Why only write a good post when you have to? Why not commit to speaking more clearly with each other? First off, when you use a more correct and accurate form of grammar, you make the site look better. People passing by, whether or not they choose to use "better" English than "u", "da", and "dat", can all read and they can all understand what you're saying. It makes your "pool" of people that you can connect with much, much wider, as well - most people will willingly talk to someone with good grammar, while others might be reluctant to...
First Step: Full sentences
The first step into writing anything is to remember the value of full sentences. While it isn't always necessary, and even more accurately placed "half-sentences" sometimes works in a book or novel to get a point across, it is something that should be majorly practiced. Your mind tends to draw off of the sentence it is on more so than the sentences before and after it, to really help paint the picture. If you don't completely cover yourself and your end, you could leave fellow readers stuck in confusion: what does he mean? What does that mean? And they're rereading the message to try and grasp the idea, but usually give up and pass the reading, ignoring it. Or, sometimes even questioning it.
Examples:
Noticing the problem.
1. where?
2. looking for?
3. last night. that's it.
4. hmu. crystal. 19. female
Fixing the problem.
First off, did you even know what any of the sentences were actually talking about? The last one is a more realistic way that we do this - just posting the absolute most necessary thing about our speech, and deleting all the other "helper" words in the mix. I like helper words because that means everyone can understand you - not just a select few. Here are those exact sentences, only corrected.
1. Before: where?
After: "Where is it?" OR "Where are they?" OR, EVEN "Where did you put it?"
The sentence, left completely alone as "where", can have many directions that it is going in. You don't know what way, as the reader, you want it to slid towards. If there are no context clues around it, this "sentence" "where?" wouldn't survive very well as a solid sentence on it's own.
2. Before: looking for?
After: "What are you looking for?" OR "Why are you looking for it?" OR EVEN "When was the last time you went looking for it?"
"looking for?" lets you know they are searching, so it gives some indication as to the direction it wanted to go. But it doesn't inform you if this was past tense, present tense, or even future. All it does is state the obvious about anything it could have been referencing to, but it doesn't reference to it itself.
3. Before: last night. that's it.
After: "I went to the store last night. That's it." OR "They slept in the same bed last night. That's it." OR EVEN "He cooked hotdots last night. That's it."
"last night. that's it." Gives a good indication that only one, or a very few select things happened last night. At least, that's about all I can draw from it. But it doesn't tell you anything - whether they got something, went somewhere, did something, wrote something - ext. - "last night". See the difference?
4. Before: hmu. crystal. 19. female
After: keeping the acronym "I'm 19 years old. I'm a female, and I go by Crystal. HMU." OR "HMU. I'm a 19 year old female. My name's Crystal." OR EVEN "I'm a female who's 19 named Crystal. HMU." Not keeping the acronym "I'm a year old female named Crystal, hit me up." OR "hit me up. I'm a female, and I'm 19 years old. My name's Crystal."
Second Step: Spelling
Spelling, I would think, would have to be a key, fundamental building block. In most languages, if you misspell something you have the risk of spelling something totally different. English is not exception: take for example our long-old debates the terrible 2s, the here's, and the where's. you can mean a totally different thing if you put "to", instead of "two", or "too", instead of "to". Two is a number - it is always suggesting that you only mean two of anything. Too is used as an "to the extent of" sort of clause. When you say "too", you could do it in the fashion of, "He's going, too!", or "You have to pick up yellow roses, too!" I guess that leaves "to" with the middleman work of the 2s world, hehe. You also have "hear" - which is something you can do, and one of your six senses - and "here" - which usually answers the "where" aspect of things. You can hear a rabbit hopping in the bushes, but you cannot here a cat meowing for food. Likewise, you can put your books here, on this table, but you cannot leave your book hear - that's solely for listening to. Let's take a look at some common misspellings.
Noticing the problem
1. hey jon, weres my cash?
2. luv u. wen u comin over tonite?
3. he went into the woods. wen no one lookd, he pickd up an amulette. save 4 3 kids, he was a lonely old man.
4. nuttin ever happened. we went 2 the park, but no 1 showd up.
Fixing the problem
1. Before: hey jon, weres my cash?
After: hey jon, where's my cash?
"weres" was misspelled in the sentence. It's a common misspelling, and probably one of the ones made because people want to quickly jot their notes down to communicate with their friends quickly, but they actually don't try to think of how the message is looked at. It's great amongst friends, when you both know you're just "short handing", maybe but it's not so good on a forum - where everyone sees what you post, and they all collectively gain an opinion upon it. "where's" the correct way to spell it.
2. Before: luv u. wen u comin over tonite?
After: Love you. When you coming over tonight?
