RK Wallis's latest activity

I had to learn English in a German school -- as a native English speaker in a class of Germans. As in, I had to learn 'I am, you are, he/she/it is...' It was so excruciatingly boring that I would drift off into daydreams. But the teachers...

Meanwhile, I learned there was a difference between who and whom from Castle :rolling-on-the-floor-laughing:

I was not taught grammar in school. It was dropped from the Australian school curriculum before I started; they thought we would learn it by osmosis. (Spoiler: you don't.) Having to learn it all as an adult has been a slow and steady grind. I...

Yep, the use of punctuations such as commas and semi-colons only seems like common sense when you actually know how to use them.

I'm definitely not fetishizeing grammar. Mine's just so bad from years of not caring about it at all, that now I can take all the practice I can get. And in fact, by being aware of it, all the time, I have gotten better. It was absolutely...

Finished things cease to be a shelter for the spirit; but work in progress is a delight. Max Frisch

Shall we eat, Uncle Jack? Shall we eat Uncle Jack?

I'm not saying we don't know grammar, but when you write your mind and fingers sometimes don't cooperate. When that happens, don't sweat the grammar besides: Where do scripts go wrong, language-wise, beyond the points already covered? Here I...

I second this. I've done it and then edited my MS beyond recognition. Kept telling myself I needed to do it because I can't edit clutter and I didn't want to put a reader through a mess. However, through over a decade of critiquing, I've learnt...

For me it's a long hot shower. I call it my ideas temple. Solutions to problems I didn't even know I had come to me in the Ideas Temple. haha.

I agree except for your point 1. Line-editing (i.e. punctuation) should come after a structural edit (unless you're submitting to a competition or something). Reason: in your structural edit you most likely will delete scenes, chapters, big...

Hi @RedSquiggle and welcome! Many of us have been/are in your situation. I can only advise that you keep working on honing your craft - and this includes getting feedback on your opening chapters/full manuscript/query letter/synopsis. Then send...

Yes, I think knowing the why of your work is important (for me, anyway) in establishing that voice. I have a lot of obligations, so I have to have a reason to write a story beyond just wanting to spin a yarn.