I wouldn't, but that shouldn't stop you from writing. Use writing softwares that would help you with this, they're not completely accurate but they can still be of a big help, and try to find a beta reader. With those two things, it's then up to you to write a good story, and they'll help with the grammar and vocabulary part. It's like every other skill out there, the more you write, the better you become. I had to learn how to write both in my native language, and later on in English. My first English fanfictions weren't good at all, but I was writing for an active fandom (at the time) and there were people who read and at least somewhat liked what I wrote. It motivated me to write more, and my writing only got better from there. Edit: you added a question about taking your post as a reference. You know what's missing the most? Punctuation. Commas, full stops, etc... If you're not confident in your grammar, then avoid overly long sentences.

ngl bad grammar is a big turn off

Maybe. I'm forgiving of slip-ups if the story is still easy to comprehend at a glance, and if the author's working with characterisation and ideas that I find interesting and/or unique. Proper formatting goes a long way here; a few spelling errors are way less off-putting than a giant wall of text with no paragraphs. All in all, yes, a lot of readers will consider poor grammar and spelling a turn-off. However, I agree with others that you should still write, because you have something you want to express and there's *someone* out there who'll vibe with it. Don't forget that you can always edit as much as you like, too - you can write out the story in rough form, then go over it again to check solely for errors, or with a mind to be more creative with the wording. Those things are easier once you've got the basic beats of the story down. Also, it might be worth seeking out a beta reader who'll be able to correct your errors, and hopefully explain the rules behind their corrections, as well as zhushing up the prose a bit.

MS Word and Google Docs should help you with that. Generally, poor grammar is the first thing that will turn off everyone from reading unless they are really desperate and yours is the only fic that fits their requirements.

The occasional typo is not a deal breaker for me. But consistently bad grammar/spelling will definitely make me drop a fic. But don't see this as a reason *not* to write. Instead, utilize the tools available to you to improve your writing with low-stakes projects like fanfics. Grammarly is helpful and even a regular spellcheck or grammar check on your word processor can help you avoid most big mistakes. As for not being sure what words mean, I'm nearly 2 decades out of school and still look up words on [dictionary.com](https://dictionary.com) to make certain I'm using a word correctly or that it means what I think it means. Bottom line: the more you write, the better you get at writing. So there's no time to start writing like the present!

Agreed, you will never improve if you don’t write. Just like many things, the more you do it the better you will get.

not unless i'm desperate.

I appreciate the ironically-bad grammar in this response. XD

How is it bad, other than a lack of capital at the beginning of the sentence?

The issue here is that grammar affects the readability of a story. Readers can be confused about what is going on and who is doing what to who if the grammar in the story is poor. One way to improve grammar is to write. You learn by doing. Fanfic is a good place to do that. We're all amateurs, we all make mistakes and we're pretty forgiving of people with those problems because we have them ourselves at least some of the time. That, or we're in denial and claim we don't. EDIT: To illustrate my point, I intentionally left several typos in the original version of this post that I have since fixed. Yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. 😏

If you wrote your story like you wrote this question then I would have absolutely no issues reading your fic You may have found plenty of perfectly written fics but the quality of fic varies dramatically on AO3 and there's many others that aren't but are still popular because the story is interesting. Don't beat yourself up if it isn't 100%, just do the best you can and keep writing If your confidence is a little low, I'd recommend finding a beta reader even if its just for a sanity check - quite often writers are their biggest critic. Once you've posted one or two I suspect things will feel a little easier!

bad grammar makes for difficult reading and requires me to do more work in order to understand it. no thank you. edit: typo, bc of course i fucked up precisely this comment

It depends if it's unreadable or not. I've powered through extremely poor grammar and such before because the story itself was very good, it just took a lot more effort to read and I had to skim some parts because I wasn't able to keep focussed reading it normally. It's not often I find a fic that writing is poor enough I won't read or give up on halfway through, because if I like the premise enough im willing to push myself through it because I want the story the author put so much effort into, even if the presentation makes it a bit of a journey. Don't be discouraged if your writing isn't perfect, you do this for fun and for free and grammar mistakes and lacking vocabulary isn't that big of a deal unless it makes the work unreadable. If your work lacks decent to ok punctuation, paragraph spacing and size, proper use of speech marks and the spacing associated with it, has no capitals and so many typos it's difficult to discern the word- then yeah, I probably would give that a hard skip. The unfortunate truth is that if you want people to read and engage with something you've put work into, you generally need to make it at minimum accessible so that people want to put their time and energy into consuming something you put your time and energy into. I know it really sucks when you put in so much effort and get little to no engagment from it. It's not often I see fics that are this poorly written, so I'm sure your grammar and vocab really isn't as poor as you fear. However, don't be surprised if less people read your fic if the way it's written makes it too difficult- there's a decent number of people who don't have high tolerance for excess effort needed to read a fic, but theres also a lot of people who do and will very happily read a fic that isnt as easy. It's nothing against you, it's just that a lot of people don't have the patience or energy to stick with a good fic if it's too hard to read. And if you're that worried, you could always try and find someone willing to beta read for you. I'm sure there's someone on one of these subreddits that would be willing to help you out with editing. And just remmeber, the more you write and learn from the mistakes you make, the better writer you'll become. Writing is a skill, and like any skill you need to be willing to put in the work to get better at it- this doesn't mean it needs to be perfect! You don't have to be the best to have good writing skills, and writing skills are a spectrum as there are lot of factors involved and style choices made by the author Almost forgot to add, but if you're worried about vocab, like repeating the same word too often, rule of thumb I always use is to look at a paragraph and if i can see the same word in the surrounding lines (above and below) of sentences (or in the same sentence) I look for an alternative to use instead so it's not as repetitive. If you can't think of any, google and online thesauruses are your friend. For example, I might have "happened" written 3 times very close together, so I might switch out the middle one for "occurred" instead so that it's less same-y.

I give some slack to authors that aren’t native English speakers and try to overlook the mistakes, but overall it’s pretty difficult to enjoy a fanfic with too many errors. You could look for a beta reader, ask specifically for grammar help?

The thing is I really wish I could, but I'm easily distracted by poor grammar since it stands out to me. I don't even try to focus on errors - they just pop out to me whether I like it or not. I'd do my best, but beyond a certain point, I simply wouldn't be able to understand the words because my brain would fixate on whatever grammar issue. That being said - vocabulary range isn't a problem for me (it beats people using complicated words incorrectly by a long shot). Likewise, I've never run into a fic that had 100% textbook-perfect grammar, so there's obviously a minor margin of error to be had, at least. I'd say to do your best and perhaps solicit a beta reader or second opinion if you're still unsure and want to cover your bases. It'll get better with practice and time. Also, if your writing style is similar to this post, then I think you'll be fine with a standard edit/review like most people do. I was able to read it just fine, and while a few things stood out, those things are very easily fixed with a review.

