Writing Does story really need to be grammatically correct?

PoorWordsmith

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Im currently writing a story.. currently editing the first chapter right now, does writing a novel needs to be grammatically structured and correct, even when it comes to punctuation/s? Grammarly said i got so many ERRORS.. namely punctuation, spelling like "Ahhh" to "Ah".. and word conciseness.. :blob_no: :blob_no: :blob_pat_sad: :blob_pat_sad:
 

Lomyril

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Short answer: Yes

Long answer: Imagine one person getting a hamburger from a fast food restaurant. They sit down to enjoy the burger inside the building, with a side of french fries and a soft drink.

Now the food is the story. Everything else around you is the structure and format of how the story is presented to you, the customer.

You have certain expectations for your experience, no matter which particular brand of restaurant you go to. There will be tables and chairs, there will be napkins and soft drink dispensers, and your hamburger will be wrapped up somehow in cardboard, or a thin paper wrap, or maybe even in a small plastic basket on top of some paper if it is one of the slightly higher class of fast food joints.

This all represents the quality of the grammar, spelling and atmosphere of the place. These are all comment elements you would expect from a place that sells fast food hamburgers... in other words, comment elements you would expect from a story someone has written.

The more of a mess the place is, the more you question the quality of the "food". Everything is easier to digest if certain expectations are met, after all. :s_smile:
 

Representing_Tromba

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Absolutely. The bare minimum should include at least the basics of grammar such as punctuation. Grammar can be subverted to enhance a story but the writer would need a deep understanding of grammar to pull it off well. Now, a story doesn't need to be perfect in its first draft. You will have grammar, spelling, and plot mistakes throughout the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and even sixth draft but it should be grammatically correct by the end. It's a learning experience but it is also a craft that needs to be honed through practice and study.
 

LilRora

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Generally this should be divided into two parts. First part is grammatical errors and typos, things that are just objectively wrong - there should be as little of those as possible. There are cases though when a purposeful alteration can achieve some specific, desired effect. This is especially relevant to dialogue, where you can purposefully insert grammatical mistakes to represent someone's specific quirks.

Apart from that, you can sometimes skirt that line between correct and purely wrong, especially if you're a narrator with personality, to get some specific effect such as tension (the easiest example I can think of is repeatedly using 'and' to list something out, which normally should be used once, maybe twice in a particularly long sentence). This is particularly useful in supernatural stories, but it's not limited to them.

With that said though, you should be careful with them, because unless you know very well what you are doing, it's very easy to make mistakes.
 

ElijahRyne

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Im currently writing a story.. currently editing the first chapter right now, does writing a novel needs to be grammatically structured and correct, even when it comes to punctuation/s? Grammarly said i got so many ERRORS.. namely punctuation, spelling like "Ahhh" to "Ah".. and word conciseness.. :blob_no: :blob_no: :blob_pat_sad: :blob_pat_sad:
Do the best you can, but sometimes Grammarly hallucinates so take its suggestions with a grain of salt.
 

TheMonotonePuppet

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Im currently writing a story.. currently editing the first chapter right now, does writing a novel needs to be grammatically structured and correct, even when it comes to punctuation/s? Grammarly said i got so many ERRORS.. namely punctuation, spelling like "Ahhh" to "Ah".. and word conciseness.. :blob_no: :blob_no: :blob_pat_sad: :blob_pat_sad:
Grammarly will often say something is not correct, when it actually is. If someone is screaming, “Ahhh” is more appropriate than “Ah”. Conciseness function is the bane of my life and often removes emotional character from things. And sometimes, they are wrong on punctuation too. Sometimes, it will point out a mistake that you have already fixed! You need to have enough understanding of grammar to decide which suggestions are right on your own discretion.
But in answer to the question, yes, grammar is hella important and if you receive multiple errors every 1-3 sentences, something is wrong.
 

ChrisLensman

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Grammar is extremely important. Nothing makes people drop a story faster than horrendous grammar and sentence structure.

HOWEVER, what Word considers a mistake and what is actually a mistake are two very separate things. Spellcheck and AI can help you but in the end, nothing replaces the tried and true method of 'asking someone to proofread for you'.
 

RiaCorvidiva

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I am a stickler for good grammar and prose that flows well, and while it does need to read well enough to not actively detract from the reading experience, the typical writer of web serials cares less about perfect prose and flawless technical grammar than in the traditional sphere. I would say that I am among the more strict on this site in that regard in terms of what I will read and/or drop.

Of course, even the most fluid and beautiful verbiage will fail to attract any audience should the characters, plot, and story be lacking.
 
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