2.1 Back to the Basics: Cornerstones of the English Language

ie; Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

2.1.1 Grammar

The basic rules of using the English language. Not knowing them is… bad, to put it mildly. But the good news is; if you speak English, your basic grasp on grammar is more or less assured. It's next to impossible to not know something about grammar under those circumstances.

Now, nobody expects a fanfiction writer to be a grammar expert, but they must have the basic skills to converse to the reader. Converse properly, not converse inexpertly. Going through fics and trying to decipher what on earth that thing on the screen is? Not a fun way to spend your time.

Plus, if you are going to use English for any extended period of time in whatever way; this is obviously required. Come on, admit it.

Grammar is what you start with, and you must have a moderately thorough grasp of it before you start writing. If not, disaster strikes and people all over the world beg to have their eyes washed out. Which is just sad, I tell you. Imagine all the watery noses that will result in.

2.1.2 Spelling

Close, close companion to grammar. Most people tend to club the two together.

Spelling matters. It has massive psychological effect. Any person with average respect for language will automatically sneer at someone who cannot spell, and for good reasons. If you are coming in here and attempting to write a coherent sequence of events containing characters, themes and plots; you are expected to know how to spell. The reason for this is similar to the reason for anyone learning the word 'cat' before they learn the word 'sesquipedalian.'

Just like grammar, it's basic. Just like grammar, it can't be avoided. But unlike grammar, we have help with this.

For those of us who cannot for the life of them remember if it was I before or after E except after C. For those of us who don't know how many m's are in tomorrow and how many n's are there in banana. For those of us who at completely inappropriate moments have doubts regarding the correct spelling of 'loud'; Spellcheck is our knight in shining armor, and we have no reason to hesitate over screaming for help. So go on and do your distressed damsel (or dude) imitation and sit back and relax as squiggly lines appear all over your document. With suggestions!

However, there are some things your knight can't help you with. Spellcheck is quite simple in the head, really; and sometimes the suggestions you get look right, but are very, very wrong. Coarse can be confused with course, for example. Prophecy and prophesy are two different words and have different meanings. And in this case, you're on your own.

2.1.3 Punctuation

The third part of the holy trinity of writing basics is Punctuation. And as it is basic, everyone is again expected to know it, which makes explaining the application of punctuation to fics really, really awkward. But there are people here who seem to have no idea about how to use the things, so here comes another inexpert explanation (more of an introduction, really) on a few of the more common abuses;

The Comma. Often, it can be quite hard to determine where exactly to put them. A simple, if somewhat unscientific way of determining where a comma goes is to read what you have written out loud. Everytime you give a slight pause, a comma can be used. Everytime you stop the narrative for about half a second, you use the period/fullstop.

The Exclamation Mark. Extremely useful, this one. Especially in writing stories. It's one punctuation mark tailored for expression. A single exclamation mark can convey everything from anger to fear to hysteria to explosive laughter; probably more than you can do with an entire sentence explaining the same.

Multiple exclamation marks, on the other hand, merely serve to indicate the presence of a diseased mind. Stick to just one, and you'll go far.

Quotation Marks. These come in pairs, and serve to indicate dialogue. There's a massive set of rules involved in capitalization and usage of other punctuation marks when combined with quotation marks, which I will elaborate on if needed.

The Ellipsis: That's the term for those dots you put when you're milking the suspense (Eg: Annabeth stared at her ruined plans for the new Temple to Aphrodite and narrowed her eyes…) or doing any dozen other things. The ellipsis is as expressive as the exclamation mark, but subtler. The point to keep in mind when using it is that the dots come in threes. Not tens or twos. Threes.

Capitalization: (This one's stuck here because it has nowhere else to go.)The English alphabet has two cases; upper and lower. Proper nouns and new sentences start with capital letters. In other words, Percy is Percy, not percy.

Disclaimer: The person writing this Guide claims no real expertise with any of the above. However, she is moderately familiar with the same and this is an amateur guide so...

Also, ignore the x.y.z numerical notations. The person writing this thing can be slightly OCD when it comes to categorization.

Up next! Presentation: Paragraphing and Formatting.