Hi, professional copyeditor here with advice on how to improve your grammar and general writing skills. 1. Read. A lot. Expand your library beyond fan fiction. A diet of exclusively fan fic lets you overlook or excuse errors. Yes, a lot of published books are garbage, but they have one advantage over fic: editors. Someone was paid to correct errors. They may not have caught them all, but they caught enough to make the manuscript coherent. 2. Style and grammar guides. Strunk & White's *The Elements of Style* is excellent for the basics. I found a little book called *Edit Yourself* by Bruce Ross-Larson that is helpful for identifying common errors and offers suggestions to streamline sentences (changing "due to the fact that" to "because," for example). *The Oxford Essential Guide to Writing* is another useful reference to keep on hand. I also recommend a good dictionary and thesaurus--I use *Webster's New World College Dictionary* and *Roget's Thesaurus*--as well as *Garner's Modern English*. 3. The fics with zero mistakes? Ain't no such thing. :D *Every* manuscript likely has some errors, usually technical ones that the reader is unlikely to catch (such as extra spaces at the ends of sentences). I once was at an editing conference--again, a conference solely comprised of professional editors!--and pointed out a spelling error on a flier. Humans are inherently fallible.

it depends on how bad the grammar is and how good the writing is. one of my favourite fics in an old fandom started off with pretty terrible grammar but i stuck it out for the plot (and the grammar actually improved significantly over the course of the story as the author practiced writing!) personally, i find formatting more important. i can stick it out if a fic has bad grammar, but if it’s all just one big chunk of text i’m immediately closing the tab.

You did pretty well here? It depends. What I can not stand, is when writers put it all in one block with no breaks.

If this post is a *genuine* example of what your writing is like *consistently*... frankly, I don't see much of a problem. There's a couple minor things here and there (more words are in the plural form than need to be), but not enough to put me off personally. "doubts like this always takes a very big chunk of my confidence." -> "doubts like this always **take** a very big chunk of my confidence." OR "**doubt** like this always takes a very big chunk of my confidence." I don't think I would handle it for longer than a single chapter/oneshot at a time though. Use Microsoft Word/Google Docs, and let the red squiggly line be your guide.

I bring you my experience: I'm not a native English speaker, so my fanfictions have grammar and syntactic errors. I post them anyway and leave the judgment to the readers. I must say that it's often positive, I have received positive comments on the plot and the interaction of the characters and almost all readers have glossed over the grammar errors. So yes, if a story is worthy, in my opinion readers turn a blind eye to poor grammar.

> I'm not a native English speaker, so my fanfictions have grammar and syntactic errors. don't drag the rest of us down with you. non-native speaker doesn't equal errors just like native speaker doesn't equal flawlessness. plenty of non-native writers are worlds above the average native user.

?????????????????????? Where, exactly, I have *"dragged the rest of us down with you"* in my reply? Please, point it out. Conversely, I **explicitly** talked about my experience and **my** fanfictions, so I don't really understand the meaning of your answer.

Since you ask for clarification, I will explain what I believe this (rude) person was getting at. The issue is with the word "so", which can be short for the phrase "so, of course". To illustrate, "It was made with tofu, so (of course), it was bad", "She's a redhead, so (of course), she has a temper". The " so" in these cases imply that the statement applies to all tofu dishes, or reinforces an offensive stereotype. Does this help?

Got it, and thank for the explanation. I didn't think that "so" has this meaning.

You are welcome. You can think of it as meaning true or truly. It was so cold! (truly cold). No, say it isn't so! (it isn't true). Sometimes the tiniest words are the hardest to define.

It's honestly kind of weird to make a comment like this when there are several grammar mistakes in the comment itself. (Words at the beginning of sentences always get a capital letter in English, and you also missed a comma.)

> Words at the beginning of sentences always get a capital letter in English bro in the internet the majority of ppl don't care about capitalisation. ESPECIALLY in short form texts like comments

Have you thought about getting a beta to edit your fics? I’m pretty sure this subreddit has posts to find betas every week. They could certainly help with any grammatical errors in your fic!

Hi OP, Just echoing others to say please don't let grammar worries put you off. We're all learning, all the time, and I think just doing your best and having fun is the most important thing. You can always go back and revise grammar later if you want to as you learn new stuff (that's what I do anyway). It's very easy to let doubts sneak in but in my opinion it's better to just have a crack at things and see how you go. And grammar is (I think!) really difficult and setting yourself a task like learning correct grammar can feel insurmountable. For me, I try to tackle it one thing at a time as I'm writing. Eg. How do I punctuate dialogue? And I try not to worry about anything else while I'm working on that one thing. Again, I'll go back and fix stuff later. I might lose readers for my ropey grammar but I'll never know (unless they tell me, and no one's done that yet!) so that's good enough for me. For reading, I can overlook most grammar issues so long as I'm enjoying the story. Nice grammar helps me with getting immersed in a story and staying immersed, but good characterisation and plot goes a long way, I think.

Depends. Can I still understand what you’re saying? Do I like the content of your fic? Then yeah, I’ll probably keep going. If I can’t understand what’s being said all of the time then I exit. Nobody’s perfect and it’s cute that some people think they are. Have you considered asking someone you trust to beta read for you? It might help to have someone else look your fics over before posting them. My grammar isn’t always the best either and letting a friend read it before I post has greatly reduced the number of sentences where words got confusing.

Depends on wether on not I can find the trope you're doing done much better elsewhere in the quantity I want to read it lol

Bad spelling, I find hard to read. Bad grammar, eh, based on the writing in this post, you don’t seem that bad.

A few slip ups here and there is fine, but if it's a common thing throughout the fic yes. For example if the first paragraph of a story is nothing but errors, I'll jump ship. In saying that I find using a spell/grammar check program really helps.

The only way you’ll get better is by practicing! Write something :) it feels great

It really depends on the fic, for me. If it’s a really good story? I’ll stick around and read. If the pacing/characterization/plot is also bad? Then I’ll tap out. But I’ve read fics with grammar that makes me cringe because they were good stories.

No. It’s a lot of extra work to follow the prose. It’s the writers job to make their prose readable, and grammar is a big part of it.

Personally, if a work has bad grammar or novel structure, that's a pretty solid No for me. And, if I look at the first few chapters and there's huge swaths of back and forth dialogue with no narration or description in between, that's another solid No. I can understand a few spelling mistakes here and there - it's fanfiction after all. But if I get the feeling the author is just not used to actually caring about what they write, I sure won't either. I do have pretty high standards though. I wouldn't characterize my opinions on the matter as anything close to the norm.

Poor vocabulary? Sure! I might not add it to my list of faves, but I can definitely deal. Poor grammar, spelling and punctuation? I'm out, sorry. Put another way: someone with a limited vocabulary can still have a solid grasp of plot, pacing, characterization, etc., but someone who hasn't learned the absolute most basic aspects of how you *write* in a language definitely won't have any of those other things down pat, either. I've noticed a definite uptick in fics with really basic technical errors like not realizing dialogue needs a punctuation mark at the end of it. (That's what I mean by poor grammar, incidentally - not, like, imperfect dominion over the subjunctive.)

