So how do I learn to write? Page 11

Quote: Griff @ August 5 2009, 11:30 PM BST

Agreed. Writing is all about communicating what you mean to say. The problem comes when what you write down is not actually what you mean to say, because your punctuation has got in the way. Once that's fixed, verb-subject agreement and split infinitives are wholly optional.

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Yup. So it boils down to what we all have said mainly, write... look at what you have written... and write it better, i.e. purity of expression as best you can cos that's the job, writer, artist, fiddle player.

Quote: Griff @ August 5 2009, 11:52 PM BST

I am not at all sure that is what everyone has mainly said but never mind.

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Maybe not, but that's it.

If SootyJ has dyslexia, then it's not a matter of him just being lazy or not checking enough. His mistakes with punctuation probably come from genuinely not being able to see what he is doing wrong (although amongst the greater population he isn't doing that much wrong.) Dyslexia used to be described as word blindness and from what I understand it often involves just not being able to see what is wrong.

Personally I think he may benefit from just learning it all over, at his own pace and then applying it. It will mean he will have to work slower and much harder, but it may all become second nature.

Quote: Griff @ August 5 2009, 11:11 PM BST

Sooty - sorry to be talking about you as if you're not here. But having read many of your scripts and enjoyed them, I would really be pleased to see you learn to present them more readably.

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Oh no problemo the advice has got even more useful since you guys got on with it, with out me.

I think I've decided to have a pop at City Unis english skills through creative writing course.

Quote: Badge @ August 5 2009, 11:16 PM BST

It's sootyj! J!

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Huzzah! Fancy being my Sancho Panza?

Just out of interest, how old are you Sootyj?

Older than a cabbage but younger than a mountain.

Well ok 30 something.

Did you not have testing and help at school/uni?

Erm I was in school during the darker Thatcher era, I got handwriting lessons for 3 months and that was that. I got diagnosed after doing a Uni course a few years ago.

Back when I was a lad, not every child mattered.

This will probably prove completely useless to you but I just thought you might find it interesting or it may help you see where the problem lies for you and therefore maybe make it a little easier in working a technique out for yourself.
A book on dyslexia by Snowling (prominent dyslexia researcher)

http://tinyurl.com/ktl7dj

A reasonably interesting article (Paragraph 6 is the bit I thought might be most interesting) http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/bb/neuro/neuro01/web3/Slaughter.html

I dunno, I hope it helps in some way but I'm sure you've done plenty of research already.

Adam

Quote: Badge @ August 5 2009, 11:01 PM BST

Aren't Leevil and Putters in Blyton's "Secret Eighth"?

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Annnnnnnnnd, just got that!

Quote: Leevil @ August 6 2009, 2:21 AM BST

Annnnnnnnnd, just got that!

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Sort of proves the point...

Quote: The Giggle-o @ August 6 2009, 1:46 AM BST

http://books.google.com/books?id=7BGpoZPXWjgC&pg=PA138&lpg=PA138&dq=snowling+dyslexia&source=bl&ots=3yYpRduKda&sig=aZ1URNL2OLhSCWMshrP805OLdmM&hl=en&ei=KCV6Sq-yFdHD-Qb7yP04&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2#v=onepage&q=&f=false

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Hi Adam

Use http://tinyurl.com/

... turn the above long URL - into this > > http://tinyurl.com/ktl7dj

Thank you. I am not very good with these sort of things and many others.

Quote: sootyj @ August 4 2009, 12:13 PM BST

Ok this for once from me is a fairly serious question. Having been reevaluating some of my writings over the last couple of years I'm figuring one of my big problems is my poor English skills. Seriously from grammar and punctuation to lousy structure. And I'm beginning to feel for me this is a real stumbling block. This sort of goes above and beoynd the dyslexia.

So how do I improve on it? What would be a good course of study? I found that beginners English courses weren't that helpful and comedy writing courses didn't help with this problem.

I'd like to do some sort of course in professional writing or journalism part time over a couple of years or possibly screen writing. What do you my fellow writers recommend?

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Funny is funny despite any clerical mistakes or mispspelling, grammar or punctuation etc in my opinion.

If you can make someone laugh your good enough already

Basic grammar is useful to get the right idea across - commas in the right place can make a big difference.

However I wouldn't know a declension if I fell over it.

Quote: Badge @ August 5 2009, 11:04 PM BST

I suppose there is a first time for everything.

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