Wednesday 26 December 2012

Get Good At Grammar

By Ron Wilson


A focus on grammar can not be understated in the career of the professional writer. Grammar and punctuation are the resources that assist you to write correctly. You use them each day, when you speak and when you write. So, it makes good sense that being aware of the basic principles helps you to communicate more precisely.

Is it too often you read an article, especially now days on Twitter or facebook, or anywhere online, and it doesn't work due to minor grammatical oversights? These seemingly minor errors can entirely change the meaning of what you are trying to say. The authors don't pay attention to grammar or punctuation, but rather on the nouns and adjectives of what they are trying to say.

Whenever speaking and writing, you create phrases and paragraphs that contain several common factors. The component of speech and the grammatical elements that make up a sentence are essential to creating a good story. You want to bring readers into your world, so meaning should be conveyed clearly, while also keeping it in proportion.

When suggesting you keep it in context, I'm referring to the way writing has changed over time, and many things that are technically not 'grammatically correct', are in fact perfectly acceptable. The focus on grammar has shifted. Often the correct version can sound old fashioned or mistreated, and this will turn the reader off as readily as incorrect grammar can. Running through this page, a traditional grammar fanatic could detect several things that are not entirely 'grammatically correct', however to convey meaning to you, my audience, I want to communicate in a way that you not only understand, but also wish to continue reading.

Punctuation is vital to communicating clearly, not only in terms of conveying meaning, but also to impart rhythm and tone. Misplaced punctuation invites ambiguity so it is very important that it makes the meaning obvious by showing the relationship between the different aspects in written work.

Would it take time to concentrate on grammar and punctuation if we do this from the beginning? No. Make it a habit to quickly search the correct word, spelling, or punctuation as you write. There are several tools at our fingertips nowadays, we have built-in thesauri in our Word Processors, we have dictionaries we can access in an instant. Make a habit of utilize these simple tools as you write and it will distinguish your story as polished and professional. Your agent, editor or reader will focus more on your book, if you initially make the effort to concentrate on sentence structure!




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