Writer's Handbook

Step 3: Grammar

I'm so upset. I had this all typed up and ready to post and then it got deleted. Now I have to try to do it all from memory...

Well, I'll start off by saying this is going to be a long chapter, but it's a very important one.

Good grammar is the key to a good story.

If you have bad grammar, it's hard to understand what you're trying to say. If people don't know what you're saying, that's a bad thing.

There are many concepts to understand when it comes to grammar, but I'll just go through a few of them because all of your teachers should have gone over these things back in grade school. Now, I'm American, so I don't know if the way people talk in other countries is different so...

I'll just give you guys a few pointers.

1. "I"- Whenever you use the letter I when referring to yourself, you must always capitalize it. Always. No exceptions. Whatsoever. There's nothing else to say besides the fact that you have to.

2. Sentence fluency- I see a lot of problems with this whenever I read fan fictions. They'll have a great concept, good detail, but bad sentence fluency. All of their sentences are either too long or too short. Try to vary your sentences, it makes it sound better. For example, compare these two samples.

~She went out. People on the street moved around her. She felt hungry. Her stomach growled so she went to get food.

~She stepped out of the house feeling hungry, her stomach growling for a morsel of food. The people she passed on the street weaved around her, taking no notice of the starving girl in front of them. Clutching her stomach, she walked quickly away.

Which was better? I think that pretty much explained itself.

3. Punctuation- There are many different key things to understand when it comes to punctuation. I'll name the most important ones.

~Periods: I think this is pretty self-explanatory. Periods always go at the end of every sentence. Always.

~Question/Exclamation marks: Use these in moderation. I personally don't like to use excalamation marks in writing unless the character is either thinking something or speaking because it looks unprofessional anywhere else. It looks like you're too excited, and you especially don't want to use it in a sad part. For example: She had died of starvation! Did that really need an exclamation mark? No. It didn't. Sorry about the theme of hunger, I'm hungry right now... But point is, there are certain times to use it. Question marks are good, always use them with any type of question (obviously). Never, ever, ever use more than one question/exclamation mark. It looks horrible. Unless the character is texting, e-mailing, tweeting, etc. Those are the only times grammar can be thrown out the window because when people communicate they don't care if they use periods or whatever. Just use one, that's all you need.

~Commas: I don't know why people are so afraid to use commas. They're your best friend! Commas are what keeps sentences from either being fragments or run-ons. Have you ever heard this example?

Let's eat, grandma!

And then there's...

Let's eat grandma!

See the difference one little pause can make? In the first one, the narrator is speaking to their grandma. Whilst in the second one, the narrator apparently wants to eat their grandma...?

I'm sorry, I just love that example.

~Quotation marks: I feel like people are afraid of these too. Whenever someone's speaking, always use quotation marks. One of my pet peeves is when people either just don't use them, or they use colons.

Sarah: Are you going to the party?

No. Just no. I'm pretty sure you're writing a novel, not a play. If you were writing Shakespeare or The Crucible, that would be appropriate. You're writing a story, though, so you must use quotations. If your character is saying a sentence that normally would end in a period, use a comma. This is where it gets confusing. I'll give you examples of all different dialogue scenarios.

"Can we go to the park, mom?" Claire whined.

"I love this movie!" Isabella shrieked.

"I think we should leave now," John said to his wife.

Mary turned around before quietly saying, "I think you're better off without me."

I think I covered all of the different scenarios in which you're using quotations.

~Semicolons and Colons: My only advice to you guys is just not to use these. They're not often found in writing, and when they are, they must be used correctly. Semicolons are when you are combining two different sentences together. For example- She liked to run; she was really fast. That sentence can be split up into two separate ones- She liked to run. She was really fast. However, notice how they're both fragments. Typically, semicolons are used to combine two fragments together, but I wouldn't suggest using them. Even I don't use them. Colons are never used, really, except for telling time. Their use in writing is when you're listing things, but even then I would just use a comma. Colons can get really tricky, especially deciding when to use them. Seriously, just use a comma. I'm not even going to show you an example with a colon because you can just use a comma. See how much I want you to use a comma? That's probably the third time I've mentioned just using a comma. Fourth time. Commas rule!

~Caps: Do I really need to tell you guys when to use caps? Do not, under any circumstance, ever, make each and every word a capital letter. Do Not Do This. It just looks bad and is, quite frankly, annoying. Only capitalize the beginning of each sentence, the letter I, and names of people, places, or important things (like a product- Shamwow).

~The & sign: Just please don't use this. I don't think it takes much energy to type out "and." Only use it when it's in the name of something, like A&P.

4. Smiley faces- I honestly hate it when people use smiley faces in writing. Sorry if you do, it's just annoying. The only time it's acceptable to use smiley faces is in a text, tweet, etc. If it's not like that, don't use it. Here's an example of when NOT to use it:

I have light brown hair that comes down past my shoulders and a really great smile that I love to death :)

No. Just no.

Oh, and don't use one of these:

He was getting me so frustrated >_

Oh gosh just don't...

If you have a lot of issues with grammar, and spell check just doesn't cut it, then I highly advise you to get an editor. There's no shame in it. Even I had someone edit my work when I started to take a real interest in writing.

Please, whatever you do, don't let grammar hinder your writing. It's supposed to be fun, a good way to get your feelings out with words. But if you want to be a professional writer, you should consider perfecting your grammar.

I really hope this quick lesson helped! If I think of anything, I'll be sure to make a Part 2.

If you have any questions about grammar, please feel free to leave them below in a comment and I'll get right back to you! xx