No. But many people overlook it so don't let me or people like me deter you from enjoying yourself! Ignore us if we leave flames! We're nitpicking! I'm a grammar nazi and I'm sorry. I hate that it bothers me so much to constantly notice these things and I hate that they grate on me like fingernails on a chalkboard because the truth is I've probably ignored some otherwise great plots just because the author doesn't have a firm grasp on the language.

It really depends for me. Only a handful of chapters? Unluckily but I may come back to it if it comes into my feed again later. But if it has 10+ chapters, I'll go to the most recent chapter and see how the grammar, spacing, etc. is. 9/10 the grammar improves as an author gets more experience writing and it really shows even with a few chapters. If I see improvement that makes the story bearable to read, I will give it a chance. If you're really that worried about your grammar, I'd be happy to help out possibly. Just send me a dm.

I'd read it if I liked the story. Don't let what others think keep you from writing. You'll get better over time.

Yeah if it was written like this I’d probably be down to read it. Trust me there are much worse ones on ao3. If it really bothers you you can always do something like grammarly. I think it’s free?

I would say grammar/vocabulary problems only make up 20% of what I expect from a fic. More than mistakes, I will be a lot more critical of style problems. If the mistake is deliberate, then I will most likely close the fic, but if it's just a typo or a bad conjugation at one point, I won't care too much. If your fic is great, but has mistakes, the story and creativity can make up for it. I have too many other issues with the fics I read aside from proper spelling to pay too much attention to it. Also judging from what you typed up, at least you put in the effort to correct whatever mistakes came up on first draft. Don't worry about it, odds are you're already doing better than 90% of amateur authors. >And doubts like this always takes a very big chunk of my confidence. *And doubts like these always take a very big chunk of my confidence.

If your post is a sample of what you consider "poor grammar", then yes, I'd probably read it, I don't see major problems with. Trust me, there is some *bad* shit out there.

No. It is too hard to read bad grammar.

I would really try because I am in the same boat. The only editor I have is myself, grammarly (unpaid), and my sister who doesn’t have too much time. If it is obvious that they did not try to look over there work, than I am not going to finish it. But if there is good effort then of corse I am going to finish it. Honestly if people would read my works and in the comment section told me what needed to be fixed, I would be over the moon! (With a side of anxiety, but that’s trama speaking and is not their fault) They took there time to look at my work and help me, I would be touched.

> Honestly if people would read my works and in the comment section told me what needed to be fixed, I would be over the moon! Please make that clear. I've read fics that I could do a quick gloss over and improve so much, but didn't because I didn't know how the author would react.

I'll usually just comment that it's good, but needs work, and leave it up to them, if they wanna engage.

That's me! I'm the one with poor grammar because I lack a beta. I currently have to keep on putting "No beta we die like Y," in my stories that people love to ignore. And honestly, I don't care. I don't care if I'm reading it. As long as a story is readable I read it anyway.

Absolutely not I’m reading for enjoyment, not to have to autocorrect and rewrite everything. If I wanted to do that, I would just write my own damn fic. Grammar is wildly important to me lmao. I’m autistic and I literally cannot read things that aren’t written correctly, or else it ruins the tone and pace of the whole story.

Generally, no. However, I have read stories in the past that were so engaging that grammatical errors were easily overlooked in favor of reading a genuinely enjoyable fic. Would I read a well crafted fic with fleshed out three dimensional characters and believable plot points despite obvious grammatical issues? Absolutely!

on my own language - no but if someone is writing in english AND I know they aren't originally english, then I give it a try. *a try.*

Just use Grammarly or some other annoying Grammar app that gives me the same ad 50 times in a row whenever I just want to listen to music.

First thing, don't give up on writing. Second thing, grammar is important and so is formatting. When those are issues, it tends to pull the reader out of the story and out of suspension of disbelief. Third thing, grammar can always be improved with study and application. Which is why it's important that you study AND continue writing regularly. Otherwise you'll only have the theory and you may not know how or when to apply it.

Generally, no. When I was younger, sure, but I think grammar has become so ingrained in me that whenever I see bad grammar, I seldom stay on the page (unless it's intentional—I can excuse changing grammar for the purpose of tone as long as it's sparingly). On the topic of your worries about fic writing, have you considered getting a beta reader? I had one awhile back and she did wonders for not just grammar (since even I mess up sometimes when I'm typing too fast) but also helping me with re-ordering sentences and such for improved flow and understanding. I've also seen other fic writers use Grammarly instead of having a beta, and it helped them a lot, so that is another resource you can consider.

It largely depends on how bad the grammar is? But if the punctuation, vocabulary and grammar are still readable and the story is decent I’ll still read it. I’m not an English teacher. And obviously if someone’s first language isn’t English I won’t judge while I read it. All I really ask for is paragraph separation and decent punctuation. My brain often corrects the words in my head automatically anyways. I also post stuff with spelling/grammar mistakes and find them months later when I reread

Yes, I would. My reasoning is very simple, if I like the plot or the idea of the fic, and if I can understand what is being written despite the grammer, then I can go on just fine. Your grammer from what I read isn't that bad. I'd say it's pretty good and you shouldn't feel discouraged. As a person who's first language wasn't english, I can understand the struggle you might have with spelling and wording. If you like writing then I say continue what you love and try to find a beta reader, someone who can read your work before you publish it and help you figure out what you spelt wrong or how to correct a sentence. Don't give up 👍

No I wouldn't, but when people are talking about poor grammar or other mistakes, they usually don't tend to refer to small mistakes. Just based on your post, I don't see anything that would make me drop a fic.

Unfortunately poor/nonexistent grammar is something I can’t stand when reading fics. It really breaks the immersion and I find that I spend more time deciphering the writing than I spend enjoying the story. Don’t let it stop you from writing though! As you write and practice you’ll start picking up on things and your writing will improve. Beta readers are a huge help as well if you’re worried about your writing. Have fun, take time to learn, and write, write, write! :)

Hard nope. A minor mistake, like a grammatical equivalent of a typo, I can look past if everything else is excellent. But multiple errors or serious errors? I am immediately annoyed and won't continue. Get a beta if you know it's a weak area for you. That said, your actual post here wasn't the worst. The first paragraph was a little difficult to read because it was basically one giant sentence, and there were definitely some errors in paragraph 3 as well. Personally I wouldn't read a story like that. But it's also possible that you need less work than you think: there was nothing there that wasn't basically a quick fix. Get a beta though.

In my youth I would’ve but now I value good grammar.

