Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Are You a Pedantic Reader?

Wow, ML. I don't know who should be congratulated more - you or your parents. What a wonderful story of triumph! You should be so incredibly proud of yourself.

And you do an excellent job of putting this whole topic into perspective. Perfection is something we can all strive for, but it is highly doubtful that any of us will ever achieve it. Therefore, a bit of compassion expressed to fellow writers seems in order. Next time I'm feeling critical, I'm going to remember your story.



Lynn

FoLCs

Well, my point is that in three months around, I've improved more than in 10 (or more I can't remember) years of English courses.

I do not differentiate American English from British English so easily, but I read everything that passes through my screen.

Thanks to you, FoLCs, I'm a better writer now. So I have nothing to complain about.

MDL. (Who's thinking : Damn... I actually wrote all this and didn't run out of vocab???)

EDIT: I couldn't leave this behind.

I do too. It's harder when there are two things that go against you when you're writing, But like you, ML, I never give up!

To ML Thompson and to Mad Dog Lane

You are to be praised for your success. I have an older brother that had trouble in school even though he tested high on the IQ tests. My sister who is a special ed teacher said today he would be classified with a learning disability. Although I never asked her which one. I just know that he struggled all the way through 1-12 grades in school but did well in college finally.

As I've said before I would be happy to Beta Read for anyone.

If it's my story, I want that error gone, regardless of the type of error it is. I want to know about it and I want to fix it. Whether I'm notified publicly or privately, I don't care =P Criticism to me is a good thing -- it means I made somebody care enough to comment, and that means the world to me.

When I read what others have written, however, I'm different. If it's a characterization issue, and I just can't get around saying, "OMG Clark would *never* do that," or, "That is just *not* Lois," then I will not read it. Plausibility is an absolute must for me. If the writer can't make me believe something then I simply won't waste my time reading it. If someone can create a completely off-the-wall premise and make me buy it that means more to me than an unbelievable story with no typos and correct commas at every turn.

Grammatical stuff I am a lot more lenient with. As long as I don't have to waste a lot of energy trying to figure out what is being said then I'm fine with it. This is fanfiction, and a lot of folks tend to write as they speak, not as grammar would call for -- and that's fine with me.

There are some general basics that drive me bananas when people can't do them correctly -- like using they're, their, and there appropriately, through, throw, and threw, too, to, and two, knight, night... things like that... "A lot" is two words. It's is not possessive. Etc. Those are the only things that really bother me, although it takes a lot of occurrences before I will stop reading.

I try not to give corrections, however, unless I know the person writing well enough to know how they take criticsm, or when it's specifically solicited. People who write to this extent are usually writing for self-enjoyment in my experience, and if criticism will ruin that, far be it from me to contribute.

I tend not to critiscize others work, I have very bad grammar skills. And my spelling skills are on par. English, has never been my cup of tea. I have moments, of inspiration but where to put a comma. And word choice are not, something I ever learned. I'm a science girl first and formost. BUT I realise that not everyone has NOR wants to have the background and insight of Molecular Genetics (And since i'm not working in the field I am losing enough to go back to knowing about as much as High School Kids know these days) .

I emphasise the positive, because Yes I am lazy so stories that inspire me to comment, have made me smile at the very least. And I WILL gush praisingly if I am enthralled with a story pointing out many of the points which make the story meaningful to me.

I don't feel qualified to make corrections to anyone elses work. I use to have some common pet peeves. And if something is riddled with obvious errors. I will notice.

I generally don't bother to nitpick stories. I of course hypocritically welcome feedback if I ever choose to write (i'm not a writer) but, it needs to be phrased gently. I have an incredibly fragile ego so.....

songbird

Hey everyone!

I don't usually drop by the polls folder, but the words 'pedantic reader' caught my eye... so I dropped by .

I don't think I nitpick... Like Anna said, I make so many mistakes that I couldn't really start pointing out those others make. I must admit, though, that bad grammar and bad punctuation on a story are a major draw back.

Btw, Anna, your English was never bad... And you've improved a lot... I think I told Jose not so long ago. So definitely, not bad English at all!!!!!!!!!!!!! )... but that sure means a lot to me. Thanks, Wendy!

Cris