Good advice Tezza, what Lit. professors are looking for doesn't matter to anybody but themselves. This isn't University, we don't need to follow their rules. We all have our own rules, and likes and dislikes of styles, none of us are ever going to please everyone. We don't have to.
I wrote this ramble below out with Paul in mind but it's aimed at all who may be timid to post due to lack of confidence in their 'writing style' or out of fear of criticism.
(I thought I'd lost it when a previous thread closed before I submitted it but have found most, and fixed the rest, so seems a shame to waste it...
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Regarding the problem some people have trying to fit written expression into some pre-ordained format of rules.... just forget all that crap!
Who exactly are "today's writers" and what gives them the right to tell you how to write? There is no reason at all that you "can't write your way."
Just as it's up to the reader whether they bother to read it or not, it's up to you to choose how you write it.
There is only one thing anyone needs to consider when writing anything.
Who are we writing it for?
Ourselves, or for others?
If it's only for ourselves and our own satisfaction then it doesn't matter if it's intelligible to anyone else or not.
If it's for others to read then we must decide what kind of audience we are aiming our writing toward and try when we can, to adapt the 'language/style' to engage them in a way of speaking that is familiar, and easily understood by them.
We only write for others to engage their attention. Either to inform or to entertain. It's their understanding of what we want to say that is the only priority. 'Formal', or 'perfect' writing is unutterably boring to read even when it does have a point, and it is never, ever, 'entertaining' and very unlikely to be read at all. They will never understand the point of a post that is too boring to read.
This is a forum of chatters. It's the perfect place for you start out and gain confidence, no one is marking your papers, there are no prizes for gettin' it right. We're just here to discuss what's going on in the world around us, and 'talking' among ourselves.
Your audience here are middle of the road people with some time on their hands, the 'default audience' as it were. There are all levels of education and language skills, not everyone even spoke English as a first language, we are very flexible about typos and strange phrasing, we just want to read what people have to say. .
Writing is like any other craft, some are better at it than others. The point you want to get across is the nail, your writing is the hammer. You don't need to do a detailed study of how the hammer is constructed to be able to swing it. Just get that damned point hammered in and if it goes a bit sideways it doesn't really matter, as long as it's 'in'. You can straighten things out later.
You won't find a better place to practice than here. Take advantage of it, don't waste it by obsessing over 'perfection'.
If it's a tongue in cheek subject, then use the vernacular, the way you would if you were telling a joke. (a clean one preferably.
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If you are writing a little more formally, explaining an opinion or idea, then keep in mind that the only reason for writing it at all is to get your point across.
Keep it to that point and don't confuse the reader with apologies and explanations of preferences and rules of phrasing.
News flash! They really don't care! They just want to know
what the hell you are talking about, not about
how you are talking about it.
How do you carry on a conversation in normal life? Do you say something and then go into a detailed explanation of why you put the words and phrasing into that particular order, and who told you to, after every sentence?? Or do you just say it and wait for a reply??
Why would you presume that writing something, at least at forum level, is any different to simply saying something? We all have different idioms and vocabularies but it's just chatting, we're not all Eng.Lit graduates or grammar nazis.
We don't have to be! And nor do you. Just 'talk' to us!
.... about anything except how we
should write!
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