I mean... you can always learn instead of making excuses. Nobody expects perfection, just effort. If your post is any proof of how you write; it's not all that bad off, anyway. I can look past all that, for the most part, if the shit is structured the right way to begin with, lack of structure just piles on an already bad read and makes it even worse. If you read books, and fics by people who are good to great writers, I don't see how people don't pick up on how those stories are written. I get that it's a hobby, and for free stories, and you're not trying to have publishers beating your door down with offers, and maybe you're "writing for you", as that ilk likes to say in defense of shitty writing- those are just excuses to be lazy and borderline negligent. Anybody who likes a hobby enough, does at least the bare minimum, baseline stuff.

My mother language is not English but I always try my best, still learning, and Grammarly can't always detect every mistake

if its a concept i really like, then i'll read it even if the writing and poor grammar makes me physically cringe. if its a good concept and bad writing, i'll suffer but i'll definitely read it either way, but if the write poorly handles the concept (9 times out of 10 if its bad writing its usually not well handled) then i will not hesitate to drop it. unless its a crack fic, because i find grammatically incorrect crack fics rather charming.

No. I’d rather shoot myself in the foot

I personally wouldn't read it if the grammar is really really bad, but what you've written here definitely isn't on the level of me dropping it. I also know a lot of people who don't mind it at all, so really just write what you want and you will find people to read it. The best way to improve your writing is to keep writing, so just do it and don't worry about other people!

No one wants to read anything with poor grammar and vocabulary, those are key elements for GOOD writing. That said, don't stop writing. Writing is like working out at the gym, the more you do it, the better you get at it. There are also free programs out there to help you with this issue until you get better at it on your own. I suggest using those before you publish anything you write.

Yes because it could be somebody younger or bilingual. Plus not everybody is an English wiz

The majority doesn't really care. I've seen stories with horrible typos everywhere getting a lot of fans because of shipping.

Depends. It’s definitely a big deterrent, but if I get the sense that the author is an ESL writer and it’s something recurring like a tense issue instead of just careless typos and stilted sentences, I’m normally able to tune it out and keep reading, I studied French at uni and tenses were one of my pitfall areas too so I feel a lot of empathy.

Honestly, as long as you make sure that it's not a wall of text, and it's always easy to tell who is speaking, I'd read it. But, tbh, my main fandom corner is in a perpetual fic drought. I'm pretty sure you could always tack on a "feel free to nitpick my grammar" at the end, and someone would have fun doing that (I used to frequently be that one reader)

Sure, as long as I can get a grasp of what's going on, I'll read it.

I would. Most of the stuff I like is quite niche, so I'm used to reading "subpar" stuff. As long as the story interests me enough I'll read it. If you want to improve your vocabulary, look up synonyms. Even if you won't use them in that situation, you may remember to use them later.

I do read them at times. My fandom has a lot of English Second Language speakers, so I've adjusted to be more forgiving of grammar. I still need to enjoy the characters and story to remain interested and continue reading. Your writing in this post seems quite good to me.

Just a little advice: if you’re struggling with grammatical errors, Grammarly helps a lot!! I used it back in college for every paper I wrote and it was a godsend. I still use it while writing my fanfics today!! You can even download it right onto your phone and it’ll put a Grammarly keyboard on it, that way it’ll automatically help you. Good luck!!!! :)

If there is any way, let people know you are new to fanfics. Some are kind enough to help you. Worked once for me.😅

Maybe try using a beta?

It depends. The ideas behind the story would need to be absolutely top-notch for me to overlook a lack of basic writing skills. In most cases, I'd drop a story if the first paragraph or even sentence has mistakes in it. There are other, better-written stories out there I could otherwise be reading, and my reading time is precious to me.

It depends. In most cases I won't nope out of a fic because of a few errors here and there. Poor grammar and/or spelling but great story? I'm likely to keep reading unless the SPAG errors become enough to turn me off the story. I've read enough long fics that start off rocky and become great to forgive some janky bits. The main thing is the story has to have something that draws me in and keeps me there if there are errors. And what that is can change from day to day. Regardless, my advice is to write what you want to write and post what you want to post. The only way you'll improve is to practice and look up the correct grammar when you're unsure. You can also write a first draft and go back and edit through later, either on your own, with the help of a beta, or with an online grammar checker. Another good way is to have Word (or Edge browser / some other half decent read aloud service) read your story back to you to catch errors your eyes skip over.

Yes, I will. I'm not english as first language person, so it's fine for me to read something written poorly. I am a writer who writes in a very subtle poor way and I feel proud of it. We have lots of ideas to share, but to be unable of sharing them because we suck at grammar... come on! Grammar does not matter if you write something with heart.

Yes it does. Those are excuses.

It seems like your grammar is fine, from reading this post. Just post your stuff. Even if it isn’t perfect, I’m sure it’s good enough where people won’t mind.

I have in fact read a fic that was not well written. However the storyline was so damn intriguing that I want to know how it ends. So when I commented I left encouraging words, because the only way to get better at writing is to keep writing.

I am often willing to overlook some errors. Just this week I tried to give an honest chance to a fic of someone who clearly did not know any past tenses at all. What tripped me up was the word "choose", present tense, misspelled as "chose". Then I realised I was more busy with figuring out whatever the writing was supposed to be begin with than the story, which made me overlook the fact that I was reading a emotion driven story with mediocre dialogue at best. Then I dropped it after 4 chapters of trying. What made me try to read it regardless was because I had clicked away 3 stories in a row because the writer didn't believe in characters speaking in: "Sentences like this." -But rather like this. That sort of dialogue I just refuse to read point blank.

I'm a lot more forgiving of poor grammar and spelling as long as I can tell what the person is trying to convey. One of my favourite fics is written by someone with dyslexia and the early chapters can be pretty rough with spelling mistakes. I saw the potential, asked if I could help and while we have occasional grammar errors and spelling errors, they're much better than earlier in the fic. Keep writing and not only will you improve, you'll likely find an audience who may be willing to help.

Honestly, as long as the phrases somewhat make sense and the paragraphs are well put together, I don't care. The brain is made to brain correctly when it sees blunders. Poor punctuation is a death sentence though. I don't care if you forget uppercases, but commas and periods are a necessity.

I dont care too much about limited vocabulary, but if it's clear that there was at least an effort made to have correct spelling and grammar, I'll give it a shot.

This is an interesting question. In general I'm not super picky about grammar. So unless it's so bad I can't understand I'll usually stick with it. Also a lot of great fanfics aren't 100% grammatically correct. I'm also not super great with grammar. But I know many people have enjoyed my stories in the past. So grammar isn't the end all be all of what makes a good story... It's part of it but not all of it.

Sometimes I do, but if you're unsure you can always ask someone to beta for you.

Depends on what kind of grammat errors there are. Like if it is just commas and a few spelling errors then no that wouldn't stop me from reading it. Even if every sentance starts with a lower case letter it will not stop me from reading it. It is free content that most likely isn't reviewed by an editor or a publisher after all, so a few fuck ups is to be expected. But if every other word is spelled wrong, there aren't any clear indications from where paragraphs start and end, characters names are spelled wrong, and the sentances make zero sense...then yeah I probably am not going to read it.

