Author's Note: This has been written without Admins' permission. Admins, if this is a problem, please PM me with the reason you'd like this removed, and I'll gladly do so.


Don't let the King's own post, The Grammar Guru's Pet Peeves fool you. Yes, if you want a good technical writing score on a paper being turned in to a teacher, listen to every single detail she gives.

However.

We also understand that sometimes, when you're writing for you, creative license takes control, and technicality takes a back seat.

Now, by no means is this a recommendation to go nuts with all sorts of e.e. cummings-style insanity. This is just to say that while Sam (the King) does have her personal preferences for how things should be written, they are just that. Preferences. If you are writing something to please her please be sure to stick with them. Being literal has its place though, and figurative and imaginative language has a place as writing tools as well.

Again, while it's recommended that you not go overboard, sometimes style takes precedence over technicality, and you will knowingly and willingly (or, perhaps unknowingly but still willingly) write something that flies in the face of the technical and the literal. So long as such a thing is clear and it is done with moderation--I cannot stress that enough--then we understand the occasional usage.

Note, however, that stylistic overrides of technicality and realism--i.e. eyes that are burning with the fire of a thousand suns, etc.--are not to be confused with grammatic warfare.

What is this 'grammatic warfare', you ask? Well, that's quite simple, dear reader. Grammatic warfare is inappropriate use of punctuation such as commas, apostrophes, colons, semi-colons, periods as well as capitalization and the various marks that have nothing to do with the content of the writing and instead of how it's delivered.

Everyone, to some degree, is guilty of grammatic warfare. I myself have a penchant for using waaaaay too many commas.

And just so we're clear, right above where I used 'waaaaay' was obviously not technically correct, but I chose to override technicality for the sake of style to get my point across. Not to mention how I began this paragraph with a sentence starting with 'and'. A technical faux pas, but my manner of writing is more stylistic, and I have a tendency to write how I speak. Again, so long as it's done in an understandable way and is done in moderation, it shouldn't be a problem.

So, just something for people to keep in mind. Not everyone needs to have the realistic accuracy of a technical manual, because the stylistic touches of individual writers is what makes some writers worth reading. We just ask that you keep from going overboard on such personal touches to the point that it dissociates the reader from the story and becomes a distraction rather then an enhancement.

If there are any questions or suggestions for the modification of this post, feel free to PM me and I'll definitely take it into consideration.

On a final note, to all of you who are reading this before having compiled your character sheet, enjoy, good luck, and welcome to Thiasa!