Spelling/grammar peeves

D

David W. Richardson

Chapelgrove Films
I'm sitting here looking at a book about screenwriting, and it makes me very sad and angry. Why? Because right here on page 64, the heading of a section reads (in GREAT BIG BOLD LETTERS): "How to Know If You're Original Idea Is Truly Original". How sad that a book on WRITING could not know the difference between "You're" and "Your". Sigh....

I've come to expect ignorance like this in the 'real world'. Just outside my office there's a sign on a door that says that bags may be searched, and this "includes but is not limited too gym bags...." "Too"??? Sigh....

I constantly read phrases like "these are the people that do so-and-so." Not "that" -- "who". These are the people WHO do so-and-so.

There seems to be a love affair with the apostrophe too. I keep seeing signs like "Flower's and Gardening". People are paying good money to have signs like this made, or books like the one above published. It's a shame they aren't getting their money's worth.

Whenever I read a script, I always cringe at the misspellings, grammar mistakes, and punctuation errors -- even before I start dealing with dialogue, plot, characters, etc. For some reason it seems like writers of these scripts don't think it's important to learn English, grammar and spelling. They think as long as their story is great, then nobody should care about misspelled words.

Please, writers, I beg of you -- if you don't have good spelling and grammar, and don't want to take the time to master it, then PLEASE pay someone to proofread your script for errors before you send it to anyone.

That's my little rant. Thanks for your patience!
 
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Well I'm not a native English speaker so I hope you'll cut me some slack. My life is grammatical error.

But I'd be interested to know what that book said about determining if your idea is original.
 
I always cut slack to people for whom English is a second language. But if you write a script and are prepared to have people read it, then you need to have it proofread and corrected by someone well versed in English spelling and grammar. Otherwise, it just looks unprofessional and illiterate.

Mind you, I don't expect the same from postings on forums. Here the ideas matter more than the technicalities, in my opinion.

As far as the question of how you can know if your idea is original -- the short answer is "You can't." The book says you should do as much research as possible -- "due diligence". But in the end you can't be absolutely sure.

The book is "The Complete Idiot's Guide To Screenwriting", if you're interested.
 
I have a question for you and want you to know that I am not a writer. I'm not sure what I am, but how does one create the feel of a character that sounds a certain way like and idiot or rough and tough guy when they use bad language?

Is it Ok to just spell bad when a character is speaking, put in parenthesis or something?
 
Only when speaking and then can be dodgy. I have tried but these days avoid using this type of approach. Why? Because the reader may get that you are trying to make the person sound as they should. But they could also read and think it's an error.

To be fair, never try and proof read your own work. It is simply impossible. I read mine over and over again and miss the same mistakes. I just get caught up in the story and characters (trying to tweak and improve) and the mistakes just walk past me.

If you can get someone to proof read. But then again. If they miss or makes mistakes, you look bad.

The world of a writers....
 
"...character that sounds a certain way like and idiot or rough and tough guy when they use bad language?"

A quick search of the "internets" will show that our president has the qualities that you define. A good first stop in your research would be to see how the press handle his bafoonerisms in text. :)
 
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sputnikslim said:
"...character that sounds a certain way like and idiot or rough and tough guy when they use bad language?"

A quick search of the "internets" will show that our president has the qualities that you define. A good first stop in your research would be to see how the literate press handle his one man bafoonerisms in text. :)
Click to expand...

Not just that, he's also a source of some good film titles.
"Smoke 'em out" (A millennial version of Cheech and Chong)
"Wanted dead or alive" (I'm thinking a Jon Bon Jovi Biopic)
"Mission accomplished" (MI4?)
"I'm the Decider" (A fantasy epic about a affluent simpleton who finds a magic ring with the power to destroy the world)

Our president is like the Rosetta Stone for screenwriters if you think about it.
 
A new misspelling epidemic has emerged in recent years. It's called:

Spellcheck!

The following completely mangled sentence passes spelling and grammar check in MS Word without a hitch:

"Were diving don the street weigh to fest, tying too loose that cop's, when al if the sodden they're tar blue out!"

Unbelievable...

Corrected, it would be:

"We were driving down the street way too fast, trying to lose the cops, when all of a sudden their tire blew out!

Has anyone come up with something that can handle stuff like that?
 
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I'm with you Ted. We need a mind-reading spellcheck -- one that knows what you meant to say. :)

As for the dialogue question -- grammar errors are completely okay in dialogue IF the person talking is using bad grammar. And I frequently change spellings of things like "gotta" instead of "got to", "an'" instead of "and", etc. It helps differentiate between the characters, and also conveys something about the character's personality.

I used to write my dialogue 'properly' -- such as, "I have got to go to the store." Then I'd tell my actors to feel free to make it sound more comfortable and natural. What I discovered, though, is many actors will feel compelled to say it as it's written -- so while I wanted them to say "I've gotta go to the store", they would deliver the line as "I have got to go to the store." So that's one reason I started writing it the way I wanted to hear it delivered.
 