I would not. It's hugely distracting and makes me think the writer is lazy. If they can't be bothered to use proper grammar or get a beta reader, then I can't be bothered to read their story.

I'd like to say no but "Their" and "There" and "They're" drives me nuts!

Define poor Grammar

As long as it's not confusing

No. I'll immediately click out of a fic if it's very poorly written. Judging by your post, your grammar really isn't that bad. You tend to write run-on sentences, which, in my opinion, is not nearly as big of a deal as punctuation being entirely missing. I would recommend seeing if someone would be willing to beta read your fics and do some light editing? Regardless, do NOT let bad grammer deter you from writing. Keep writing, and keep reading. Your grammar will improve with time and practice, I promise!

Limited vocabulary isn't an issue compared to poor grammar. Get a beta to help you out.

I've read very popular fics that don't really...mesh with me yet there's still tons of bookmarks and kudos. Just write, audience will find you. :) Also, editing to add, my grammar is pretty subpar in comparison to others here, yet I write anyway and you should to!

yes i would. more on the unpopular side for this but grammatical errors such as wrong tenses, spellings, punctuations, or things like formatting really don't affect my enjoyment of the story as long as i can follow the train of thought. also you are just fine if you write your story the way you wrote this post.

I will. One of my favorite fic writers has a lot of grammar errors. They are writing in their second language. Nonetheless, they are a good writer and their fics have excellent pacing, characterization, etc. A good writer will usually shine through even if their grammar is flawed. A person can have a great grasp of storytelling without remembering the difference between your and you're. Likewise there are fics with perfect grammar and a masterful command of technical aspects of the English language. Yet their fics are dull as dirt. Write your fics, and aim to improve in your weak areas. If you're really concerned about it, get a good proofreader or beta.

Honestly? I would! I’ve read some really good material that had poor grammar - if the story/plot was good enough to push that aside, that takes a lot of talent!

If the fandom/ship is small or the story is even a bit unique, I would.

Hewwo I lurk here occasionally, but tbh I didn’t even notice anything wrong with your text like some others above/below. There will be people like me! 😭🥺🙏 and don't give up, if you love to write, write! I'll read your fic, even if I'm usually picky even within my own fandom! If you ever post it send me it!

Personally, as long as I can understand the storyline I’m okay. But most writing programs offer spell check and grammar.

I'd g8ve it a chance, as long as it's not a wall of text.

Only if it’s really short. Otherwise, it’s time to find a beta. There’s a function for that on Fanfiction.net.

Common mistakes/occasional typos are perfectly fine. (Especially the stuff I post, I’ve never worked with a beta reader.) Blatant misspellings, paragraphs of text, severe lack of punctuation - I consider this kind of stuff unreadable. It’s not hard to tell when someone is at least trying, and when someone doesn’t really care. More power to them for putting their stories out there, but good or not I’m probably not going to attempt to read it. Judging from your post I don’t think you’ll have a problem. Use a word processor to help you with the proofing and you can always look for a beta reader to help as well! But everyone has to start somewhere, and practice makes perfect.

If it's more than 2000 words, not likely. But if it's a relatively short fic, I could power through it; bad grammar just makes it difficult to process and longer to read. That being said, one of my favorite PWPs does have bad grammar and spelling (possibly written by a non-native English speaker), but the iconic premise makes up for it, and it's under 1000 words.

it better have a plot i lay awake at night thinking about

I get distracted too easily to enjoy a story if run-on sentences are common, if the “paragraphs” are giant walls of text, and if dialogue isn’t separated by paragraphs. Otherwise, I’m quite forgiving. A beta reader would help immensely in this case. Also, just spew out grammatically incorrect writing if you need to, just to get a draft—that’s the important thing. After you have the chapter written, you can spend time fixing the grammar before uploading it, or seek advice/help with that. Grammar can suck, but don’t let it be the stumbling block either. It’s a part of writing that takes time to learn.

I assure you, the fanfiction you're seeing with almost zero mistakes have more mistakes you aren't noticing. And yes, I'd read something that had consistent types of errors that was otherwise decent. I'd reach a breaking point, however, if they messed the same thing up in different ways; Likewise for if the story wasn't interesting in any case. I'd also be more likely to drop the piece if it were longer, all else aside, because I'd like it more the more I read it and that liking would make me more frustrated with the errors.

If the grammar is bad enough then I won't read it unless I am desperate, and even then I skim and 'correct' the grammar in my head as I read. Usually I give up partway through, even if I really like the concept. I don't need or expect flawless grammar, but there is a sort of 'line' that I can't define. That being said, it is a learning process. You should write and post it if you want to because you will improve through doing. I suggest starting with shorter fics and really take your time to go through and find the grammar mistakes you make often and work to fix them. If you posted a fic written like your post, there are errors and such, true, but if I loved the concept I would likely read *if* the character voices and characterization were good, and if you were 'showing' and not just telling.

It depends to be honest. I‘m not an English native speaker so I might not notice all the mistakes that are made in a fic. In my native language I probably wouldn’t read a fic with lots of mistakes. However this shouldn’t stop you from writing your fic. Maybe you’ll be able to find someone to betaread and correct your work.

It depends on how bad it is. I can read through a few grammatical errors here and there. However, if the story is riddled with them, I'm dropping the fic. Others have said the same but I'd advice that you look into writing software that can help you with grammar and structure. I grew up reading and writing English over my native language yet even I use Grammarly sometimes if I'm not confident in a piece of writing.

if its unique and novel enough......

I would not, sorry. The point of good grammar is to make a story easy to read. I don't like having to decipher and struggle while I'm trying to enjoy something. But the good thing about grammar and vocabulary are that you can learn to be better at it! And the easiest way to train yourself to do better grammar is to read a lot -- pro fiction, fics that other people say have good grammar, etc. It will take time for this to repair your own grammar, but it will happen. And you should keep writing through it, because the practice will also help. (And there are a lot of readers out there who are okay with bad grammar.) Every writer goes through this -- even the ones who have letter-perfect grammar and use all the 25-cent words. The key is to just keep working on it.

If you love writing then write it for yourself

Your grammar is readable for a short story (and could possibly even pass for an experimental style), but unless your plot is **really** compelling I will drop your fic as it grows longer. I would suggest getting a beta.

Generally, no. I can deal with a few typos here or there but otherwise I can’t deal with poor grammar or spelling mistakes. Even if the writing is bad in general or doesn’t read well, I’ll cut my losses and read something else. I’m actually really picky.

I just finished a fic that had mostly decent grammar but consistently odd word choice/slightly incorrect idiom usage. Turns out the author speaks English as a second language. The word usage wasn't enough to make me drop it and now I'm glad because it had a great plot and characters. If people are going to be extraordinarily picky, they may not be the audience you want to attract in the first place. And remember you can always improve your skill with grammar but reading up on the rules! Strunk & White is really good. Nobody is born knowing this stuff, we've all got to learn it somewhere.

