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Spelling and Grammar:

One of the main criticisms with most novice writers is a disregard for the proper spelling and grammar. Yes, writing is a creative enterprise, but before you break the rules, you should at least know what they are. Nothing will draw a reader back out of a story faster than a glaring spelling or grammatical error. Learn the basics first. Invest in a good dictionary and thesaurus, the paper kind. And not one of those little pocket editions either.

Quotation Marks:

Learn to use quotation marks properly. Dialogue is a crucial element in most fiction, and deserves correct treatment. "Remember," he said, "that closing quotation marks go on the outside of the punctuation, not the inside."

Paragraphs:

Always use proper paragraphing! Paragraphs are NOT optional! It is extremely difficult to read a story which is simply one huge block of text. Not only is it hard to scan, but the lack of paragraphing creates confusion for the reader. Each paragraph in a story is a series of related thoughts; every sentence in a paragraph should relate to a single subject. If there is a new idea, begin a new paragraph.

Dialogue should be separated by paragraphs. Each time a different character speaks, this should start a new paragraph, even if it is only a single word.

Pronouns should be avoided in the first sentence of every paragraph when making reference to a person, place, or thing for the first time in that sentence. Use the full name of each person, place, or thing being referred to. Not only is this grammatically correct, but it helps to avoid confusion.

Punctuation:

Punctuation is your friend. It helps the flow of the words in the reader's mind, and it helps make the meanings clearer. Too much punctuation, however, is as bad as too little. Some of the most common errors made with punctuation are outlined below.

Punctuation [commas]:

Commas should be used to indicate a very brief pause in the flow of a sentence, and are normally used to link two related, incomplete thoughts (that is, to separate clauses in a complex sentence), to separate a list of items, or to separate adjectives and adverbs when there is more than one. Use commas sparingly. If there is any question as to its appropriateness in a given case, it is probably better not to use it. Too many commas can draw the reader's attention away and make a sentence difficult to scan.

Punctuation [semi-colons, colons, periods]:

Colons and semi-colons are vastly underused in most amateur fiction, when they could be used to great advantage. Do not be intimidated by them; their function is not a mystery, nor difficult to grasp. Colons and semi-colons are used to represent pauses in flow much the same way commas are used. A semi-colon (the ";" symbol) is a pause of "two beats," or about twice as long as you would pause for a comma. A colon (the ":" symbol) is a pause of "three beats," or about three times as long as you would pause for a comma.

Periods, also known as "full stops," represent a complete halt in the flow of a sentence, and are used to indicate the completion of a single thought.

Punctuation [elipses and elides]:

The elipse is possibly the single most overused punctuation mark by amateur (and many professional!) writers. The elipse is represented by three periods (or "pips") in a row ("..."). It is NEVER less than three or more than three. It is ALWAYS three.

An elipse is used to indicate an incomplete thought, and takes the place of a period. It should NEVER be used to represent a pause! If you wish to indicate a pause, a comma, semi-colon, or colon should be used instead. Generally, gramatically complete sentences should not end in an elipse. Only sentence fragments (those sentences which do not possess a subject, verb, and object) should end in an elipse.

Punctuation [question marks and exclamation marks]:

After the elipse, the question mark and exclamation mark are the most overused punctuation. It is almost never appropriate to use more than one exclamation mark, and it is NEVER appropriate to use more than one question mark. If you find yourself inclined to use more than a single exclamation mark, try describing the loudness of the sound instead; it will likely make for a better story.

When writing a rhetorical question in dialogue, it can be effective to avoid using the question mark. This nuance should indicate to the reader that the speaker is not actually asking a question, but is making a statement in the form of a question.

Punctuation [apostrophes]:

The apostrophe (the ' symbol) is used to show possessiveness or that a word has been concatenated. It is NEVER used to show that a word is plural! If one wishes to show possessiveness in a word which ends in an "s" then one adds an apostrophe, by itself, after the last letter. For example, to indicate that something belongs to Jess, one would use Jess'.

In a concatenated word, the apostrophe takes the place of the missing letter in the word. So, for example, "do not" becomes "don't."

There are certain exceptions, the most important as follows.

"Its" is used to show possessiveness. "It's" is a concatenation of "it is."

The possessive form of "her" is "hers."

Submission Guidelines

If you're reading this, you most likely have an erotic story or poem you'd like to share with our readers. We happily consider all stories and subject matter, but only if they follow the guidelines as presented here. Please take the time to read through this before submitting, as it will help you see your work published on the Web much sooner.

By submitting a story to Slutwives, you certify the following stipulations to be true:

• You are the sole creator of the submission;
• You are 18 years of age or older and legally able to write, submit and read erotic or pornographic material;
• You grant Slutwives the right to publish your submission as received by Slutwives.com.

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