Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinisajoy
[...]I will give credit on the last one. The grammar and syntax are usually flawless. Those the story just doesn't work. Yes, even English professors need outside eyes.
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I think this is a very important point and it is too often hidden behind discussion of specific errors - and I mean this from both sides of the argument:
Too many writers fail to recognise that a large volume of blatant errors (whose/who's, waste/waist etc.), while individually unimportant, act collectively to obscure the story. A story only works when it flows well, and it cannot flow well if the reader is constantly having difficulty, however slight, understanding what has been written.
So the concern is not, really, about individual technicalities at all. It is about giving your story a chance to be recognised. Errors are a distraction, and we must remove those distractions before the story can be read for what it is.