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Author Topic: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists  (Read 6101 times)

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Offline EffulgentFirefly

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Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« on: March 24, 2018, 11:29:48 AM »
Admittedly, I have't been here for too long, and I also haven't worked with a ton of people, so if any of this is wrong or you disagree, don't hesitate to say so. I've worked with a few writers and artists alike in the last little while, and it can be difficult knowing who to work with and who to turn down. If you're anything like me, you might poke around on a person's profile for awhile before you decide-and there are some major turn-offs I've found, not just here but anywhere where writers and artists gather. Here are my big ones:

1-Spelling/Grammar. This one probably gets under my skin the most, especially when someone is a writer. Though there are obviously reasons why someone isn't adept with language sometimes, when I see a writer make more than one or two posts with awful grammar or spelling, I'm immediately going to think that this person's writing will be of the same quality. It blows my mind how many writers on the internet make posts like this and assume people will choose them over someone else. I don't mean a spelling error here or there either-the entire post is full of mistakes. This somewhat applies to artists, but not in the same way.

2-Narcissism. This one applies to both artists and writers. It also tends to go hand in hand with spelling and grammar issues. There's a difference between promoting your work and being narcissistic, or being honest and being narcissistic. There are a whole variety of different ways you see this, but it's usually evident someone's giving themselves too much credit when they go on about how much better they are than others or say their work is perfect-stuff like that. At the same time, don't be self-deprecating, or try not to be, because that's also a turn-off for anyone willing to work with you. Just be as honest as you can about your skill level, even if it means taking a step back to reevaluate your work.

3-Self-Promotion Monsters. Truthfully, I haven't seen a ton of this here, but it tends to run rampant almost everywhere else. This sort of ties in with narcissism. Self-promoting in the right way at the right time can make you a lot of business or get your work out there, but too much self-promotion is a right turn-off, at least for me. Don't be a spammer with your self-promotion. Personally, I like to sit back and go with the flow rather than self-promote, but there is a middle ground between that and promoting yourself in all the right (and wrong) places and times. If you're going to promote yourself, don't be a monster about it.

This could be completely wrong, so tell me if it is! And are there more turn-offs out there I should avoid?
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Offline Kael Zencharia

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2018, 11:41:33 AM »
for me there's nothing wrong about your post,Me ofcourse can't really speak good english but yeah i write stories here in my country,People translate it to english etc,people should stop judging writers the way they use english grammar it should be how great the story the we're making.Not all artist can write good stories yeah know.

Offline Robin Rain

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #2 on: March 24, 2018, 03:16:49 PM »
The grammar thing can go both ways, but in either case, if you're planning to publish work it would be your best work to hire a proofreader or editor. Even pros make mistakes. I have to resist the urge to correct grammar/spelling/other errors in published novels (to take some white-out to the book pages lol).

But as for advertising your skills despite some errors, I say just be honest.

Offline Aimyraude

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #3 on: March 24, 2018, 03:47:34 PM »
I know how you feel about the grammar. But being a french canadian I can understand that some writer do a lot of mistakes because english is not their first language. That is, in any professionnal or published work there shouldn't be these kind of errors.

And yeah it's pretty hard to not go into the narcissism trap somehow you always want to say look i'm kinda proud of what i did then you feel like you are bragging it. Only then will you speak about your stuff so modestly that people will see it like if you were self-depreciating yourself SIGH... example i always present myself as an average artist and some people think i am being rude against myself but in fact as i see it i'm way far than what i could be in ten years if i kept working hard. In this way the person which began to draw and which i might look down to could be far better than me in ten years. So i prefer to say i am a good average artist.

Offline Coryn

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #4 on: March 24, 2018, 10:01:32 PM »
I think the balance can be summed up as "quiet pride". It's good to take value in what you have accomplished and feel good about your skills, but there's no need to get up in people's faces about it. We're all trying to get better, and we'll never do it if we think we've already achieved perfection, or if we feel like everything we write is trash. Gotta find that middle ground and you'll be so much happier with your work.


Honestly though, with the spelling/grammar thing. I understand that this is the internet and some things are sacrificed for convenience. But, if your posts are really that badly written, then there's no way you're pulling much off in your actual writing. Learning good writing rewires your brain. You can't just turn that on and off. Obviously the story is different if you post in English and write in your native language. Not here to bag on those people.

