Hypothetically, let's say you click on a story on YWS and lo! It has no grammatical or spelling errors. This is all very hypothetical, by the way.
What would you critique instead? Or would you critique at all?
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.
"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach
I rarely critique for grammar. The most important parts of a story are the characters, the dialogue, the plot, and the style. Grammar, for me, is something you take care of in your final revisions. Grammar is the technical stuff, the how. The art - and sometimes the part of a story that suffers most - is the what, the where, and the who.
-Kylan
"I am beginning to despair and can see only two choices: either go crazy or turn holy."
I tend to be big on grammar (and punctuation) when I critique a story, too. But as everyone else said, there is more to a story than the grammar. So, if a story has absolutely perfect grammar, and there's not even anything that you might quibble with stylistically, then I would just take it as a bigger challenge to help the person work on their other stuff. And be sure to congratulate the person on their amazing grammar!
I'd have to agree, it doesn't matter how perfect the grammar and spelling is, it doesn't make a great story. There is always something to critique--correct grammar just makes it seem more professional.
Well, I don't like critiquing grammar and spelling anyway, so I'd probably tell them to use a spell-check and tidy it up, then go on to the main depth of the piece. If it was atrocious, though, I'd tell them to sort it, and then come back later.
There's always been a lot of tension between Lois and me, and it's not so much that I want to kill her, it's just, I want her to not be alive anymore.
Nah, if a story has perfect grammar that means the story itself is perfect. Why on earth would I critique it? It's not like writing has more to it than grammar. Plot? Description? Psh. Irrelevant, so long as all the commas are in order. Really, Snoink. Really.
Colly
"My pet, I've been to the devil, and he's a very dull fellow. I won't go there again, even for you..."
I rarely critique grammar or spelling. I comment about how the story works, if the dialogue works, if it flows well, if it's enjoyable, if it's authentic, you know, if it's well-written. Well-written as if he uses words that match each other, that make the text just rush by, rather than making it a chore to read through.
there are many problems in our times
but none of them are mine
It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story. — Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
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