Proofreading Stories

[Poor Horatio]

I offer this post with the deepest and sincerest thanks to all the amazing authors on this site. Your collected works bring me great joy and pleasure. I am the product of an excessively strict educational experience; as such, issues of spelling, grammar and punctuation are for me irresistible distractions. One tiny example would be biceps. The singular for biceps is biceps. There is no such word as bicep. See? Excessive. Never the less, I find myself proofreading and editing works to achieve the suspension of disbelief required of the immersed reader. When authors ask for comments would it be appropriate to offer a private reply of text corrections or is that just taking things too far? Authors, please let me know your thoughts and consider perhaps including your personal preferences in your requests for comments. I hope this post is received with the respect I intend.

[niko777]

I absolutely understand you, since I am a bit "excessive" too... when it comes to french. I'm not good enough in english yet to be able to correct other people's texts. I think it would be all right to offer a private reply of text corrections as long as it is not written too rudely (ex: that sentence was really shitty because...). I don't know about the others, but I think that understanding my mistakes could help me get better. This post was received with the respect you intended.

[arpeejay]

I think it's a hopeless cause, to tell you the truth.

I'm glad that people write, period. Having said that, I've long since learned that some people's stuff I just can't read because of spelling, punctuation, grammar, text block density, and, on occasion, overuse of dialogue quirks that just ruin it for me. (And my educational upbringing was far from strict, I'm just an avid reader!)

The writers who write a LOT tend to improve with time.

For what it's worth...

Richard

[Poor Horatio]

Thank you niko777 and Richard. I realize my main concern is the decorum of using private messages to offer criticism. Your responses have helped me resolve this concern. I am appreciative.

[Poor Horatio]

Thank you niko777 and Richard. I realize my main concern is the decorum of using private messages to offer criticism. Your responses have helped me resolve this concern. I am appreciative.

[Poor Horatio]

And again with the double posting. I will try hard to find the cause of this problem; I am sorry.