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Offline DeAngelus

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2018, 01:53:39 PM »
1- Proper grammar in early stage of development can be shoved aside as long as it doesn't break the story ... for a time being. Eventually, you will need to iron out all and if not as much of the grammatical errors made, especially in the final stages of storymaking. But it's worth fixing them early on every chapter or two just so that you'd relieve unnecessary workload. If you're doing proofreading(s) to see if the chapter is being written the way it should, you'd mind as well check for grammatical errors while you're at it.

2 and 3- It exist in a us to a small extent. Who wouldn't want to gloat about how good their work is by making an example out of them? However, if there's credibility/acclamation backing up their own work like having a hit in sales and deal with major publisher and being published, it's still worth taking into consideration, even if it stings (Show off ...). It wouldn't hurt you if you inquire examples other than their own works to get a better picture on what they're trying to point out. If they can give you that, then that's good and if not, then it's a good time to ignore this person because that's the kind of bad narcissist you'd want to avoid.
« Last Edit: March 25, 2018, 01:55:12 PM by DeAngelus »
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Offline EffulgentFirefly

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2018, 06:36:44 PM »
Grammar and spelling can definitely be looked over until publication, but I'm just a bit of a grammar nazi, haha. I definitely get the second language thing, because even though I'm technically bilingual, my French is pretty bad, and I've had countless Quebecois friends correct me. I don't think it's really fair to judge too harshly on language either... It's more just a pet peeve of mine. I'm glad to know that finding the balance between narcissism and treating your work as less than it is is a problem other people have though.
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Offline TEA

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #7 on: March 30, 2018, 08:13:30 AM »
Yeah I think you're right on the money with those turn-offs. You could boil this all down into lack of professionalism basically. If you treat it like it's a job application and foster a good online reputation it can go a long way.

Offline EffulgentFirefly

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #8 on: March 30, 2018, 10:29:33 AM »
Yeah I think you're right on the money with those turn-offs. You could boil this all down into lack of professionalism basically. If you treat it like it's a job application and foster a good online reputation it can go a long way.

That's a perfect way to put it, really. If you want to be treated professionally, you should act like it!
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Offline Pinkberry34

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #9 on: April 15, 2018, 05:54:06 AM »
Are we talking about the grammar used to just chat on the forums in the general areas or when people submit amateur stoties?

Offline KeanFox

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #10 on: April 15, 2018, 06:09:41 AM »
I think the original post mean writers that write scripts or novels with bad grammar.
is chatting with bad grammar is part of the turnoff, I'm not sure.

Offline Coryn

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #11 on: April 15, 2018, 09:06:33 AM »
Definitely when it comes to submitted stories. That's your writing after all. If you can't show your A game there, then you don't have an A game to show.

And also with regular posting, although this is obviously more lax. But really, I don't think I've seen anyone who doesn't let the quality of one differ too much from the quality of the other. If your posts are incomprehensible nonsense, then there's probably going to be a fair bit of that in your story as well.

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Offline Crackhead Johny

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #12 on: September 29, 2018, 07:03:39 PM »
Don't be self deprecating??
As a narcissistic sociopath that is the first go to in working people.

People loath, detest, revile, hate the smart (if you are having a bad day, some will even try to kill you for it). So to deal with this, self deprecate, self deprecate,self deprecate,self deprecate,self deprecate, never let up. Make it a funny joke on you. You never want to be seen as the smartest guy in the room.

Offline CookiePanda

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2018, 04:16:42 PM »
For me my pet peeves are ones that I think many people would share. I'm one of those people that will poke around a persons profile and visit their portfolio. I find myself unwilling to contact people who have no finished works posted. This is a bit ironic because the only finished works that I have are small pieces... I tend to get discouraged with larger projects. I also find myself disliking people who search for people to work on their projects without having completed a good portion of their project in advance. As an artist, I would find myself much more likely to work with a writer who had a few chapters written plus their outline/plan for the rest of the project than a writer who only has an idea.

My second pet peeve is deadlines... I can understand life getting in the way and the deadline needing to be moved back for emergencies or maybe the project being larger than expected but I feel I've been involved in too many partnerships where the partner never completes their side or they take a ridiculous amount of extra time. Ridiculous to me is when a 2 week deadline becomes 6 weeks with no respectable reasons being presented for the delay.

I'm a shameless self promoter btw. I heavily value critiques and I do my best to reciprocate but when working on a project I will often seek out people who I think may be able to give valuable advice or criticism I will go out of my way to contact them.

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Re: Turn-offs-Writers and Artists
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2018, 05:37:22 PM »
-removed-
« Last Edit: August 21, 2020, 01:37:25 AM by The SlamJam »