Any writers here on the Arena? For srs or just for fun? :)

[rosierjay]

i love stories and telling them, but struggle with grammar etc. have a lot written none ready for publication.
last year me and a few friend started a writer's group.
so far it's mostly been helpful.

but after the negative response to my grammar, and little focus on the story or characters i'm scared to let people read what i  have written.

ARrrrr re-read my post, and yeah, my grammar is awful...

[dragonfly]

I love writing. I'm trying to change career path and do it professionally. It's scary. I've been writing short stories for fun since I was a kid. For years I didn't but I picked it up again last year. I like writing children's stories. My challenge is to not pressure myself to get it perfect right away and just keep going, it can always be changed or edited later. That's where I get stuck.

[Kanchii]

i love stories and telling, but struggle with grammar etc. have a lot written none ready for publication.
last year me and a few friend started a writer's group.
so far it's mostly been helpful.

but after the negative response to my grammar, and little focus on the story or characters i'm scared to let people read what i  have written.

That is what editors are for. Don't worry about the grammar, worry about the story, plot, and characters. Once you're happy with those, an editor can easily help you with the grammar! Problem is, with writing groups, it's easier to focus on the grammar to fix things, but that's not what you need people to focus on.

[rosierjay]

i love stories and telling, but struggle with grammar etc. have a lot written none ready for publication.
last year me and a few friend started a writer's group.
so far it's mostly been helpful.

but after the negative response to my grammar, and little focus on the story or characters i'm scared to let people read what i  have written.

That is what editors are for. Don't worry about the grammar, worry about the story, plot, and characters. Once you're happy with those, an editor can easily help you with the grammar! Problem is, with writing groups, it's easier to focus on the grammar to fix things, but that's not what you need people to focus on.

thank you! this is how i feel too. i will sometime read over what i've written, but only to get back into the groove of the story, maybe making a minor edit here or there but i feel real real grammar nitpicks are a 2-4th draft thing

[Kanchii]

i love stories and telling, but struggle with grammar etc. have a lot written none ready for publication.
last year me and a few friend started a writer's group.
so far it's mostly been helpful.

but after the negative response to my grammar, and little focus on the story or characters i'm scared to let people read what i  have written.

That is what editors are for. Don't worry about the grammar, worry about the story, plot, and characters. Once you're happy with those, an editor can easily help you with the grammar! Problem is, with writing groups, it's easier to focus on the grammar to fix things, but that's not what you need people to focus on.

thank you! this is how i feel too. i will sometime read over what i've written, but only to get back into the groove of the story, maybe making a minor edit here or there but i feel real real grammar nitpicks are a 2-4th draft thing

Thats exactly right. Don't worry about grammar until at least your second draft. First, get the STORY down. Then edit.

[NovelNerd]

i love stories and telling, but struggle with grammar etc. have a lot written none ready for publication.
last year me and a few friend started a writer's group.
so far it's mostly been helpful.

but after the negative response to my grammar, and little focus on the story or characters i'm scared to let people read what i  have written.

That is what editors are for. Don't worry about the grammar, worry about the story, plot, and characters. Once you're happy with those, an editor can easily help you with the grammar! Problem is, with writing groups, it's easier to focus on the grammar to fix things, but that's not what you need people to focus on.

thank you! this is how i feel too. i will sometime read over what i've written, but only to get back into the groove of the story, maybe making a minor edit here or there but i feel real real grammar nitpicks are a 2-4th draft thing

Then you need to tell them what you want feedback on. If you just ask people to edit something they are going to pick apart grammar. If you don't want grammar feedback then be specific. It might also depend. I don't know grammatically how your sentences are constructed. I know with some people it's difficult to even understand what they are saying when writing. I'm not saying that's you're problem, but from the other standpoint I see why they pick sort grammar.

[rosierjay]

@maddie, yeah i did that, but it still ended up being a focus at the group meeting.

this is what i had asked for.

Spoiler

-first off... i know my grammar sucks... too bad. at this stage it's the least of my worries, but i do want to make sure the meaning is correct as well. if it comes down to punctuation.... fix it if you want to, but i'm not too worried about that yet, as the text will more than likely be changing.

