "right well", but changed my mind at the last moment, as I doubted many would see/appreciate the humour.
I read it as "name and shame" as well. Also more than a touch disingenuous given it was a second read through. Put bluntly, it's like saying "hey that was a good story, but you suck balls as a writer."
I try to correct all of my stories, but some mistakes always slip through. But I have several fans that help me fix them.
What I look for in these cases is if they ever went back to fix them. Many seem to just post them and never touch them again.
I try to correct all of my stories, but some mistakes always slip through. But I have several fans that help me fix them.
Despite a fantastic editor, two proofreaders, my own reviews, several dozen 'insider' readers who get drafts, several hundred early readers, and YEARS on SOL, people still find errors in my oldest stories. I want to correct them, and I do, but it's unreal how many errors are missed.
I do, but it's unreal how many errors are missed.
I've seen seemingly obvious errors in dead tree novels.
I want to correct them, and I do, but it's unreal how many errors are missed.
This. After a first draft, a second read-through, a first correction, a third-read-through, then three editors, two or three beta readers and a final, polish the turd edit, it blows my mind how many errors that *I* find reading it online.
That is not even considering the emails I get listing errors, sometimes from twenty or thirty people all about the same errors.
I have this fantasy that professional proof-readers are savants; stuck in a basement somewhere and fed by a machine that gives them a food pellet for every error they find, and an electric shock for every one they miss.
Make sure at least one of your editors/proofreaders is non-native English and preferably living in a non-English speaking country. They are often more familiar with the written words than the speaking language which helps to detect those errors.
Make sure at least one of your editors/proofreaders is non-native English and preferably living in a non-English speaking country. They are often more familiar with the written words than the speaking language which helps to detect those errors.
I have plenty of those, along with native speakers of the languages I regularly butcher in my text (Swedish, French, German, Japanese, etc). :-)
but it's unreal how many errors are missed.
Being a slow reader is both a curse and a blessing for me. In the 1970s, I attended an Evelyn Woods Speed Reading class. I flunked. They taught you to read a page at a time. I tried that and understood nothing I read. I read a word at a time.
Reading a word at a time is slow. Very slow. But it's great for editing. It keeps my brain from assuming the word is spelled correctly or that a missing word is there. Even then I occasionally miss something. But I edit a story scores of times (if not hundreds of times) so if I end up with an error it's typically due to a last minute change or a word I'm ignorant about (like forward when I meant foreword).
So when in editing mode, read slowly. Read each word. Reading it out loud helps you do that. You will naturally speed up. Catch yourself when you do that. There are times when I'm reading something and speed up. The result is I stop and realize I have no idea what I just read. If you speed up you will realize you might have missed an error.
And put aside any prejudice for your word processor's spellchecker. It's not always correct, but just in this post it caught 3 spelling errors. Leave spellchecker on.
Susposedly, EWSR increased comprehension along with reading skills. I have not found that to be evident. I attended the course while it was under the helm of FASI in 1970. Speed increased from 500 wpm to 1,700. However, there was no noticeable increase or decrease in compression. What is the point in reading fast if there is no increase in comprehension?
What is the point in reading fast if there is no increase in comprehension?
To get through all those damn memos and reports back then.
However, there was no noticeable increase or decrease in compression. What is the point in reading fast if there is no increase in comprehension?
Time. Time is a valuable and limited resource.
Obviously this is not necessarily something you would want to apply to recreational reading, but in an academic setting, or a work environment, if you can read faster without a reduction in comprehension, that saves you time that can be used for other things.
I'm not discounting the time element of it. I'm questioning the speed increase if there is no gain in comprehension. Comprehension is more important than speed. I'm slow by speed reading standards at 1,700 wpm, but I recall and comprehend what I'm reading.
And put aside any prejudice for your word processor's spellchecker. It's not always correct, but just in this post it caught 3 spelling errors. Leave spellchecker on.
... but turn off auto-correct, it is nearly as likely to replace the right word with the wrong one. Depot with deport for an example.
... but turn off auto-correct, it is nearly as likely to replace the right word with the wrong one. Depot with deport for an example.
There's a reason there's a 'Damn You Auto-correct' site.
There's a reason there's a 'Damn You Auto-correct' site.
Shouldn't that be a 'Dam You Automobile-corral' site? :)
Automobile (variations like Auto-correct)
The Ottoman Empire ruled men with Automobiles, so it was the Automan Empire.
The Ottoman Empire ruled men with Automobiles
The Ottomans must have been really strong to be able to measure people with cars.
The Ottoman Empire ruled men with Automobiles, so it was the Automan Empire.
Nah, the Automan are the Transformers.
The Ottoman Empire ruled men with Automobiles, so it was the Automan Empire.
I feel compelled to say that it was Osman who built that empire. Like many, many others, his name got lost in translation. It's "Devleti ΚΏAlΔ«yeyi ΚΏOsmΔnΔ«ye". :-)
Edited to add:
In Swedish (for example), it's "Osmanska riket".
The forum is called Story Recommendations so of course I named it but I was giving a heads up that even though I find it a great story there are many mistakes in it that make you stop and reread the sentence because it didn't make sense.
Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.
What is the difference between what I wrote here and what authors on this site write in their reviews that everyone can read before they read a story?
Only authors are allowed to publicly name and shame.