"luv", "u", technically "comin", and "tonite" were all the misspelled words here. Although it seems harmless on it's own, it looks a lot worse when you compare it to it's counterpart - all the words spelled and intact, like they should be. Again, great for texting your friends so that you aren't taking forever typing....not so good on forums. The correct words are "love" for luv, "you" for u, "coming" for comin, and "tonight" for tonite. Even if tonite was the only thing spelled wrong because you didn't know how to spell it properly, "Love you. When you coming over tonite?" still looks a little better...
3. Before: he went into the woods. wen no one lookd, he pickd up an amulette. save 4 3 kids, he was a lonely old man.
After: he went into the woods. when no one looked, he picked up an amulet. save for three kids, he was a lonely old man.
"wen", "lookd", "pickd", and in this case "4" are all misspelled. While you can interchange "3" and "three - they are both referring to a numerical value, and the same value at that - you cannot interchange 4. It clogs up the sentence, and definitely confuses the reader. "4, what now? What is there 4 of?" The correct words are "when" for wen, "picked" for pickd, and "for" for 4.
4. Before: nuttin ever happened. we went 2 the park, but no 1 showd up.
After: Nothing ever happened. we went to the park, but no one showed up.
The words changed in this were "nuttin" to nothing, "2" to "to", "1" to one., and "showd" to showed. By now, you can draw off the idea....
Easy steps in correcting your Spelling:
1. You can easily fix all spelling mistakes if you reread the dialogue before you post it for others to read. This way you can write it in whatever manner is comfortable for you, and then edit it afterward. Let your ideas flow loosely from your hands first - then worry about the messy clean up! Nothing's more frustrating than trying to write a book while worrying about the details and the writing itself - focus on one, then the other!
2. Always fix your spelling errors. Go to Google and search the words you are unsure of how to spell. Half the time, Google can correct you and spit out what you mean. It is also a good place to go, to search for "Spell Checkers". If you have any sort of Microsoft Document, it should be able to check your spelling for you as well. Anything unlined in red in it is misspelled - right click those words, and choose which word you meant to spell.
3. Always remember http://www.dictionary.com for a handy reference. I can't expect you all to carry a dictionary around all the time, and I can't expect you to go running to it every single time. But we all have words that we can't even come close to spelling sometimes. Dictionary.com has been an excellent site to help me progress as a writer, and to actually learn about the words I'm using and how to use them. I still don't visit it more often than once a month though. Simply look up your spelling at dictionary.com and find which matches it more closely from their suggestions. Or find out what a word means; synonyms...whatever you need help with.
1. You can easily fix all spelling mistakes if you reread the dialogue before you post it for others to read. This way you can write it in whatever manner is comfortable for you, and then edit it afterward. Let your ideas flow loosely from your hands first - then worry about the messy clean up! Nothing's more frustrating than trying to write a book while worrying about the details and the writing itself - focus on one, then the other!
2. Always fix your spelling errors. Go to Google and search the words you are unsure of how to spell. Half the time, Google can correct you and spit out what you mean. It is also a good place to go, to search for "Spell Checkers". If you have any sort of Microsoft Document, it should be able to check your spelling for you as well. Anything unlined in red in it is misspelled - right click those words, and choose which word you meant to spell.
3. Always remember http://www.dictionary.com for a handy reference. I can't expect you all to carry a dictionary around all the time, and I can't expect you to go running to it every single time. But we all have words that we can't even come close to spelling sometimes. Dictionary.com has been an excellent site to help me progress as a writer, and to actually learn about the words I'm using and how to use them. I still don't visit it more often than once a month though. Simply look up your spelling at dictionary.com and find which matches it more closely from their suggestions. Or find out what a word means; synonyms...whatever you need help with.
Third Step: Grammar
You use correct grammar by learning to spell your words correctly, using the correct words in the right and correct ways and places, and always using the everything that comes with correct writing. This means that you end your sentences with either a period (.), an exclamation mark (!), or a question mark (?), and that you use commas (,), semicolons, (;), colons (:), Quotation marks (" "), and apostrophes (') appropriately. All sentences should come to an end, separated from each other by one of the following: period (.), question mark (?), or an exclamation mark (!). Whenever you are making a list, you should always separate each different thing with a comma (,), and you should always quote anything "spoken" or anything someone else wrote that you are just sharing. You should always use apostrophes where appropriate, like with contractions or when showing "ownership" of something. You should also always capitalize when appropriate. Good grammar takes time and practice, so don't try to be a hero right off the bat, if it's troublesome for you...Just practice each day by improving what you can, even asking for advice if you need it!
1. susans dog was a pitt he ran across the street.
