Story Hunting

[LadyRiona]

Well I could honestly come up with a snazzier title if I wanted to, but alas...I did not.

We seem to be going off topic along these lines in another thread in the, believe it or not, Off Topic Discussion area. I don't know about everyone else, but I have a lot to say about this topic. So tell us about your general habits when reviewing stories and searching for new fodder for your brain, or whatever you want to about this topic....

When it comes to stories with me, I'm incredibly picky. When searching on FF.net, I usually compare the amount of reviews versus chapters and then the quality of the summary. Sometimes, it's just the summary that pulls me in, if it's just a single chapter story. So upon clicking into a story, I don't read it first. I check the format of the story, the punctuation, the dialogue, everything grammar first. One main thing that really disuades me from reading a story (but not always a definite "no") is when someone does a quote like this:

"It's in the cellar." He said.

From years of taking writing classes, it should be like this:

"It's in the cellar," he said.

Now if the person wanted to write it like this, it'd be fine:

"It's in the cellar." He said this quietly between shivers.

That's just a huge pet peeve of mine and has great influence on what I read, combined with the sentence structure, capitalization, how the characters are written, and, most importantly, the PLOT. So I'm a tough cookie to please when it comes to stories....rest assured, when it comes to characterization of original characters, I'm a whole world more lenient.


Now when it comes to reviewing for me, if I do decide to review, it's never a short, sweet, "Great job, update soon" if it's an updateable story. I HATE those reviews with a passion but still accept them. So anyway. Whenever reading, I make mental notes of a misused or misspelled word, some point of grammar that isn't quite right (using "and" instead of "to" in particular instances is another thing that bugs me...). If I thought a particular thing could use some work in any way, shape, or form, I let the person know via reviewing.

First, though, before coming down on them with the (few, since I'm so picky) things I noticed, I tell them about their good points. Description, way of wording things like the original author if it's fanfiction, their grammar, etc. In essence, I "butter them up" for what's to come. And alas, that "however" does come in which it's, "you did great...however, this needs work."

And I let them know that I'm telling them this in hopes of trying to aid them, not at all flaming them or being mean. Like the other day, I read two awesome stories for Howl's Moving Castle and I was on the edge of my seat, practically, with the plot because it was so good! (If anybody wants links, I'll gladly provide.) However good they were, there were still some tiny things that needed work that I noticed....

Anyway, that's probably enough monologuing for now. But all of this being said, I am in no way saying that I am the perfect writer, I know all when it comes to writing stories. No, in fact...I'm a very passive writer a lot of the time. I might have good mechanics, but my plots could be better thought out in advance, the words could be more interactive, etc....so yeah. Just wanted to say that I'm not holding myself as a high and mighty wannabe author. I'm here to hopefully help other people get better mechanically and to surpass my style of passive writing.

So shutting up now. Anyone else's thoughts?



EDIT: Because I was a dummy and forgot "this" in the correct form of dialogue. xD

[rayman112]

hmm, i see what you mean. grammar is a really big thing in writing. Grammar is what decides the way a sentence is read. I usually like reading stories from authors who know alot about grammar and he can use better words when describing their characters.

Like Huge or massive would be better than great or big. I'm not saying i have perfect grammar or that i have a big vocabulary no. Its just thats what i like in a story and thats what i look forward to seeing and try to express in my writing.

But its not just grammar i look for in a writing. (which is why i don't point it out in all my reveiws) I like writers who have good voices and description in their writing. If the writer is able to paint a good picture in my mind they're ok in my book. Having a good voice in your writing is not an easy thing to do either. I've noticed some books where writers have perfect nearly perfect grammar and a HUGE vocabulary but the way they describe things seem lifeless and dry. So thats all i've got to say on that topic at the moment. Whose next?

[Meluivan Indil]

I hate to say it but I'm exactly the type of writer that most reviewers, including you guys, could pick apart.

I do believe that it was you, Ri, who pointed out that very punctuation mistake in one of my stories. I just didn't know. I thought I was doing it right. I guess it's been too many years since I learned all this stuff. But I appreciate you telling me. At least I don't look like a fool with that anymore.

And I am the worst at description and detail. I can come up with the most awesomely intricate plot and describe action and peoples emotions without even thinking twice. But if you asked me to describe the landscape that my characters see, I'd say a tree and some prairie grass. I rush my stories horribly and don't take my time to develop scenes as I should. *hangs head in shame* I promise I am trying to change these things. It's just a hard road to travel.


As far as how I review. I guess I review how I write. I comment on characters motives, their actions whether they are in character or not. I tell whether the plot is a good sound believable one or not. I give my overall opinion of the story itself but I very rarely comment on specific spelling or grammar mistakes. I have read several stories that I've suggested the author get a beta reader or try to edit the mistakes theirselves. This is in the worse case scenario.

I don't know, I have a hard time critisizing other people for making the same mistakes that I do. I probably should though, since it would only help them to become better. Then again I've never been a big grammer person anyway. The thing I mention the most is plot holes. If I notice something that I know is contradictory to what I've already read it bugs me to no end. For example I read a story the other day and the author mentioned that someone had left the room and then they had that person say something as if they were still there. That bugged me. I had to mention it.

