Quote:
Originally Posted by teh603
And I'm referring to the fact that "correct" English grammar is actually quite burdensome and doesn't usually help with understanding.
For example, correct grammar means you aren't supposed to overuse the word "said." But as writers, we're told that "said" is transparent. We're ultimately using incorrect grammar, because it works better than correct grammar. And then how many times do we begin a sentence with a conjunction? Dangle participles or prepositions? Use a double negative in dialog or contraction anywhere? Begin a quote as a fresh sentence instead of forcing a comma at the end of the previous one?
Most of the things I listed up there are nitpicky details of correct grammar, which don't actually help with understanding.
|
Correct grammar helps a great deal with clarity and understanding. There's a point at which you have to choose between absolute correct grammar and a natural-sounding story, just like you have to choose which characters get fleshed out and which are stock characters, which details of a room to describe, etc. But that doesn't mean that grammar can be ignored. I think many people, including writers, are told incorrect things about grammar which puts them off.
For one thing, 'said' isn't really transparent. Using it too much will begin to seem strange, just like using any other word too much. Many authors use formatting to indicate when the speaker has changed and intersperse that with 'said' for this reason.
The other things you listed are all things authors can choose to do or not. It depends on how they want their book to sound. If a book is full of misspellings and grammar mistakes, I come away with the impression that the author doesn't actually know what their voice is or care to present a good reading experience to their readers. I'm OK with that in fanfic. I'm not OK with that in something I pay for. On the other hand, there are authors who consistently write a certain way, even though it's not 100% grammatical. I'm fine with that - it's a deliberate choice by someone who knows that they're doing. Andre Norton does it beautifully, which makes her books very memorable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hidari
anal retentiveness about grammar is great for people who care..... I reckon most don't.....Story trumps anal retentive grammar faux pas any day...
|
The problems start when bad grammar gets in the way of enjoying the story. If the author is making a choice to use strange grammar consistently, that's one thing. Making elementary grammar mistakes is something else. I think the point for where this happens is different for everybody though.
90% of everything is crap. I view publishers as people who try to filter out the junk (ex, My Immortal), and who attempt to impose some editing standards. They don't always succeed, and they don't always pick books I want, but even if they only filter out 30% of the junk that's still a 30% bigger chance the book will be readable and entertaining.