2. there are three "tenses" past present and future
3. don't leave the cat unattended he tried to eat stewies bird.
4. why do you question my methods everytime I come over you have something smart to say
Fixed
1. Before: susans dog was a pitt he ran across the street.
After: Susan's dog was a Pitt. He ran across the street.
The difference is that "susans" didn't have an apostrophe to show ownership, a period was missed, and the beginning of each sentence was not capitalized. Effectively, this made a pretty choppy run-on sentence.
2. Before: there are three "tenses" past present and future
After: There are three "tenses": past, present, and future.
The difference is that the colon was not added after tenses, which led up to it, there was no period at the end, and commas were missing to separate the different parts of the list.
3. Before: don't leave the cat unattended he tried to eat stewies bird.
After: Don't leave the cat unattended. He tried to eat Stewie's bird.
The difference is that "Don't" wasn't capitalized, even though it started the sentences, a period was missed after "unattended" to end the first start, and let the second one begin, the apostrophe was missing from "Stewies" to show ownership, and the period was missing at the end of the whole sentence, after "bird".
4. Before: why do you question my methods everytime I come over you have something smart to say
After: Why do you question my methods? Every time I come over, you have something smart to say.
The difference is that "why" wasn't capitalized, the question mark was missing after "methods", every time was misspelled (a common mistake even I make when I don't use Firefox), the comma after "over", and the period after "say"....
Part Four: Details
Once you learn how to use the correct spelling and grammar with your words and sentences, you will already begin to connect better and relay your thoughts better to others. But some of us like to write our own, original works - more than just simple conversations with others. In order to do this, you need to be able to make your written work sound juicy and inviting, but how do we do this? As long as you can get the basics out on paper, you and always edit them. The key is adding in details! Details tell us what's going on around the character, and can help lead us to conclusion, thoughts, or questions you want the reader to think about or ask as they are reading. It let's us use "foreshadowing" more effectively, letting us hint to future parts of our plot and to make our writing better.
Noticing the problem...
1. Rover went into the woods.
2. Whenever I come back to this spot, I get nostalgic. I can remember playing in the meadow with my friends.
3. He crawled into the chair's seat. When the waitress came, he ordered a hamburger.
4. I didn't remember this tree - it looked too old.
Fixing the problem...
1. Before: Rover went into the woods.
After: Rover was filled with excitement and anticipation, as he stared at the opening. Two tall trees beckoned him forward, with their branches swaying back and forth. It was forbidden to wonder inside - the woods were too dangerous for to go in alone. He battled with himself, before he actually went inside. Anticipation buried deep within him as he slowly took a step forward, his muscles shaking from the effort...
2. Before: Whenever I come back to this spot, I get nostalgic. I can remember playing in the meadow with my friends.
After: Whenever I come back to the spot, I get nostalgic. My mind takes me back, where I can see children dancing in the meadow. Their small feet would bounce up and down, hands interlocked as they spun around together. I would choke up with tears as I recalled those days - our shoes were made of cheap materials for they would tear a lot, but we still had fun. Nothing stopped those times, except growing up...
3. Before: He crawled into the chair's seat. When the waitress came, he ordered a hamburger.
After: Of all the seats that were left, he got stuck with the "high" chairs. He was too short as it was, and his feet always inevitably dangled noticeably from the seat. He scanned the area, trying to see if he had missed a seat closer toward his height. Unsatisfied by the fact that he could find none, the 4 foot man began to climb up into the seat. He gripped the top with both of his hands, and used his legs to push himself up the side of the chair, and onto the seat. Breathing heavily, he shot the waitress an evil look when he saw that she was trying not to laugh. "I would like one hamburger with NO lettuce on it, but extra pickles." He ordered.
4. Before: I didn't remember this tree - it looked too old.
After: My eyes traveled across the old oak tree while my fingers traced it's bark.There were many marks scratched across it, with places where larger chunks had been taken out. All of it's wounds looked worn with age, as if I were staring at a mausoleum of it's life, depicting ancient times of younger kids and wilder beasts that traveled by. It would appear that everyone had found this tree but myself. It was far too old for me to know of it - too far back into the woods for my normally to find it. I couldn't help but wonder what it's story was, this mighty oak tree....
Congratulations, you are now ready to write!
Whether you just want to give a boost to your posts with other people, or whether you aspire to write your own novel one day, you need to practice these "tips" on writing to help get your voice heard even better. This is written specifically for people who are newer at writing, and would like a quick guide of how to better their written works - nothing more or less. In order to write great masterpieces, you need all of the basic skills listed here to write with - but you can't use them if you don't know how to. This is merely to "shed some light" into writing.