- is the text/ content too repetitive? is the story saying the same thing over and over again....
- is there too much information? either where the story is concerned or the descriptions of people and the places.
- is there not enough information? do you need to know more about the characters, location or the setting?
- is there any language that's out of place? if yes, please be willing to help find a suitable replacement. i more than likely plugged in the words i knew to get the general point across. this also pertains not only to the style but the general setting of the story. it takes place in another world, so some rules are a little more flexible, but i don't want to have something like George Lucas or cellphones being used as references etc.
- does anything the characters do seem out of character? i know this one is harder to tell with so little story to go on.
- does the sequence of action in the story make sense? do things jump around to much? how does it flow? pacing? etc.
- are the chapter titles distracting?

[NovelNerd]

My phone is being a pain in replying because I wanted to bold some sections. I'll jut list

The first one don't tell them they can go ahead and fix stuff grammatically if they feel like it. That's a free for all, but maybe instead ask them to look over the content first and you'll edit grammar afterwards.

Also, asking about the language and repetitive content might stem into like repeating words or phrases and some will pick apart grammar with language mentioned. I would just try asking again and be extremely specific on not wanting grammar feedback yet. If they still pick at it then I'm not sure what else to do.

lol, I run the writing club at school and when we edit(either myself or other students) they have to specify what their reader is editing or commenting on.

[rosierjay]

very cool i'll try that.

i know this month i'm just doing a story discussion, trying to figure out if the magic and the politics make sense. hoping the next time it's my turn i'll have a good chunk of writing for them to read again.

[kaoskat]

I've been writing since I was 6 so......Yeah kinda.......

[Kittywhiskers]

I sometimes write fanfics. I almost never finish them, and have a lot of unfinished and unposted fanfic in random folders on random drives.

[Dragonflitter]

Awwwww it's so good to hear from other writers!

@Firecracker - That sounds so cool! I can't draw for beans but I have a great love for graphic novels as well. Are you and your girlfriend working on one together?

@melodys_angel - Yes, finding the time can be the hardest thing of all. From someone who works 45 hours a week in an office, I can totally understand where you're coming from.

@Bekuno - Of course it counts! Haha. Organizing is the first stage of writing, I always say.

You burned your old stories!? O.o My goodness! I couldn't imagine! I'm a total packrat and I still have all my writing stuff from when I was a kid and even random apartment applications from eight years ago. Nothing ever disappears in my house. -sweatdrop-

Majoring in English is so cool! Good luck with that, it sounds like a lot of fun!

Your story about the girl and Germany sounds completely fascinating. I understand your concerns about getting Germany correct. One of my short stories takes place in Notre Dame in Paris, and even though I visited once many years ago (which is what inspired the story) I was VERY nervous while writing it because I knew if I messed up, people would definitely catch me on it. Thankfully the world of the internet exists today. With Google research you can learn a TON about a country. You can even use Google Map Street View to look at the streets in Germany with your own eyes! You could also interview some people who have been there. Maybe your local librarian would know who to talk to.

@dashesendots - Congrats on your English Lit degree! I graduated with a bachelors in Creative Writing. It was a very interesting college experience... lol. (I'm saying that with a bit of irony. I don't know about your school, but mine looked down on people who wrote 'genre' fiction such as fantasy and sci fi. As if everyone in life should write like Hemingway! But still, I learned a lot there.)

I too found myself taking a long break from writing once I left college. I got back into it when publishing became one of my major life goals.

The people in my writing group and I all agree--if you have solid characters, the plot will follow from that! Don't be afraid to just jump in and start writing and see where it takes you!

@Pokeyonekenobie - Wow that sounds awesome! Good luck on your future stories. I love the unabridged versions of the two Alice in Wonderland books too!

@cyberunicorn - Aww, don't give up!

@Kanchii - Ohh, I love RPing! It's such a fun writing exercise with no pressure.

Your anthology of stories with strong women sounds great! That's something I also think is important for young readers, and I really like making strong female characters. Your idea for a children's book sounds fun but keep in mind, in the publishing world if you are accepted by a publishing house, they will choose the artist for your book, not you. That's just how the publishing world works. (If you two choose to self-publish, that's a different matter, of course.)

@Lore-Lei - Your story titles sound so fun! I SO want to read Dragophobia. It sounds fascinating!

@Starfrey - I totally understand where you're coming from. With as much energy as I put into my job 5 days a week, it completely saps my energy levels. >.< It's so frustrating to have to put your passions on hold because your energy is sucked up by obligations first!