I couldn't agree more. I grew up in a grammar-Nazi home, and I hate when people don't take the time to proofread their stuff. The "your" and "you're" thing has always bothered me.
 
All screenplay writing needs to demonstrate a command of English, not only with spelling and grammar, but with vocabulary as well.

How many times have I seen a fistful of useless adjectives used to describe an action, place, or person when one or two carefully chosen words could do the job, and often with more impact.

Example:

INT. LOBBY - DAY

The room has lots of dead plants and stuff, and there are cobwebs in the corners. The trash cans are full.

As opposed to ...

INT. LOBBY - DAY

Long neglected.

From here the set designer will do the rest based on the needs of the scene, and the films budget.

Or this …

MORT FORGO, late 50s, mean and nasty with a look of anger on his face, and dressed in all black leather clothes, is opening the door …

As opposed to …

MORT FARGO, late 50s, cantankerous and leather-clad, opens the door …



Equally important is to really understand the rhythm of English. It is this rhythm that carries the ‘tune’ of the writing and the story, so let those syllables dance.

As concerns dialogue, there a few approaches.

If your character speaks English as their first language, you could write their dialogue as you want them portrayed. If they are ‘dumb as a stump’, then their dialogue should reflect that. Just don't let it come across as contrived or stereotypical.


In the television series Strong Medicine, for example, Jennifer Lewis’ role as the receptionist indeed comes across as stereotypical - and nauseating.

You could, for arguments sake, introduce your character as ‘dumb as a stump’ and write all dialogues in one voice. I personally prefer to write dialogue that fits the character.


If your character speaks broken English, has a strong accent, or any type of speech impediment such as a stutter, mention that in the character’s introduction and let the director and actor take it from there. There is no need to write in broken English. That can really slow a read, and take away from the actor's interpretation of the character. Others differ on this. Your call.


While not my favorite film, The Princess Bride is great example of each character having distinct voices via their dialogues.

The biggest travesty in dialogue these days is the love affair with the F word. Way too much Grand Theft Auto has worked its way into spoken English (or visa-versa?), and way too many screenplays rely heavily on just such garbage.

BRUTUS
F you man.

THE OTHER BRUTUS
What the F man? This is F’d up!

2ND BRUTUS’ HO
Both you F’s is F’d up. Shut the F up.

U Turn is a great example in which some truly gritty characters and scenes were portrayed, and did not fall back on the ‘word of least resistance’ to do it, and do it well.

Bottom line is, if you are going to write screenplays in English, you need to have a firm grasp of its mechanics. If writing is not your strong suit, have it proofed.

The film’s final result will be that much better.

Alex

www.alexwhitmer.wordpress.com
 
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chapelgrovefilms said:
Whenever I read a script, I always cringe at the misspellings, grammar mistakes, and punctuation errors -- even before I start dealing with dialogue, plot, characters, etc. For some reason it seems like writers of these scripts don't think it's important to learn English, grammar and spelling.
Click to expand...

I'm so glad you used a proper em dash!
 
Grammatical errors will always occur, even in the work of self-professed grammatical pros.

I'm not a fan of the current crop of lazy grammar, but a good script is a good script. Great grammar isn't going to do much to pump up a bad script. However, bad grammar will not kill a great script for me. That would be foolish.

Just my .02
 
A writer who can't correctly use the language in which he writes, is no better and not much different, from a carpenter who does not know how to handle or utilize a hammer.

Or, for another comparison, imagine a DP who can't find focus, who does not know how to load his camera, or where to find the 'record' or 'run' button - but still calls himself a DP. Would you laugh at him? Probably.

A writer who can't be bothered to learn spelling, punctuation and basic grammatical rules, is very much the same.
 
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I'm personally the spelling error masta of typoness.

Sometimes I try and take the time, but most of it is spazz typing. I can care less if someone has spelling or grammatical errors as long as I get thier meaning; I'm not grading them.

Does this translate to greatness as a filmmaker or an artist ?

Due to a poor 70.1% high school grade point average, a class rank of 44 out of 509, a future in college was not foreseeable for young Stanley Kubrick.


In fact, I'd think many, many artists, from filmmakers to actors, musicians and traditional art (oil on canvas) are cut from a different vein educationally. They tend to use a different part of their brain.

Submitting a screenplay ? Of course, get it proofed.

Tarantino is a high school drop out
Spielberg failed to make the cut in college (and got horrible grades in High School)

I'm a bit off topic I know

Famous High School dropouts.

http://www.hereinreality.com/drop_outs.html
 
I'm not a writer, however, if I am reading a script with loads of grammatical errors, it definitely lags the pacing while I'm reading the story.
Some mistakes I think I can tolerate and over look, but, things like:
"THERE" "THEIR" "THEY'RE"
"TOO", "TWO" and "TO".
"WEATHER" and "WHETHER"
"WE"RE" and "WERE"
shouldn't be mixed up. The words have the same phonetic sounds, yes, however, they mean different things.

May I suggest some reading?
Too bad, I'm doing it anyway.
Please read this book.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eats,_Shoots_&_Leaves
 
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