tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post6331884797942824491..comments2011-02-16T02:54:52.916-08:00Comments on No Disclaimers Beta Services: Writing PeevesNo Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-50892876396762274252010-01-06T10:44:49.945-08:002010-01-06T10:44:49.945-08:00My peeve is the misuse of a/an. No, a apple did no...My peeve is the misuse of a/an. No, a apple did not fall from the tree. Yes, an apple fell from a tree.Diane J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/06638568994448668008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-38700909385740501402010-01-06T04:25:56.979-08:002010-01-06T04:25:56.979-08:00Nancy, I thought of you the other day when I was r...Nancy, I thought of you the other day when I was reading the Maximum Ride series, and the main character tries to cut a microchip out of her arm... and we don't hear anything about it until the next book when some reference is made to her scar. No pain, no infection, no bandages, even though they are on the run and without medical care. They do heal faster than full-humans, but not THAT fast. And those books are written by James Patterson, who is mucho published and famous.No Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-10539620024638478822010-01-01T15:49:36.861-08:002010-01-01T15:49:36.861-08:00I have a few struggles like that, too. I'm ne...I have a few struggles like that, too. I'm never sure if I've spelled "necessary" correctly, and and I really have to think through "conscious" and "conscience."No Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-85826124931188578282010-01-01T15:48:07.691-08:002010-01-01T15:48:07.691-08:00Wendy, THANK YOU for worrying about it! With sma...Wendy, THANK YOU for worrying about it! With small words like that, sometimes our fingers just do whatever they want, but the trick you named is an easy way to tell the difference. I wish more people would use it!<br /><br />KatNo Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-22877858039579109562009-12-28T19:47:52.669-08:002009-12-28T19:47:52.669-08:00I write non-fiction, especially health information...I write non-fiction, especially health information. I cannot tolerate only half-told health stories (which, I'm sad to say, applies to a good chunk of so-called journalism). If you tell half a story about the President's morality you may get him impeached, but at least no one dies. You can easily kill people, or make them ill, if you tell only one side of a health topic. (Depends on the topic, of course.)<br /><br />Along the same lines, I can't stand sensationalism in journalism, or hardly disguised advertorials (e.g., "On ABC tonight, John Stossel reports on the treasure of Al Capone. World News Tonight has a closer look at who this famed gangster really is...." (or some such thing).<br /><br />One of my peeves regarding myself is how I always have to struggle to remember when to use it's vs. its. Probably sounds basic to everyone here, but I always have to ask myself if this sentence works with "it is" . (Hey, at least I bother to worry about it! :) )Wendy M: The Healthcare Storytellerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10336656719088578928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-24013424912274870022009-12-21T20:31:27.505-08:002009-12-21T20:31:27.505-08:00I see your point, Sharon. Fanfic does give us a c...I see your point, Sharon. Fanfic does give us a chance to do things the book doesn't, but the writer has to put the work in to make it believable! The same thing happens in romance novels. If these two people don't seem to fit, then show us how complicated it's going to be to make them fit!No Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-41772412609486905432009-12-21T20:23:36.075-08:002009-12-21T20:23:36.075-08:00This mainly applies to fanfic, but I really don...This mainly applies to fanfic, but I really don't like it when people pair two characters together who would not be together. An example of this would be Draco and Hermione. If you are going to have two unlikely people together, give a good reason that they are together.Sharonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06180778803270348056noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-416162136597924052009-12-21T19:45:08.621-08:002009-12-21T19:45:08.621-08:00One of my dialogue peeves is the frequent use of n...One of my dialogue peeves is the frequent use of names. We just don't use each others' names in dialogue that much. I had to call my husband by his first name the other day, and it was so weird. I always call him, "hon," or "sweetie," or "Daddy." I never say, "Matt could you pass the potatoes..."No Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-24171104761723634192009-12-21T19:39:31.484-08:002009-12-21T19:39:31.484-08:00Nan, I am so with you on #2! Movies do this, too....Nan, I am so with you on #2! Movies do this, too. I often wonder, are those bruises ALREADY healed? In fact, that error is so common that when an author IS consistent, I'm pleasantly surprised!<br /><br />Rob...yeah, me too! I know languages change and evolve, but there IS right and wrong! Gah! Thanks for writing in !<br /><br />Abby, would you believe I get academic papers turned in with textspeak in them? And when I beta, a lot of stories will do that, too. They are automatic rejections!No Disclaimers Beta Serviceshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05986590829559097349noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-13752233774672390862009-12-21T17:09:30.342-08:002009-12-21T17:09:30.342-08:00All the usual grammatical errors and muddling of h...All the usual grammatical errors and muddling of homophones (your for you're, where for were etc) irritate me. But what really rattles me is when on a writers' forum someone will ask for advice about grammar but then argue that the common errors are preferable to correct usage.RobCromptonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05282446256418335464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-52842211651460798282009-12-21T16:55:01.256-08:002009-12-21T16:55:01.256-08:00Nancy's Top 5 Peeves:
1. Not dealing with a c...Nancy's Top 5 Peeves:<br /><br />1. Not dealing with a character's trauma. Example: your character is an angry young woman/young man whose anger is based on the fact that he/she was abused as a child. This character is NOT going to be tossing around rainbows and teddy bears because of one encounter with your (you, as the author) hero/heroine. Same goes for a violent act committed against your character. <br /><br />2. Inconsistancy: In a previous scene, your hero gets into a raging fist-fight with the villian while rescuing your heroine. He's got a bloody lip, possible bruised/broken ribs, a swollen eye and he's sore and tired. As much as we'd love him to sweep his newly-rescued off her feet, carry her across the threshold and bed her - it's not gonna happen! So don't write it! Your hero is more than likely to throw up on his woman than kiss her due to the concussion he incurred while fighting the fore-mentioned villian!<br /><br />3. Bad Dialogue: Gah! That's about the worst crime a writer can commit! Your anti-hero, smokin' hot, oh-so-taciturn guy is NOT going to talk to strangers the same way he speaks with those he trusts/has taken into his confidence. Same way with pillow-talk. Pet-names come with time and interpersonal interaction. Save the 'oh, babys' for scripts with an XXX rating.<br /><br />4. I'm with Kat on this one: bad grammar, spelling and punctuation. Nothing breaks the flow more quickly than stopping in the middle of a passage to re-write it in my head in order for the passage to be more readable. <br /><br />5. Plot Holes: How did your hero *suddenly* figure out that the love-of-his-life is being held in an abandoned car that is scheduled to be crushed? Oh yeah - because the author wrote it that way. But for me, as a reader, I want - no, I *need* - to know how 'a' connects to 'b' connects to 'c'. And, if you the author won't tell me, I won't read the rest of your story or your subsequent stories.Maevenlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02934643012265911875noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-56897348996244264222009-12-21T15:37:02.542-08:002009-12-21T15:37:02.542-08:00that comment wasn't from Kathy it's from m...that comment wasn't from Kathy it's from me, AbbyKatherine C. Teelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196450921516846481noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6075234794886471427.post-15529494417983775392009-12-21T15:36:27.647-08:002009-12-21T15:36:27.647-08:00i hate when people use text talk, i'm not goi...i hate when people use text talk, i'm not going to read this unless it's in English. i also hate when there aren't any indentions or spaces between paragraphs and it's all one long run on sentence.Katherine C. Teelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09196450921516846481noreply@blogger.com