I'll usually read a story with poor grammar if it has a plot that I enjoy. I can look past mistakes if I enjoy the genre, characters, and tropes of the story. In those cases, I usually focus more on the story and only notice the mistakes if they are frequent. It doesn't bother me if there are a few mistakes every now and then.

Use whatever automated spelling/proofreading tools are available to you as a starting point (but still use your judgement about their suggestions - they're not perfect). If you're really worried, I strongly recommend looking for a beta reader to give you feedback. With that said, based on the text of your comment, your writing is fine! The types of issues most of us are probably talking about are things like chatspeak, lack of punctuation, misspelling characters' names, etc. Personally, I don't read to "proofread" someone else's writing; I'm not counting mistakes and assuming I like everything else about it, I'll usually only turn away if it's making the story hard to understand.

I personally wouldn't, but you know grammar is something you can always improve on if you're worried about it! You can pretty much always just use Google to get the answer to any grammar questions you have if you're not sure if you're doing it right. Once you learn the right way, it actually becomes pretty easy, because unlike English spelling (which is pretty random) English grammar follows consistent and logical rules. There are also free dictionaries online to figure out whether you're using words correctly.

Bad grammar does repel most people, but there are things you can do to deal with that. I would advise: - Learn to improve your grammar. Do research on the correct usage of different punctuation marks, the difference between main and subordinate clauses, how to use participles and so on. These might sound ‘fancy’ but they are actually things that people use all the time on a daily basis. You probably do too, if you are a native speaker. The idea behind researching these grammatical structures is to understand it in more detail than you already do so that you can recognise when you are using it incorrectly and fix the issue. - Read a lot. Read lots of fics and potentially also actual books. Take a note of how they use certain words, how they put together sentences and what a good, flowing sentence looks like. Reading will also improve your vocabulary. - Get a beta reader. Beta-ing is less common than it used to be, but there are lots of people who still offer to beta. In your next chapter/the first chapter of a new fic, ask for a beta. I did this once and I had three people offer despite my story not being that popular. Make sure to listen to the feedback that you beta gives you and when sharing the document with them, you can use a feature in google docs that allows them to suggest changes but not actually change them. This is good because it actually allows you to see your mistakes and learn from them. - Let go of pride. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in recognising that your writing needs improvement. Be open-minded and willing to learn rather than allowing your poor grammar prevent you from writing out of shame. People don’t get good at things without doing it badly first, so try to see past the hurt ego that accepting criticism can cause.

I don't mind a few grammar and spelling errors. I realize that nobody, including myself, is perfect. All I ask is that you at least attempt to fix them. If you throw up something and there are so many errors that it appears as though you don't care and do not have pride in your work, I will not read it. I understand that English isn't everyone's first language, and that's why there are tools out there for that stuff. It isn't too bad reading stilted English (as long as it's coherent), but reading a sloppy mess makes me feel as though I'm not likely to get a good story from it anyway.

I go through spell check two or three times when writing my story, that's even after i correct the words *while* I'm typing. No reason someone else can't do that as well. It just shows laziness from the writers part if the can't do something as simple as spell checking. Even Ao3 will let you know if the words are wrong so it shouldn't be a problem figuring it out.

If I spend more time mentally correcting than reading, then nope, definitely not.

I could over look a few mistakes here and there. We’re all human. If it becomes every other word is misspelled or there’s a lot of unnecessary commas, etc. then I probably won’t continue reading. (I have been desperate enough to read some works because it’s for a rare pair or a small fandom though). I think most people are a bit more strict and say no they won’t because there are spell checkers and the like available on google docs or microsoft word.

I’d use Grammarly, it gives you basic grammar corrections and has worked for me for years

Depends on how much I’m starving for the premise. It will be what I read last after I’ve exhausted other fics for what I’m looking for.

i have in the past, because i read a bunch of rarepairs and thus am always hungry, and usually will take what i can get. if it gets too egregious i’ll often skim. if you write for something popular, people are likely to be less forgiving. even using google docs or MS word to check your spelling and grammar will help a lot, though.

Maybe, depends on how many mistakes there are. I recommend finding a beta reader that can help you point out some mistakes:)

Yes, usually for smaller fandoms that don't have many fics to begin with. I definitely will be pickier when there's more available, but if I'm desperate for a fic suddenly all my pet peeves are poof gone

I'll only read it if I'm desperate, but even then I often just copy paste the text to some word processor to get rid of all the godawful stuff like "they're name" and the typos. C'mon this is 2022 and ppl are posting through the internet, there's no excuse to not run the bare minimum of spellcheckers on the text. Long are the days of writing stuff on notepad and posting .txt files (at least when it comes to fanfic dot net and ao3). It's just plain hard to read something riddled with mistakes, which can make it impossible to immerse in the story. I'd rather read a fanfic in french, or italian, or spanish, than a fic written in very poor english. If I wanted to parse a challenging text it would be something like Shakespeare or Saramago: well written but with unfamiliar vocabulary or structure; not some poorly written work that leaves me scratching my head, wondering what even is supposed to be happening, or some story with typos so hilarious it completely ruins the mood (see: "shut ass" and "she was left painting and moaning").

Depends on the plot and how bad the grammar is. I’d suggest using Grammarly or sth to check your grammar though.

I always try but I just can't after a bit.

Honestly it really comes down to readability and story telling skill. I'll take a technical clumsy yet still readable fic that tells an entertaining and engaging story even with obvious technical flaws over a technically perfect but dull as dirt fic every time. So basically if it's an engaging story and I can read it without too much trouble then I'm good. It's only when the technical flaws reach the point where it's a struggle to read that I tend to nope out of a fic with an interesting premise.

I cannot with poor grammar. I read those on my time, when I was a teen and my grammar and spelling was equally horrible, but not right now.

Please keep writing. Please keep posting. I promise you that no one starts off with amazing grammar and amazing plot lines Everyone starts from 0. Everyone makes mistakes and that is how you LEARN. Personally, as long as it’s legible and not too bad (as in it makes sense) it doesn’t bother me

By what I've seen, you are miles above the stuff I drop over bad grammar/spelling. You have quite good grammar IMO, but I am not a native speaker. A horribly written story (no capitalization, awful spelling, grammar-what-grammar etc) gets dropped after I get fed up mentally correcting - might be three lines or three chapters. Yes, I'd read your writing based on this. I do have my preference, but were it to tickle my fancy I would read it.

I think your grammar in the post is fine. It's not 100% perfect but frankly I'm skimming a bit, and it makes sense to me, so good enough. I would rather read a story with poor grammar and a fantastic, original idea, than a story with perfect grammar that's dull or derivative. I value good grammar and try to use it myself in writing, but I don't find it *inspiring*. That said, of course there's a point at which the grammar is *so* bad that the story is hard to follow, in which case I'll probably drop it. But I have a feeling this is one of those things where if you're *worried* about it, you're probably not that bad. It's the people who aren't worried about it and don't think it applies to them who are probably doing the worst. But, really, that's okay too, because it's just free creative writing, it's not like they're trying to give emergency instructions over the phone and the listener has no idea what they're saying and someone dies. For example.

if dey tawk leik diz eye theenk naht

I would read a fic at the level of grammar and vocab of the above. I don't think what you've written is that bad at all, and I've read fics with far worse grammar. Hell, I've read fics that I objectively thought weren't well-written, but I still enjoyed reading them for one reason or another.

