Do you ever wonder...

Do you ever wonder what the reader thinks of your book? Do you ever worry they will catch every little thing that is wrong? Like a period out of place, a semicolon instead of a colon?

Before I get into the "business", I simply read a book. I never noticed whether it had the right grammar; I just wanted a story I could sink my teeth into, a story where I could get to know the characters and live their lives through their words and actions.

I can't tell you how many times I wanted a dragon, like the ones in Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider series. Or even a firelizard after they were introduced into the stories. I didn't care if the sentences were off a little, or they were too long or too short, or even if an extra comma or two was thrown in. I just wanted to sink into the book and "feel" how it was to soar into the sky and flame thread. When Moreta died after going between (those who read the dragorider books know what I'm talking about), I cried. Not because I felt the grammar was awful, but because I felt the story was real, like I was living with the characters.

The same goes for a lot of the books I read. I love a good sci-fi book that takes me to other worlds, worlds where the imagination can run rampid. I don't know if anyone remembers the Fuzzies books. I have all three of them. I'll never part with them. The writer created a world so real I had a hard time not seeing a little fuzzie standing close by. Again, I cried when one of the little guys was killed by a cruel, nasty man.

I love a good mystery that makes my heart race, a good horror book that scares the snot out of me. Darkfall by Dean Koontz absolutely scared me when I first read it. I still have a hard time reading it unless I'm in broad daylight, in a crowded room. LOVE that book. Did I worry about it having all the grammar correct, or the story lines in alignment? Nope. Just worried about hearing scratching noises in the walls and loving the fact that my bed frame sits on the floor so nothing can hide under it (it's an old waterbed frame).

Yes, I do look at the grammar now a bit more than I used to. But I still strive to get into the story, to "live" with the characters, to yell at them to not go in that room, you idiot! If there are too many errors, it can make a book distracting. A little amount...not so.

So, if you are a writer, don't let comments from reviewers get you down. Listen to the readers. If you are a reader, let the author know what you think. Tell them if they achieved their goal: to write a believeable story. Tell them if they helped you to soar, to discover new worlds, to cringe when the victim walks into the wrong room. I know for a fact they will appreciate it. I do. If the author falls short, tell them. How can they grow and improve unless told. Make sure to be nice, though. The world is already full of inconsiderate dweebs. Let's not add another. Manners, people. They go a long way.

Through my own books, it was a thrill to create a new species: a humecat. Even though I know it's not real, I "feel" as though the creature is. (I have four examples of a humecat living with me. They are called "cats." lol) I hope I conveyed that to my readers. Even with the grammar errors.

Thanks for reading this posting. Feel free to comment. Oh, and by the way, pick up a book and enjoy it, regardless of whether the author is famous or not.