Being Webster: Spelling and Grammar

Being Webster

Good Spelling and Grammar Attracts Buyers

You have most likely seen it on the net millions of times:  

Fanfiction and Original Content that are well written where the concept is concerned, but the grammar and spelling makes you want to run headlong into the monitor in a blind fury, while screaming profanities in the tongue of the elves.  A lot of potentially great writers often make common spelling mistakes because they DON'T know how to spell certain common words.  

It happens, but you must remember this:  As the writer, it's your responsibility to make sure that you spell-check your work constantly, as tiny mistakes like spelling words like "Baseball" incorrectly, or using improper grammar, outside of dialogue, can send the more harsh reviewers into a frenzy, in which they will TYPE IN ALL CAPS WHILE ANGRILY REVIEWING YOUR WORK, THINKING THAT ALL CAPS MAKES THEIR OPINION VALID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Simple steps can be taken to ensure that you are insured against bad reviews:

KNOW THY DICTIONARY AND THESAURUS

Make Merrium-Websters Dictionary a part of your reading list, as well as any K-12 Grammar Prompters, even if you have already graduated.  I've seen too many instances where very intelligent people, whom I graduated with STILL didn't understand the basics of the English language when they were sending emails to me.  I want to say something, but I just don't have the heart, so I hope that by doing this, I can guarantee you safety against people who are jerks about this kind of thing.

STUDY, PRACTICE, BE

You have most likely heard the expression: "Practice Makes Perfect" before, and in no instance is this truer than if you are a writer.  The more you study proper usage, the more you will know, and the more you practice proper usage, the better you will be at proper usage of the English language.

More specifically: you should study the most common spelling mistakes, and the most common grammatical errors.

GOOD NOTE-TAKING SKILLS

Practicing good English usage is always a good thing, but when studying, nothing will help you practice proper usage than taking good notes while you study. Just remember this:  You will never be the best for longer than it takes for the next great writer to steal your spotlight, so keep studying to ensure that what you ARE capable of writing will help you STAY in the spotlight as long as you have still have ideas running through your head.  Complacency destroys a good writing career.

Cliches

Cliches: Friend or Foe?

Now, you might be wondering:  Why even cover Cliches if they are so... cliche?  

The truth is this:  You can't escape using a cliche or two, no matter how clever you think you are, or however clever you ACTUALLY are.  So, here are a few tips to help you cleverly ninja around the eye-rolling, groan-inducing things that people absolutely despise.

Common Fantasy Cliches:

Elves

Dwarves

Anthropomorphic Creatures

Dragons

Magic requires a wand

Kid with dead mom and dad (since Harry Potter, anyways)

No sacrifice or exchange needed for magic

Over-sized swords being wielded by tiny people with the wrong build

Sword can kill a dragon (which is a bunch of shite.  Spears are for killing dragons).

Pretty much anything that Tolkien wrote about is now cliche in fantasy.

How to "avoid cliches":

The truth of the matter is that to "avoid" a cliche, you have to put a twist on an existing convention.  Avoiding a cliche is almost like trying to avoid being assimilated by the Borg: Resistance is futile.

In short, this is how you essentially take and break the cliche like a bad habit:

Elves = Magic = Ultimate Power = Overused

to solve this:

Elves are normal, yet don't have the legendary power of the gods like humans give them credit for.  Instead, why not try making them EXTREMELY INTELLIGENT, but non magical?

I don't, as a general rule, use full-blown elves.  Half-elves don't get enough usage in fantasy, I notice, thus, I use them in my book.

Now you may be thinking: "Oh, so he uses this, so, logically, I can't do that."

Wrong!  Ideas are like pancakes.  Easy to make, and are good with the right "toppings".


Experiment at will.  Cliches are only a base for the greater formula known as originality.