Common Grammatical Errors
William Akers beats you with the grammar stick – take it and like it! I’m stealing this (with full acknowledgment and links back of course) because sooo many students make these mistakes and frankly need to read this post. Mr. Akers if you want the text removed just let me know. I offer it as a valuable service only.
Proofread… Schmoofread!
Found these on line when I was looking for something for an article I’m doing for SCRIPT magazine. Thought you might like to see them, so you can pass them on to your proofreading challenged friends.
their (possessive form of they)
there (in that place)
they’re (contraction of they are)
accept (a verb, meaning to receive or to admit to a group)
except (usually a preposition, meaning but or only)
who’s (contraction of who is or who has)
whose (possessive form of who)
its (possessive form of it)
it’s (contraction of it is or it has)
your (possessive form of you)
you’re (contraction of you are)
affect (usually a verb, meaning to influence)
effect (usually a noun, meaning result)
than (used in comparison)
then (refers to a time in the past)
were (form of the verb to be)
we’re (contraction of we are)
where (related to location or place)
Nice to see ‘em gathered in one place.
Akers on Scene Description
William Akers
You’ve heard me go on about narrative economy in class, right? Well, when William Akers was born the Get To The Point Fairy happened to be passing and sprinkled a double dose of Get To The Point Dust on his little baby head. It’s true. Just read his blog posts. They Get To The Point and we love him for it. This one is about how much scene or action description to write and my introduction is almost as long as the post itself:
William Akers freebee!
Here’s a nice free opportunity from the good folks over at the Writers Store way down in the Land of Lala to have a workshop with the always entertaining and informative William Akers, author of one of my favorite screenwriting books: Your Screenplay Sucks. Did I mention it was free?
Rubber Stamp Misery! Learn 12 Mistakes Every Writer Makes
with William Akers
At a Glance
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“I’d read your book twice. I thought I’d fixed all this stuff. Thank you for saving my ass.”
- Austin seminar participant
When a reader reads your first page, they have no idea if you can tell a story. They can’t tell how fabulous you are at structure or character. But they sure know if you can write a clean, clear, concise sentence.
I’ve been critiquing screenplays for twenty years. I found that most writers make the same mistakes — any of which will give a reader pause. I see these writing gaffes so often, I had rubber stamps made to save time.
Rubber Stamp Misery! will eliminate these ultra-common mistakes from your action description and dialogue, saving the reader agony and heartache and keep her from wishing you’d done a tad more rewriting.
Where:
The Writers Store
3510 W. Magnolia Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91505
Product Details
- Date available: 07/05/2011
