For those of you who don't know, I'm the Admin who cares deeply and probably far too passionately about grammar, spelling, and general writing quality. In real life, I work on a college newspaper (I was an editor there for a year before I stepped down) so I'm used to being rather strict about these things. That said, there are a few common mistakes that I'd love to see improved upon. Anyone who wants to butter me up (and who doesn't want to suck up to Kingy?) would do well to heed these words.

NEW: I found this great essay on Mary Sues. You should read it--it's both instructive and entertaining.

On style:

-Stick to the words you know. Leave the thesaurus alone.

-Focus on clarity. I'd rather read a short post full of one-syllable words than a long post I can't decipher because you've tried to sound 'archaic.' Or just impressive. Believe me, I'm not impressed when people misuse words.

-On the other hand... even if it's clear, please do not use 'dude' or 'guy' or 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend.' This terminology doesn't belong in a medieval setting! You can talk about men or fellows or comrades or comrades-in-arms or barbarian scum or gentlemen or servantmen; as for romantic entanglements, stick with 'lover,' 'beau,' ''suitor,' 'paramour,' 'sweetheart'... etc. All of these should work just fine.

-'Alot' isn't a word. 'A lot' is the proper term.

-'They're' = 'they are'. 'Their' = 'belonging to them.' 'There' refers to the location--i.e., 'not here.'

-'You're' = 'you are.' 'Your' = 'belonging to you'.

-'Its' = 'belonging to it.' 'It's' = 'it is.'

-'Pour over' is what you do with syrup and pancakes. 'Pore over' is what you do with a book.

-Apostrophes should only be used to signify ownership (or, obviously, in contractions). 'Aedan's horse.' Please don't write, for whatever reason, 'Aedans horse.' Likewise, don't write 'The horse's ran through the field.'

-Sentences that begin with 'Though' and a comma. Such as: 'Though, he as a smart boy.' Why is the 'though' there? There's no reason for its existence. Kill it. 'Though' ought never to be used at the beginning of a sentence, and most often it's used so incorrectly it couldn't even be replaced by the more acceptable 'although.'

Correct: 'Although she was still quite young, she decided she wanted nothing less than a marriage to the Lord Newbury.'

The above is an ugly sentence, in my opinion (why not just say 'Despite her youth'?), but it's not actually wrong.

'Though, she was still young, and she wanted to marry Lord Newbury.'

This sentence is actively incorrect, yet I see sentences like it all the time. Why? I have no idea. The comma after the 'though' is what's problematic. With that comma in place, the 'though' doesn't modify the fact that she's young.

The 'though'/comma issue is a major peeve of mine. I fear I've articulated it badly, so feel free to ask me questions about it.


On eyes (a topic I find somewhat important to address):

-Try not to describe eyes as any sort of gem. It's overdone and untrue to reality. I don't generally look at someone's eyes and suddenly think of a star sapphire or a crimson carbuncle or what-have-you. Or an orb. What's with this 'orb' thing? 'My orbs are burning' sounds like a venereal complaint.

-If your character's eyes are burning with the fire of a thousand suns, your character ought to get her- or himself some visine.

-I don't know about you, but my eyes don't tend to glow. If your character's eyes are glowing, secure the area and check for gamma radiation.

-In fact, why are you describing your characters eyes, anyway? Does it have relevance to the RP? Is it an important plot point?


Character types I can't stand:

-Beautiful, talented, marriageable women who inexplicably aren't married. If you have an explanation that's interesting and believable, that's something else.

-Feisty women who sit around moping, wishing they were men. If they were really that feisty, they'd get a little more creative. I know this site is restrictive regarding what women can and cannot do... but breathe some life into it! Have your woman subtly take charge of her husband's business, or manipulate the men to engineer things in her favor (that one's always fun), or use her sexuality as a tool. Oh? It's hard to RP subtle manipulation? Good! Women who wanted power did need to work hard, since they couldn't achieve it through traditional venues.

There's generally a tendency, I find, to create characters who seem, to all observers, as though they have flaws--except they're played as though their flaws aren't really flaws. I guess I'd call this a lack of 'self-awareness,' though it's really writer awareness of a character.

When I make a brooding, 'dark' character, I'm fully aware that his behavior may be a little ridiculous, and I let that inform my RP. I make it clear that he's immature, or hard to get along with, or unfriendly, or depressive. In my opinion, if people could remain aware of how their character comes off to others instead of idealizing the character--the 'Mary Sue'/'Gary Stu' would cease to be an issue.