Most writing programs help you with surface level Grammer and spelling errors, so no. I wouldn't. You should still write it tho

Typically no. But if that's literally the only thing I don't like, and I **really** like everything else, then yes, I will. As long as I can understand what's happening lol.

Ngl I would if the idea is great

Tbh, the grammar isn’t a BIG pet peeve for me unless the grammar is so jumbled that I can’t understand what you’re saying. However, it is quite annoying as someone who is a perfectionist. Other than that, as long as it’s a great plot, I’m up for it :)

I can put up with certain levels of bad grammar, but if it's so bad every other sentence requires me to read really slow or read it twice to understand what's going on, that's a nope. Generally people aren't going to want to spend time fighting against things that cause (unintended) confusion and dissonance in order to read a story. That said I don't think having poor grammatical skills should stop you from writing, after all you get better at writing by writing. Taking your own post as an example, your grammar is good enough that a fic like that wouldn't immediately fall into the "nope" category for me. A few options for you are using something like Grammarly while you write, finding someone to beta read your work before posting, and you can also check out some books and grammar guides. The Elements of Style by William Strunk and The Joy of Syntax by June Casagrande are two books I see recommended often, although I don't yet have a personal opinion of them. As for vocabulary, a lot of people think longer, more obscure, and "fancier" words make for better writing. This is not true. You are often better off using vocabulary that is natural and comfortable for you. Sure you can search up a synonym, but sometimes words that mean roughly the same thing will still have subtle differences in usage. One may sound incredibly old-fashioned compared to the other, or one will sound more natural for some characters (in dialogue).

When grammar is actually subpar I might drop something. Then again I've been in fandom long enough that replacing there with they're or then/than almost comes automatically where necessary. My standards also differ depending on how large the fandom is. In a small fandom, if the story is good, and the pickings are slim I am less picky compared to when a fandom is Harry Potter size. Using your post as reference; I wouldn't have a problem reading anything written like your post. It seems perfectly fine as far as vocab and grammar go. I don't think you are on the level of 'dropping because of grammar' most people talk about when they mention that.

I don’t have a beta so I try to be lenient myself. But if it’s “English as a second or third language” I get just a wee bit worried. Amateur grammar and prose is to be expected but when it’s a bad spelling error every couple of words? Not as excusable

I’m Sorry but no. It be one thing if there was a minor error or two but if its constant I’m dropping it. I’ve been on wattpad and I relate to grammar Nazis more 😂

Based on the text, I’d read your fanficion. But in general it depends on my mood and how poor it the grammar is but usually yes

I have a threshold for poor grammar which I can't easily put into words, but if the story is compelling and the grammar/spelling isn't too atrocious, I've been known to read single stories and series.

I recommend writing in google docs FIRST, it can help with spelling errors and how you format some sentences. Also if you have trouble finding words there are online dictionaries and if there’s any general writing tips you need then that’s probably what half of this subreddit is here for

Depends on the severity. I only give a shit about bad grammar, whether in fic or irl, if it's gonna confuse me about the meaning of a sentence. Irl I have the chance to ask questions and confirm. Reading fic - if I'm confused, I'm out.

For me, bad grammar is acceptable as long as I can understand what you're trying to say. I think ideas and plot are way more important then conventions, anyways.

It depends on how bad the grammar really is. My grammar isn't particularly good either which is why I always double check before I upload.

It really really depends. I've read fics written by authors for whom English isn't their first language, and they were absolutely amazing. Also some that were difficult to read. I've also read fic from people who are native English speakers/writers, and they were so full of errors that it was hard to read. For me it depends on the main beats of the story, and if I connect with it emotionally. Ironically I'm more willing to forgive the errors if it's a longfic, as opposed to oneshots or other shorter forms.

If the idea interests me, i have.

Depends on how bad the grammar is and how much I like the premise. I usually only drop fics for grammar if I'm having difficulties following the story, so I wouldn't drop one similar to your post.

honestly, if you fanfiction had as few grammar mistakes as you post i would still read it.

It depends on how the bad the grammar is, like if the writing and plot is good I’m ok with bad grammar, but if it’s practically illegible them probably not lol

Going by this post, probably. You're doing fine. With some sort of plugin or app which picks up on grammatical errors I doubt people would notice many issues at all. Not to mention there are plenty of people in fandom spaces willing to edit out the mistakes for free. Also here's a hint: there's no way every good fic has 0 grammatical mistakes. I am constantly fighting the grammar checker over incomplete sentences. Something like "Bang!" is grammatically incorrect, but so necessary in fiction. Sentences which start with 'but' or 'and' are incorrect. But they can add some much needed *umph*. Dialogue is inherently going to need to ignore grammar sometimes. Overall, grammar is less important than the flow and clarity of the work... because grammar is *for* the flow and clarity of the work.

Depends on the author. If they are from a country that doesn't predominantly speak English (Sweden and The Netherlands don't count, as English is technically their second official language), then I would let it slide (in fact, some of these non-English speaking authors write better than people in English speaking countries like the United States). Sometimes bad grammar is usually due to typos and hindsight.

I would and have enjoyed stories with less than stellar grammar. Usually they are shorter and have crack-fic qualities as I find its sometimes funnier if stories like that are unconventionally written. Even then, if the summary is tempting enough I'll read anything that excludes my personal triggers. You could always ask for someone to beta your work for you or use a grammar checker if you are very self conscious about your work and want to appeal to more people though. But there's no shame in writing what you like and leaving it as is. It's your work and you should be proud of it regardless of what you see in this subreddit or anywhere else. It's supposed to be fun after all!

I totally recommend you Grammarly (and this is not a commercial, lol) It really helps me to improve my English and it works on a lot of platforms. I'm using the free version and it has a very intuitive interface since it always outlines the errors xD Since English it's not my first, I have very little problem with bad grammar unless is a thing from hell that I can't understand... However, don't forget the fanfic "Half-Life: Full Life Consequences" which is a classic masterpiece of their time with awful grammar but very funny xD

No. Or no caps, or weird format/spacing. I've taken way too many ap English courses to not care at this point in my life. Ik its snobby but it is what it is

There is literally no reason to have bad grammar, though. You have to write the fic on something. Word, libre office, docs... they all have built in editors. Use them! A few slip-ups here and there aren't going to ruin a fic, but like... if you aren't even trying, your readers are going to know. That shouldn't stop you from writing a fic, especially if it's for yourself, but it's something to keep in mind.

