A Road Block for Writers
RACHEL KOVACS - Rudyard Kipling wrote over two dozen poems and short stories, yet the editor of the San Francisco Examiner told him that he did not know how to use the English language. Obviously, Kipling overcame this hurdle to become famous for such stories as Captain Courageous and the Jungle Book. Like Kipling, many writers can be amazing storytellers, but struggle with the basics of English grammar.
As a former English teacher and now a writer myself, I have had the opportunity to look at a lot of writing. Grammar was always my least favorite to teach and unless you are Grammar Girl, probably not something that you want to think about every day. As a writer wishing to be taken seriously, however, it is something that must be considered. Bad grammar and spelling can and does stop a reader in their tracks.
Whether you are seeking traditional publishing, indie publishing, or self-publishing, poor grammar can alienate agents, publishers, editors, and ultimately readers. It is important that writers focus on both the art of storytelling and the mechanical aspects of writing, but which should come first?
As the facilitator of the Indianapolis Writers’ Group, I encourage writers to focus on the art of storytelling as they write their first draft. I purposely have them read their work aloud so they can hear the piece and others can get a sense of the story line. Do not stop to edit when you are first developing your story line. Work on developing your ideas. On each subsequent pass, focus on a specific aspect of your writing. On your second draft, for instance, focus on organization. This is the point to add, delete, and rewrite sections. On your third draft, focus on sentence structure and grammar. Finally, fine-tune your writing for word choice and style.
You have many options available to you if grammar is not your area of expertise. First, you can hire someone. You can hire a ghostwriter or an editor to revise your work, but expect to pay top dollar. If you are asking for a critique of your ideas at the same time, expect to pay even more. You should expect to pay around $1.00 to $3.00 per page for quality revisions.
You can also look for a writing mentor in your critique group or online. Successful writers are often willing to help other upcoming writers, but be respectful of their time. As you know, writing is a full time job on its own. If a fellow writer points out some areas that need improvement, take time to learn from your mistakes. Do not continue to submit writing repeatedly with the same type of errors or expect your writing partner to read and critique everything you write. For a more long-term solution, find a writing partner who is equally committed to improving their grammar. Both of you should take time to learn and share what you know.
The best option, of course, is to learn the grammar on your own. This will save you both money and time in the long run. There are many style guides available both in print and online. One of the best resources is Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. Another contemporary source is The Creative Writer’s Style Guide by Christopher Leland. There are also online workshops and sources that can prove valuable. Two such sources are SavvyAuthors and Writers Digest. These offer online workshops on many writing topics such as character and plot development, grammar, revisions, and genre specific writing. And of course, do not forget spell checker! Spell check will not catch everything, so double check your work. There are many sites that list commonly confused and misspelled words. Take advantage of them.
Another great source to use is great novels themselves. Read. A lot. Analyze how the author uses language. Make notes about how they punctuate. Observe how they use dialogue. Break the paragraphs and sentences down and scrutinize how they work. While fiction does not follow the same rules as formal writing, it is important not to use language and punctuation in a way that confuses the reader.
So what are the biggest mistakes that inexperienced (and sometimes experienced) writers make when writing fiction? Using my experience as an English teacher to create a top ten list, here are the top offenders:
1. Leaving words out: the writer’s brain often works faster than their fingers which results in words being out. It helps to read the work aloud to find such slips. Did you catch that?
2. Dangling modifiers: This is when a phrase modifies the wrong word such as “When he pointed the gun, the dog bit the intruder”.
3. Going overboard on adjectives and adverbs: Some very eager writers lovingly put too many beautifully descriptive words into their wonderfully awesome text.
4. Not defining pronouns: Jack, John, Bob, and Andrew love to write. He writes the best.
5. Comma Crazy: Some, people, have, no, clue, when, to, use, a, comma, and, it, is, very, obvious.
6. Apostrophes: It’s and Its are tricky. Learn the rule!
7. He said, She said: Do not change point of view in the middle of a scene or worse yet in the middle of a paragraph. My reader will have no idea who is speaking.
8. Run-ons: Some people like to write really long flowing sentences that do not have any punctuation at all and it drives the reader crazy because they cannot follow the thought and they get lost.
9. Prepositions: Avoid ending sentences with a proposition. Prepositions show direction, location, and relationship. They should come at the beginning of a prepositional phrase and should not be used to end a sentence with.
10. Clichés: You do not have much time on your hands, so I will not stick around here chewing the fat. Clichés are as old as the dirt and will make your writing go belly up and kick the bucket. Avoid them like the plague.
Finally, I will save my best advice for last. Keep writing. Your writing will improve with experience. Do not let your fear of the preposition keep you from your dreams. There are many resources and people out there to assist you until you become a master writer yourself.
Rachel Kovacs writes romantic thrillers, science fiction, and young adult and children’s fiction. She also writes poetry and short stories. Rachel started a writing group called the Indianapolis Writers’ Group to help other local writers develop their skills. You can also follow Rachel on Twitter and Facebook. Her website is www.RachelKovacs.com.
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