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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dedekind" data-source="post: 5230437" data-attributes="member: 63968">Precursor: I know nothing about fiction writing standards.Balsamic Dragon's advice sounds pretty typical. Professional writers and editors all seem to care a lot about grammar and spelling. Every commentary or publication guide I have seen spends a significant amount of time encouraging proper English. I would go so far as to say many professionals come across as passionate about it. I re-read "Eats, Shoots, and Leaves" a while ago and it sounds like the surest way to irritate an editor is to violate language rules.Similarly, almost every writing guide spends a long time on style. Ten years ago I would have said that content matters more than style. I have amended that. Style makes or breaks a novel/article/blog/forum post and I have become oversensitive to writing that has poor style. My own writing is functional enough that people know what I am talking about. However, there is nothing about my writing that encourages people to keep reading! Even the official government guidelines don't seem to work for me!<a href="http://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/humor/writegood.cfm" target="_blank">Plain Language Humor: How to Write Good</a>With all that said, the three general critiques offered by Balsamic Dragon hit the three problems for amateurs like me (and I assume RangerWickett?). Spelling matters, grammar matters, and style matters. If a writer cannot get these three things together, then I imagine it would take a phenomenally original idea to get a submission considered. Spelling is the easiest (spellchecker!) but so many people let spelling errors slide. I find grammar hard and the more I read style guides, the less confident I become. For example, I hate using 'that' or 'which' and avoid writing sentences that (or is it which?) need them. For style, as Justice Stewart said, "I know it when I see it."* I have referred to Strunk & White quite a few times and still cannot peg style.These are impressions I've received from reading a lot on writing, but have little real experience in publishing. Anybody with experience have some good anecdotes? What is the worse thing (grammatically/stylistically) that you saw eventually get published?PS Every post on the internet that gripes about grammar/spelling must have grammar/spelling errors in it. I wonder how many I have?* There are thousands of obvious exceptions to the spelling, grammar, and style rules. Poetry is the obvious one. But Kesey named his bus Furthur. Some authors wear out semicolons while other authors hate them. Commas are either awesome or awful. Tom Wolfe uses a lot of ellipses in "Bonfire of the Vanities." And then there is British versus American English (notice my periods in the quoted title?).</blockquote>

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