I have this story that I used to tell people as a pass time - kinda like a bard would. It kept progressing and progressing year by year. It all started from a dream I had. Trough the last 10 years I've had this dream continue into an amazing story. Yes this dream of mine kept continuing from where it left off. - it's no longer short enough to tell to people by talking and needs to be written down; but I'm not sure if I have the skills to do it. I have the characters, the settings, and the worlds down pact. I also have the scenes together in my head better than watching a movie scene for scene. English is my 3rd language and I think I'm under-educated in grammar - I'm not sure if my English is good enough to tackle something so big. But I'm not sure how the whole writing a book works - is there someone that would help me make sense of how this would work? would I need to work with like an underwriter or ghostwriter or co-author. I'm really not sure where to start (or what these words really mean) but I know I have something big here.
Well, you have an idea- step 1. If you're not comfortable with English grammar rules and such, then go with something you'll be comfortable using. Don't let pesky rules slow you down, and remember, books can always be translated later on by people who are paid to do that. If your grammar isn't great overall, in English or otherwise, then don't sweat it if you make mistakes in writing. That's what drafts are for. You can have someone read it over and tell you if something is unclear, and then when the thought is down on paper, you can alter it as it needs to be. The first time, only you and maybe a few other people will read it, along with the second time, third time, and maybe the fourth time. It's only when you go to get it published that you have to make sure it flows in terms of grammar.
Yeah, I think grammar is to a certain degree unimportant; as long as you're actual writing flows and your words have character then, as was said above, there are people (probably editors) who ensure that your grammar's correct (even people who know it make mistakes), and it probably won't have too much impact on your writing (just like the deliberate "you're" above probably didn't have much impact on the point of this paragraph ) If you feel your writings not brilliant, then practice makes perfect; you could also take classes in english language, english lit and creative writing. But even some well-selling authors don't have fantastic technical ability, but have a big imagination and a good story.
"... grammar is ... unimportant..."? Whoa! I nearly had a heart attack when I read that! Although a good copyeditor can help clean up syntax and language errors, grammar is hardly unimportant. And, if you rely on a copyeditor to do all the work for you, your ms will lose a lot of the flow and rhythm you intend for it. As JPGriffin said, if you are not wholly comfortable with English, fall back on a language with which you are more comfortable. Once you get into publication, a publisher who wants American rights will have it translated for you. As a copyeditor, myself, I have seen some truly abominable language and construction and it is clearly evident that the author was illiterate. Wading through such a nightmare is not only unfair to one's manuscript but it tends to jack up the cost of copyediting services. And, if all of this is not addressed prior to submitting to an agent or publisher, chances are it will get a U-turn rejection. Publishers' in-house editors are not in the business of fixing a writer's gaffe's and flubs and incoherent writing. For the most part, their work is focused on jacket copy. An agent or publisher expects a writer's work to be, if not completely in publication-ready form, then at least pretty darned close! (btw, krisdoce, congratulations on your generally fine grasp of a second, second language. Most English speakers in America seem not to have a very refined grasp of it as a first language!)
I had the same thing a dream that spans a very long time and made a world , story and many other storys. Unlike you, I am native English speaker but like you it is hard for me and so is grammar so dont worry even us who spend their whole lifes don't get it always
AA thing acured to me, why not write it in your native language and then have it translated, depinding on how who you ask you may not spend that much heck i knew one guy who did it free as extra credit for his collage all for free to a whole book Depining on the langue there may be some not so consetent thingds after words but then edit it.
I think what I was trying to get at is that it's not the worst thing in the world if your grammar isn't 100% because there are things that can be done to change and improve that; having a top-class story idea is much much more valuable. By the time it reaches the reader it needs to be correct, but it's just something that needs to and can be learnt and understood. My grammar probably isn't correct in every instance
If you're having trouble turning it into an actual story, just think about the dream, write every single thing down, re-read, re-vise, and go from there. That should help you get started by just jotting down the events in your dream.
Oh, Thank you, texico. I was truly worried that a writer would think grammar was unimportant. I hoped there was something 'lost in translation' as it were. I hate when I write off the cuff and, later, when I read what I've posted I think, "Oh, God, no! That sounds so wrong." Yeh. It's far more important to be able to craft a cohesive and engrossing story. And you are correct that things can be done to correct the problems. (If not, I'd be out of work!) But I've heard so many people who actually either believe that grammar is totally unimportant to the writing process or they just don't realize their lack of comprehension of grammar. Even first language speakers. Far less concern for me is spelling, which is more readily corrected through judicious use of spellcheck. I had a friend who was a brilliant woman but couldn't spell worth a darn. first time I went into her office I laughed out loud. There, front and center among a selection of books on the front edge of her desk was "The Poor Spellers Dictionary"! If you know you have a problem, you can correct it. If you ignore it, it's a problem forever.
