So, today I made the mistake of going on a writer's group I'm in on Facebook and mentioning how funny I think it is that I, a writer, don't actually know what a lot of grammar...ly... words mean. I've been told that I'm a really good writer, but if you asked me what an adverb, a proper noun, or a preposition was, I wouldn't be able to tell you. That's because I learned to write from reading, the same way somebody could learn to play an instrument by ear and not know how to read music or know the notes. That got...a less than enthusiastic reaction. Several people told me that you can't write well if you don't know things like that. One particularly disturbed person even went so far as to say that I can't write and that any story I wrote was "s--- I don't know smells" and that she feels sorry for any editor who has to work with me because not knowing what the words mean obviously means I lack even a basic understanding of grammar overall. Sorry, I just needed to vent. Not a lot makes me mad, but insulting my writing (insults, not criticism) is right there at the top of the list. Out of curiosity, is anybody else here in the same boat? You know how to write properly but you don't know any of the technical terms about how you do it?
Those folks sound a bit toxic. Not sure I'd stick around that writing group. I went a long time without grammar knowledge. It did not do me any favors. However, you write pretty well from what I can see. My suggestion would be to pick up the terms while you edit your own work, just for the sake of discussion and to deepen your understanding about certain things.
There's a reason I don't use social media for discussion. Facebook (noun) is (verb) toxic (adjective).
