Soon after I started this blog I let a few friends know about it. A few of them checked it out, gave me kudos. That was nice. Then a particular friend - let's just call him "Tim the Tool Man" to protect his identity - pointed out a couple tiny errors in one of my posts. One was an error in grammar, a misuse of quotation marks. The other was the context in which I referenced Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's 11 (I was writing about attributes of successful original screenplays and mentioned Ocean's as possessing those attributes. Though Ocean's did illustrate the point I was making, technically it was an adaptation of existing material, not an "original" screenplay by Ted Griffin).
Small transgressions. But I am a writer, and everything I write represents me to others, including people who can hire me. Small mistakes here and there add up, suddenly I come off as sloppy and unprofessional, and real pros don't work with people like that. Christian Bale knows where I'm coming from.
So in everything you write, it is crucially important that you remember EVERYTHING MATTERS - spelling, punctuation, proper grammar, syntax, tenses, etc. If you don't know or are unsure of a particular rule of grammar - look it up, learn it and then learn more. You're a writer, fer Christssake!
You never know who could be looking at any random message or post you may put online or anywhere else. Could be the person who could give you that first "big break" you've been hoping and dreaming for. If that person isn't impressed because they're a stickler for proper grammar, syntax and punctuation and you're all over the place... there goes your "big break".
You never know who could be looking at any random message or post you may put online or anywhere else. Could be the person who could give you that first "big break" you've been hoping and dreaming for. If that person isn't impressed because they're a stickler for proper grammar, syntax and punctuation and you're all over the place... there goes your "big break".
Small mistakes are too easy for most friends and family to overlook and forgive (they're just happy you managed to accomplish anything at all). But a good friend and critic - someone like Tim the Tool Man - will be detail oriented, blunt and honest. They will test your theories and pick your story apart like Perry Mason cross examining O.J. Simpson, and as a writer, you need that. That person is not being "picky", they are being helpful. They are holding you to the standards professionals will. In short, put your best foot forward, always. Then seek out honest, detailed feedback and be grateful for it, because people like Tim the Tool Man are indeed rare.
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