Anyhow, I guess that's my take on the whole thing.

M.

[Diclonius' Lilium]

I used to write one of those one liner reviews (I have a lot of them)When I was 11, my grammar was bad. It was like:

great,keep going

But now my grammar has improved and I don't do that anymore.

My writing is considerably average, however I worry about cliches. (No wonder my aunt and uncle say I need to stop reading stuff about Sudden Infant Death syndrome and worrisome things like that)

I can ignore most grammical problems just fine, spelling too, if I'm not in a rush.

[LadyRiona]

Ah but researching stuff like that, D, is the best! I used to worry my mom playing computer games 'cause I'd kill off my characters in brutal ways, and I'm pretty sure she still worries about my soundness of mind (it was there to begin with? o.O) because I come downstairs and discuss my plot with her/use her as a sounding board. I think better when I talk about it to someone, whether they're listening or not. So often times, I'm telling her about this horrid thing I've done to a character and how to resolve it now and I can practically hear her thinking, "Oh God, where did I go wrong with this one?" hehe

But yeah, research is good just for the very reason you mentioned: to prevent cliches. Sure, babies can die and it's very depressing, but isn't it better to have a reason other than just saying "The baby was dead," and not having a reason for it? Sure, SIDS is an inexplicable thing in most cases, but it's still better than nothing. I research a lot of medical diseases with which to ail my characters, most recently heart diseases. And there are many other things I just know because I've looked them up out of curiosity, and that gives me broader horizons and more options in many different things in writing. Like, I can tell you all about Lord of the Rings and Fullmetal Alchemist and so many other fandoms because I've researched them so much. I can tell you about early Celtic history; medieval history; the way people would dress in specific time periods; modern and ancient Japanese traditions for this, that, the other. (Partly because of the unschooling method I use for homeschool...) Shoot, I have a huge dictionary on the floor by my computer desk to use to look up words I don't know or just when I'm bored.

So research is good, bottom line, and prevents flames...unless you researched incorrectly or not enough. So thusly, there is no such thing as too much research on one topic.

Another thing that bothers me is spelling and homonyms. A few of those go hand in hand. One of my friends uses "then" when he should use "than" and vice versa, but I ignore it because it isn't a serious matter because we're just talking. If I were reading a story and I saw that, then I'd point it out: "Hey, check your homonyms, you're using a few words incorrectly." Then if someone blatantly misspells a word that should NOT be misspelled then that's pretty much an instant turn off to me. Sometimes I can ignore it if I like the plot, but if it's a constant thing...I really have to like the plot, a lot, to ignore it.

Synonyms are also big. You can never have too big of a vocabulary. I remember in sixth grade using these three and four syllable words and all the other kids looking at me like, "O.o wtf did you just say?" because I've been homeschooled almost all my life (I found out I'm able to graduate today, thanks very much, passed the 12th grade early). But using the same word over and over is such a drag when there are so many other words that are better (more magnificent) to use (apply) to a sentence. Ray mentioned that earlier.

Anyway, I think I'm good for now. I just like talking about this type of stuff....it's fun and feels sort of like reviewing, which is something I should do more often.

Oh yeah, another thing that bothers me that I do a lot is overlong sentences. Comma splices and run-ons, that lot there. And fragments. I do those a lot, too. Heh. But usually only on nonconsequential things.

Now I'm done.

[rayman112]

Oh yea, I'm a common traveler in the world of comma splices and run-on sentences. Mostly comma splices in my case. It has only been lately that I've been making my sentences a lot simpler.

Usually, I overload because I try to explain every detail about a scene that comes into to mind. But, often when you do that it makes the scene boring to read. Nobody likes to read a whole bunch of words. I know how much that doesn't seem to make sense but it's true. It's kinda like how adding spaces between paragraphs make a script easier to read.

Also, it wasn't until later I learned about choosing a vocabulary suitable for my audience. If you’re using words like imperturbable or unflappable for a kindergarten children’s book then there are going to be some major issues. An author must speak at the same level of the intended audience.

[Meluivan Indil]

Guilty of two more things. Run-on sentences and fragments. Imagine that.

I do have a theory on fragments though. I believe that if a person is speaking that it is actually quite normal for them to speak in fragments. I do it all the time in both my written work and my speech. I also believe that if someone is thinking something to themselves they would use fragments. But when it comes to describing what someone is doing or describing an object or such, that fagments are not proper to use. But honestly if you think about it, most of the time in everyday life, we talk and think in fragments to save time. Now if a fragment does not make sense in the paragraph I'll call someone on it. But if it makes sense with the rest of the written words, I leave it.

I only wish my vocabulary was larger. But I tend to have trouble remembering new words that I learn. And yes I do use the dictionary alot. It might actually stem back to the car wreck I had five years ago. I pretty much lost most of my short term memory for about six months afterwords. And since then, it just seems harder to remember things.

But as far as research goes, I love doing it. I rember when I was writing my LotR series, I spent hours a day on the Encyclopedia of Arda site and The Councel of Elrond site. I learned everything I could possibly learn and have unfortunately lost a large amount of that information. But still, I don't mind looking again if I forget it.

You are right, Ri, this is fun to talk about.

M.