List of books and upcoming books

Spelling and Grammar

Okay, this is one area I should really touch on because a lot of people tend to be uncertain. Grammar being the main thing. Here is the thing about grammar, it's not just commas, punctuation and quotation marks. It's also using the right words in a story.

Example, you're and your. One is you are. The other means belonging to someone. There, their and they're. Here and hear. All sound the same because they're homonyms but they are all different. Understand?

Trust me, I understand it gets confusing when writing especially if you have autocorrect and it changes a word that you don't intend to use. Happens all the time with me.

Mistakes are bound to happen. Good thing you can go back and edit. Editing is a tedious thing but helps. I know. I have a bunch of stories I need to edit. Anyone that knows me, knows I always post a rough draft before going back to edit and polish it. Because you can't edit a blank page.

Also, forgetting punctuation, isn't good. That's basic English. I know a lot of people are from other countries so English isn't their first language but there's guides to help online. There's also apps as well. Utilize them.

Now spelling is a big thing. A few misspelled words is fine. You can always correct them but if your chapter is riddled with constant spelling errors that's a problem.

Personally, if I'm not sure how to spell a word, I look it up. Trust me, I do this a lot. Because let's face it, I've been out of school for a lot of years. You get rusty when you don't have a teacher looking over your shoulder.

The thing is, for me if I see a story with a lot of mistakes, this turns me off and makes me not want to read. I get everyone wants to write and I encourage everyone to write but I also encourage them to make sure they are giving their best work.

Will I constantly correct them? No because I have had it done to me. I prefer to critique a story based on the content and dive into what the writer is saying. Some people take it to the extremes then it becomes discouraging. Not cool.

I would rather be helpful than anything. Now do I read a lot of stories, depends on whether I'm working on a story or several. Do I read? Of course. Especially when I'm stuck on writing.

I'm hoping people understand what I'm saying because I don't want them discouraged. Plus, there's always room for improvement. I know, I'm always looking to improve my own writing.

Keep writing.