Grammar Guide
We’re going to try to put the fun back into posting at a moderated archive. It can be very frustrating to receive a long letter for corrections or to get rejected when uploading something you’ve worked very hard on. There are several variations of grammar rules in many books. Many things are minor and do not detract from the actual reading of the story, so we are going to strive to bypass those things to make your uploading experience a better one.
However, please do NOT upload something that hasn’t seen a beta. Everything must be passed by a credible beta please. You can always go to our yahoo!group or our live journal to see if anyone would mind being a second set of eyes for you.
There are ten main things we will scan a story for (besides typos). Please review the following things that we will be looking for when working stories in queue.
1. Canon spelling
--Please use proper canon spellings.
--Examples are:
Voldermort [should be: Voldemort] tried to take over the Ministry.
The boys drank several bottles of butter beer [sb: butterbeer].
2. Dialogue punctuation
--You must use a comma between dialogue and its speech attribute.
--Examples are:
She said, “My Floo is connected to the Ministry.”
“My house is just down this lane,” he replied.
--You must use a period when ending dialogue and then starting a new sentence (with a capital letter). --Examples are:
“My Floo is connected to the Ministry.” She smiled politely.
His reply was bitter. “My house is just as nice as your house!”
3. Direct address commas
--When a speaker directly addresses the person they are speaking to, please set that name off with commas.
--Examples are:
“Yes, Hermione, you may leave work early.”
“Just visit him for a little while, Harry.”
4. Run-on sentences
--Please do not connect complete sentences with a comma. Use other punctuation.
--Examples are:
Wrong:
The boys played Quidditch all day long, then they went out to a pub.
Right:
The boys played Quidditch all day long; then they went out to a pub.
or
The boys played Quidditch all day long. Then they went out to a pub.
or
The boys played Quidditch all day long, and then they went out to a pub.
5. Commas between like modifiers
--Please use a comma to separate like modifiers (adjectives).
--Examples are:
The big, ugly, smelly troll looked around before spotting his prey.
Azkaban is located in the midst of a harsh, cold sea.
6. Commas that set off parenthetical phrases and appositives
--Please use commas to set off any phrase that tells more about something else in the sentence.
--Examples are:
The boy, who had the striped shirt on, called the Aurors for help.
Ginny’s older brother, Percy, showed up for dinner at the Potter home.
7. Commas with certain introductory elements
--Please set off long introductory phrases (five or more words) with a comma.
--Please set off verbal introductory phrases with a comma.
--Examples are:
In the growing morning light, she saw that she was not alone after all.
Eating her food quickly, she tried to prepare for her day.
8. Semicolon usage
--Please only use a semicolon when starting a new sentence or in a long, convoluted series.
--Examples are:
Right:
Ron ate as much as he could; anyone else would have exploded.
Wrong:
Ron at as much as he could; as always.
Right:
There were several people there: Fred, who was with his wife; George and Angelina; Percy, who normally came alone but had brought a date; Bill; Fleur and her sister; and the Potters.
9. Colon usage
--You can use a colon when listing something (whether it’s a new sentence after or not).
--Examples are:
She cooked various dishes: roasted chicken, green bean casserole, jacket potatoes, and a chocolate pie.
He was undecided: Should he have the beef or the pork?
10. Formatting
--Please check over your formatting
*one space between paragraphs only
*start a new paragraph when switching between character dialogue/action
--Example:
Ginny thought about what Draco had said, and she then realized that Harry would find more happiness with Malfoy than she could ever hope to give him.
“What are you thinking about, Gin?” Harry asked.
“Malfoy,” she replied, frowning.
Formatting of spells should be as follows: if it's a chanted spell (spoken or thought), then it should be italicized. Otherwise, it should be left as is.
example:
He cast a Lumos.
He said, "Lumos!"