I'm halfway through the second week of J-term now, and, for the record, J-term has come with a few surprises, not all of them bad.
Good things:
1. I have way more free time than I do during the normal semester. If I don't want to go to the gym in the morning, I don't have to wake up until 9:30 or 10:00. After maybe 1:45 or 2:00, when I'm done with class and lunch, I have almost nothing to do except homework until 6:00, which is our normal dinner time.
2. The spare time has led me to actually get to the gym, which is always nice (except when I get scared of judgement from the actual athletes). Also, I actually have time to write for my class, which is nice, but I also tend to procrastinate on my own writing because of podcasts and yarn. Nevertheless, J-term has been fun so far because of all the time I can actually use now.
3. Since I actually have time to do homework during the day and I don't have to wake up early, the evenings can be spent doing things other than sleeping (sleeping does get involved). These new activities include Apples to Apples, Capture the Flag, Marco Polo (played on the football field and not in the pool), and Hide and Seek. All of these activities have commenced at around 10:00 PM and proceeded until midnight or later, which is fine, because I can still get sleep.
4. The course itself is really interesting - though it is a workshop class, the feedback really helps with what I'm writing.
Bad things:
1. Though the class is fun and I like that I get to write, sometimes the peer editing aspect can get kind of irritating. Don't get me wrong: I do like to read and comment on other people's writing, as well as receive feedback on my own. However, quite a few people in my class seem to be unaware that Spelling and Grammar check is correct on many occasions (there are times when it is incorrect, but when one is in college, one should be able to tell the difference). Sometimes I have to edit my classmates' grammar and spelling as I read their work because it can get rather distracting.
2. Sometimes having all of the extra time can get kind of boring. Though it's easy to find ways to pass the time, afternoons can get long, tedious, and unproductive.
In all, though, I'm glad I took the J-term class that I chose: at the very least, it shows me how not to write a script.
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Showing posts with label grammar. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Writing Style
I have been mentioning this topic for a while, so it is time I do a post on it.
Obviously, writing style is important. A distinction should be made, however, between writing style and grammatical correctness: Like a Tide Laundry Detergent commercial mentioned, "Style is an option; clean is not."
Similarly, WRITING STYLE is something that differs depending on who you read, because everyone's voice is different; even if Barnes and Noble classifies an author under specific genres or styles, the Vampire Kisses series is not written in the same style as the Twilight series, though they are both vampire romance novels.
However, GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS is ALWAYS MANDATORY, unless you are writing a fan-fiction that you intend to be a bad thing on the Internet. Grammatical correctness needs to be a requirement for any published novel or story, regardless of whether or not it was self-published. Small things that are easily overlooked are excusable if they are few and far between; constant misuse of words and/ or misspellings SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED. Do not rely entirely on your computer's Spell Check, because it can be faulty - sometimes it will tell you to switch around a word or two that may affect the meaning.
I would like to point out that the phrase "I'm just a bad speller" is never an excuse. If you ask your friends to read and edit your writing (make sure your friend is an English major or at least has some interest in literary quality), you can easily catch any errors. Additionally, though you should BE AWARE of Spell Check, that does not mean it is your enemy. Though it can be annoying at times and sometimes it can be wrong, it is frequently correct, and you should note when it is telling you something.
Writing style in and of itself is something that can be interesting to study. Though it is not entirely the same thing as a writer's voice, the two are very similar. The writer's voice is how you hear the narration as you read it; the writer's style is how the author writes it. Style can be genre-specific (but not always), whereas voice is always subjective.
Really the only way to improve your voice and figure out what sort of style you want to use (even if it's one of your own invention) is to practice. So go forth and write! :)
Obviously, writing style is important. A distinction should be made, however, between writing style and grammatical correctness: Like a Tide Laundry Detergent commercial mentioned, "Style is an option; clean is not."
Similarly, WRITING STYLE is something that differs depending on who you read, because everyone's voice is different; even if Barnes and Noble classifies an author under specific genres or styles, the Vampire Kisses series is not written in the same style as the Twilight series, though they are both vampire romance novels.
