apparently I woke up and took a bitch pill instead of advil

[asimplechord]

I make plenty of writing mistakes. But here are three things that made me close Firefox last night and return to a book instead of reading fanfic.



1. Appall is a verb. Not a noun.

2. Your =/= you're. I can understand making that mistake in a text or a quick email. But in a title and multi-chapter fic, with that same mistake in EVERY post? Really?

3. I admit that I love commas. (I care about the Oxford comma, and Vampire Weekend can take a leap off a hipster, indie cliff - overrated.) But really. Direct address commas are your friend. Consider:

"I am not Bob."

"I am not, Bob."

That comma changes the meaning. Learn them. Use them. Love them.

Comments

[ariadne1.livejournal.com]

Scrawled in red ink on many a student paper last go-'round:

"Please make at least a nodding acquaintance with your potential ally, the comma."

Also: "The semi-colon is not your friend."

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Oh god. And these are college students, writing something they know will be analyzed for SPAG, at the very least. How do you deal with this on a daily basis?

[ariadne1.livejournal.com]

For better (they speak better than they write) and for worse (I only teach English majors, for pity's sake).

[eckerlilas.livejournal.com]

♥♥♥

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Logan looks just as dubious as I felt. ♥

On another note entirely, does your friend want the pair of Glambert tix?

[eckerlilas.livejournal.com]

Possibly, yes! I can't believe I forgot! I asked him and then forgot to follow up. How much are they, total?

Also, are you and Jenn going as well?

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

Yes, Jenn and I are still going, so it's just the other pair. Center mezzanine, Row K, seats 122 & 123. They are $54 each with fees, but that's negotiable.

[eckerlilas.livejournal.com]

He's gonna let me know tonight!

[lickingbeads.livejournal.com]

I freely admit I love these sorts of posts :D

[asimplechord.livejournal.com]

I feel bitchy when I post them, but I'm pretty sure that most people wouldn't welcome a comment in a fic that says: hey, this was an okay story but it'd be better if you understood a few basic SPAG rules.