@Baby Crumpet - Script writing is hard! I do enjoy the thought of it, but the strict formatting set up scares me.

I agree with you that the youth LGBT+ community could definitely use some strong books to appeal to them. There's some great ones out there, but there could always be more!

It's interesting that some people find fanfiction limiting because of the imposed rules, and others find it liberating. We're all different people. I love writing fanfiction because I love taking a world and characters that have been established and finding a new story to tell with them. It's a great writing exercise. But yes, I enjoy my own worlds more.

@Ponyfan - That game sounds so fun!! I'm glad you kept it up.

@scarletjul - It IS awesome to see so many writers here. I am loving it, seriously.

I'm rooting for you to finish a story you can publish! Although I too find it difficult to balance fanfic and original work. Sometimes I feel guilty when I write fanfic so much, thinking "This is NOT getting you anywhere close to your life's goal, you know." 

@Maddie - Whoa! You teach English? That is so awesome!! What grade?

@QueenNatalie - Omg, another creative writing major!! -hi5's- It's so nice to meet another one! ^_^ We should definitely keep in touch. I remember feeling the same way you do haha, eager to write my own stuff instead of doing writing assignments for professors. 

@Rosier - Don't give up! I know it's a lot of work, but it's so rewarding to write. ^_^ Kudos to you for starting a writing group! I've been in a local writing group for four years now and they are a great group of people. And they seriously help me with my writing!

About grammar editing.... I know it can be difficult. For some people more than others. And me (and everyone in my writing group) totally agree with you that editing all other things (character, plot, etc.) should come first, and grammar editing should be last.

But keep in mind if your writing group is having trouble understanding your work because of the lack of correct grammar, that might be why they keep correcting your grammar instead of giving you feedback on other stuff. It's hard to edit something if you have trouble understanding what the writer is saying. (That's why we have grammar rules after all lol.) Also keep in mind your editor at a publishing house will not fix your grammar for you. You can hire a line editor to review your work before you submit to publishing houses, but if you submit something with poor grammar your submission will go right in the trash. :\

But you can overcome it! I know you can. Why I'll bet if you googled 'free grammar lessons online' or typed it into the youtube search, you could even find tons of free lessons to help you improve your grammar.

@dragonfly - Wow that sounds awesome! It's a very, very small percentage of writers who can live off their writing. Most do it part time. But I applaud you and I'm rooting for you! Good luck in your career.

@kaoskat - Wow cool! What do you write? Fanfic? Short stories? Novels? For kids, YA, or adult?

@Kittywhiskers - You and me both. I have about twice as many stories that are half-started, buried in my computer and long forgotten than I do finished works or ones I plan to finish. LOL.

[Lore-Lei]

@Lore-Lei - Your story titles sound so fun! I SO want to read Dragophobia. It sounds fascinating!

Thank you very much. I chose Dragophobia as the main 'heroine', Lucia Wysper is afraid of high speeds, which is actually just the thing that gives her almost supernatural instincts that make her shifts from one gear to another perfect. Her friends are Natasha, the grumpy mechanic, the mysterious promoter and race organizer, Amanda, and her light pink sleeper VW Golf, 'Princess'.

Their job is 'car restoration'. The race for pinks, take off the ugly 'rice' parts, then sell them and the now normal-looking cars for profit. Things are about to change as secrets get uncovered

[Corona]

I do essays and memoir type things, like just taking one event and retelling it in my really dry, sarcastic style that I can't really post here without a lot of censorship. My mom is one with her own book out and I've done a teeny bit of editing for a best selling author. According to both of them I'm a great editor but I don't see how I can get into that field.

[Rainbow Dash]

I write fanfics these days.  I've dabbled with original writing (well, it was a webcomic) but it seems I do better with the written word than I do with drawing.   If anyone's interested you can find my MLP fanfics at my deviantART account (linked in my profile).

As for 'Dragophobia', well, it  turns out it's quite tricky writing street racing in paper form and make it effective (and I'm afraid of using real car names, for obvious reasons).

That seems really up my alley!  I've read a number of books over the years that are more than willing to name everything from Ford Falcons to Porsche 911s (and I've never seen a trademark listed in any of them) so I don't think you need to worry too much.