However, GRAMMATICAL CORRECTNESS is ALWAYS MANDATORY, unless you are writing a fan-fiction that you intend to be a bad thing on the Internet. Grammatical correctness needs to be a requirement for any published novel or story, regardless of whether or not it was self-published. Small things that are easily overlooked are excusable if they are few and far between; constant misuse of words and/ or misspellings SHOULD NOT BE TOLERATED. Do not rely entirely on your computer's Spell Check, because it can be faulty - sometimes it will tell you to switch around a word or two that may affect the meaning.
I would like to point out that the phrase "I'm just a bad speller" is never an excuse. If you ask your friends to read and edit your writing (make sure your friend is an English major or at least has some interest in literary quality), you can easily catch any errors. Additionally, though you should BE AWARE of Spell Check, that does not mean it is your enemy. Though it can be annoying at times and sometimes it can be wrong, it is frequently correct, and you should note when it is telling you something.
Writing style in and of itself is something that can be interesting to study. Though it is not entirely the same thing as a writer's voice, the two are very similar. The writer's voice is how you hear the narration as you read it; the writer's style is how the author writes it. Style can be genre-specific (but not always), whereas voice is always subjective.
Really the only way to improve your voice and figure out what sort of style you want to use (even if it's one of your own invention) is to practice. So go forth and write! :)
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Grammar
Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today in the presence of the Internet to discuss something very, very, VERY important.
Grammar.
Friends, I fear that the apostrophe has died of misuse. To mourn its passing, it is time to go over some very important terms. There is, in fact, a difference between "it's" and "its," and the same thing goes for "you're" and "your." The latter is my particular pet peeve.
The differences?
As stated in A Writer's Reference, Seventh Edition (which also reminded me that you italicize book titles, which I sometimes forget), the difference is that "Its is a possessive pronoun; it's is a contraction for it is." (Hacker and Sommers, p 147). Translation: it's means that IT has a current state of being; its means that you don't know the gender identity of something that owns something else (or it doesn't HAVE a gender identity), so you're calling that thing 'it.'
Now, for your and you're. Unlike with it's/ its, which is forgivable up through freshman year and sometimes beyond if you didn't pay attention in freshman year English class, your and you're is actually a thing you need to be aware of, if only because Spelling and Grammar Check may not yell at you for it. But the difference between these two is similar to the difference stated above: that is, you're is a state of being that YOU inhabit; your is something that belongs to you.
What I see here is a trend: many users of the English language can no longer differentiate between states of being and nouns. This is disturbing. Are we really that materialistic?
Whilst you are pondering the deep questions of the universe, I need to also mention something that is a peeve of mine as well.
I have noticed that some people (who shall remain nameless) use "yea" and "yeah" interchangeably. I did look up the definitions of each, and they are both statements of affirmation; however, PLEASE remember that "yea" is pronounced like "yay" and not like "yeah." If you wish to say "yeah," please do not text me the word "yea."
Thank you, and goodnight.
Grammar.
Friends, I fear that the apostrophe has died of misuse. To mourn its passing, it is time to go over some very important terms. There is, in fact, a difference between "it's" and "its," and the same thing goes for "you're" and "your." The latter is my particular pet peeve.
The differences?
As stated in A Writer's Reference, Seventh Edition (which also reminded me that you italicize book titles, which I sometimes forget), the difference is that "Its is a possessive pronoun; it's is a contraction for it is." (Hacker and Sommers, p 147). Translation: it's means that IT has a current state of being; its means that you don't know the gender identity of something that owns something else (or it doesn't HAVE a gender identity), so you're calling that thing 'it.'
Now, for your and you're. Unlike with it's/ its, which is forgivable up through freshman year and sometimes beyond if you didn't pay attention in freshman year English class, your and you're is actually a thing you need to be aware of, if only because Spelling and Grammar Check may not yell at you for it. But the difference between these two is similar to the difference stated above: that is, you're is a state of being that YOU inhabit; your is something that belongs to you.
What I see here is a trend: many users of the English language can no longer differentiate between states of being and nouns. This is disturbing. Are we really that materialistic?
Whilst you are pondering the deep questions of the universe, I need to also mention something that is a peeve of mine as well.
I have noticed that some people (who shall remain nameless) use "yea" and "yeah" interchangeably. I did look up the definitions of each, and they are both statements of affirmation; however, PLEASE remember that "yea" is pronounced like "yay" and not like "yeah." If you wish to say "yeah," please do not text me the word "yea."
Thank you, and goodnight.
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