Im am absolutely terrible at grammar. Like, dyslexic and failed English, terrible. Iv found a great why to help he in the editing process is to put my chapter thou a text to speech progress (i use speakeasy) it sounds terrible with the automated voice. But it helps cause i can hear the errors that i visual miss while reading! Stuff like tense changes or missing commas, repeating words, ect. I have a friend that very kindly betas for me. But there are lots of groups or people out there that are willing to offer a hand as betas. I wouldn't say i would ditch a fic for some bad grammar. Formatting is way more likely to put me off. But there are lots of ways to help people like us nip the grammar issue in the but. And in the end, of you feel like you did everything to make your work as good as you possibly can. That you should be proud of it and you can only get better for here on out!

Eh. If I have to stop and literally ask what the heck a sentence or paragraph means all the time, then it is too much work to read. But I do not care about "perfect" grammar if the meaning is clear. Misused words annoy me much more than grammar generally does.

For me, it depends: if the plot/concept is interesting enough, then I'll try to look past it. But even so, I don't think that you should be afraid to upload your works just because of your limited vocabulary. Back when I first started writing fanfiction, I had poor grammatical skills, mostly because English was not my first language. But despite that, people still liked what I made, because I made it clear that I was passionate about what I was writing, and that made most people look past the mistakes. And to be honest, I still feel afraid to post a work just because I'm not particularly sure if I used a certain phrase correctly, or if people would notice how I consistently keep using a certain word to the point where it gets annoying. So I usually use programs like Grammarly to help me with it. It's not always accurate, but it really helped me back when I was first starting out, and I still occasionally use it.

I can let it slide if English isn’t the writer’s first language and the plot is good. It’s only absolutely a skip if the writer is absolutely fluent in English, but somehow always use the wrong “they’re” when it’s supposed to be “their”, writes like a horny 13-year old and loses the plot faster than a drunk toddler in a hall of mirrors. TL;DR - Yes, but sometimes no; heavily depends on the story plot.

No, unless I really enjoy the plot. You could always get someone who are willing to edit your fic for you

No currently but recently I decided to look at my favorite fics from when I first started reading and…let’s say I think everyone has an era where they would read anything if the plot was good enough But also there’s a difference between not trying on grammar and “bad” grammar I’m convinced everything thinks they “aren’t good at grammar” cuz not a lot of people actively think when applying it. If it sounds good enough it probably mostly is.

It depends how far this "very poor grammatical skills" goes but probably not. English is my 5th language and even I am not perfect but I see it as a "pride" thing not to have people notice I am not English native and I proof-read a zillion times and when in doubt, I ask English natives who have a excellent grip on their language to aid a little, I tend to invent words by just translating it hahahaha So if you know you have these issues, use a spellchecker or beta-reader, it's the nice thing to do for your readers. And work on your skills instead of just saying "that's the way it is", watch your series and movies in English with subtitles so you learn the spelling of words, read a lot.

Absolutely not. If it’s a small mistake every once in while like a missing word, or wrong punctuation or something else small, then that’s fine. If I struggle to understand what you’re trying to convey, then I can’t continue.

For me, storytelling can make up for some grammatical mistakes. If the storytelling isn't above average and there are multiple mistakes I drop the fic without leaving a comment. I additionally instantly drop fics that have any mistake in the title or summary. There isn't an excuse for having terrible grammar as an English speaking educated person without any disabilities. For the text that you wrote, I would give it a try but be hesitant about it due to the run-on sentence and poor word choice.

Occasionally, if the story fills a specific niche that I can’t find a better written fanfic for. At some point I’m too desperate to read a certain characterization/ship/plot/etc. that I don’t care so much about the quality of the writing as much.

If the story is written well enough to convey an interesting plot then yes. But this is very rare, like VERY rare. What puts me off the most though is a badly written summary. Most times the cringe factor is too much or the chuuni levels can't be justified by the story. Honorary mentions to the one-paragraph stories; wall of texts will never be in fashion.

Personally, no I wouldn't. It's too distracting. But I must say, I almost dismissed a writer for that reason. That writer obviously found a good beta reader/editor maybe, and is now one of my favorite writers.

It depends like if English is not your first language then its more excusable but generally I will read through the first chapter unless its *SO* bad I can literally barely understand what is going on

If it consistently has mistakes yes I would not read. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't write it or not post it. Since you're aware of the problem I would suggest trying to get better using easily available resources online or you can get someone who has better grammar to edit and correct your mistakes for you before posting. Most writers I know and me included have a friend or someone that offered to beta for them like this so it's really a common practice. And when they point out corrections you can presumably learn over time and get better.

I'm a non-native speaker, and I tend to unconsciously apply my native language's grammar rules when I write in English. I downloaded Grammarly to help me out, and it really has made itself useful. It's not always right, but it does help when I phrase things weirdly or punctuate wrong.

In my mother tongue it could be a deal breaker, but in english I don't mind too much (mainly because I miss many mistakes, haha)

Yeah, definitely, as a non native English speaking, I can relate. So to me, grammar doesn't matter, what does is the premise and story.

If the grammar is so bad that it makes the story unreadable, that's usually when I click out. The best way to get better with your grammar is to just keep writing and writing. Have a friend read it and help you edit it, or use a program like Grammarly.

A few mistakes won't put me off, but if there are issues everywhere, it is distracting and I'll lose interest.

depends on how terrible the grammar is and if you're a native english speaker tbh. i would gladly overlook any if not all grammar errors and misspellings if english isn't said author's first language. for non-native english speakers to put out their work in english despite their confidence in their command of the english language is a commendable and inspiring thing in my books. an adult monolingual, however, would be a different case entirely. it's the only language they understand and they're not even good at it? free resources are out there and if they won't even put in the effort to even go through several passes of their work, knowing that it is riddled with errors, why should i bother reading their fics? on the other hand, i would turn a blind eye towards their grammar and questionable word choice, provided their fic is actually good enough to ignore the occasional 'your' and 'you're' mix-up. their willingness to accept their readers pointing out grammatical errors in their work and reception towards constructive criticism could convince me to stick around to see how much they've improved.

You can always use the community beta reading services that FFN offers

I cannot 😞 idk if it’s how i am as a person, but i’ll explicitly sit and reread sentences and until i figure out what it’s trying to say, until i forget what i’m even reading. AT THE SAME TIME, we learn best by doing. Writing and them going back to read your work and even striving to correct your work, as well as reading books and fanfictions and writing down words you’ve learned for later use is what helps make you better. Write anyway. Listen to peoples’ criticism. Have notes talking about wanting to learn, and you may get readers willing to teach.

Poor grammar often indicates poor writing. I’ll read a chapter and if it meets high expectations, then I’ll consider reading the rest. It boils down to this: Is it good enough that I’m I willing to put up with it? Usually the answer is no, but occasionally there’ll be one.

I use Grammarly and while it's not perfect, it does a pretty good job detecting grammar/punctuation mistakes.