10 Reasons Why Writers Should Learn Good Grammar

Every writer I know has a different perspective on just how good grammar needs to be. Some are sticklers and insist on adhering to the highest standards of the literary order. Others invite creative liberties, and believe that breaking the rules is an art unto itself and should be embraced.

Me? I’m somewhere in the middle. I believe that a writer who is dedicated to her craft will take the time and invest the energy required to master the most basic tools, grammar being foremost among them. But I also believe there are situations in which it’s best to break the rules — as long as you know which rules you’re breaking and why. Read more

Ways to Make Good Grammar Part of Your Daily Life

I recently started relearning how to play the guitar after a rather long hiatus. It’s not like I ever learned how to play it properly in the first place — so I’m a true beginner. And at times, I find it frustrating. I just want to pick the thing up and rip out a song, but I’m constantly tripping over my own fingers, and let’s not even talk about the pain that comes from pressing your fingertips against thick metal strings, repeatedly and for extended periods of time.

Writing’s not so different from playing the guitar. Sometimes we get hung up on the technicalities of the language, and the creative flow is hindered. It’s not easy to rip out a short story when you’re worrying about whether you can end a sentence with a preposition or whether your terminal punctuation marks go inside or outside of the quotation marks. These kinds of setbacks can be painful.

Learning the rules is a drag when you want to fly, but to master any craft, it’s essential to build a solid foundation. Learn the basics; memorize and practice them until they become second nature, and then you can really take off.

Good Grammar and Writing

You don’t have to learn good grammar in order to write — not the way you have to learn chords and strumming patterns to play the guitar — but it sure helps. Your poem might be captivating, your short story compelling, and your essay might be a veritable masterpiece… when read aloud. But if in writing, the grammar is shoddy, you’re going to have a hard time getting published or finding readers.

Even with years of practice and learning, questions about grammar continue to arise. I’ve seen college professors (who taught English) wonder about the rules of good grammar or turn to a handy reference book to look something up.

That’s why I believe that good grammar is a commitment, and for writers, it’s a lifelong commitment. It’s not what makes a writer, but lack of good grammar can definitely break a writer.

The Grammar Lifestyle

I’ve always been interested in grammar and being able to write well. But since I launched this blog back in 2007, I’ve become increasingly dedicated to understanding grammar. Oh, I break the rules from time to time, but I least I know which rules I’m breaking and why.

Today, I thought I’d share some tips for making good grammar part of your daily life. These tips are taken from my own experience, habits, and practices. All of them have helped me expand my grammar skills and become a better writer.

1. Stop Being Lazy – When you’re not sure if the way you’ve written a sentence is correct, take a couple of minutes to go look it up instead of either rewriting it or hoping for the best.

2. Invest in Writing Tools – These include reference books that deal with grammar and style. My personal favorite is The Chicago Manual of Style.

3. Make it a Chore – Some chores you do every day, while others can be tackled weekly or monthly. Set a schedule for regular grammar lessons and stick to it. They don’t have to be long. You can learn something valuable in five short minutes!

4. Talk About It – Turn your grammar questions into conversations. Ask others how they use language. Oddly, I find that even non-writers have interest in basic grammar questions. And if you can’t find anyone who wants to discuss good grammar, take your conversation online. Remember you should always use a credible resource, but discussing grammar related issues is an ideal way to learn the nuances, intricacies, and to gain broader understanding.

5. Put it to Practice – Every time you learn something new, incorporate it into your writing until it becomes second nature. When I learned that it wasn’t traditionally correct to end sentences with prepositions, I stopped completely until it was as natural as putting terminal punctuation marks inside of quotation marks.

6. Bonus! Don’t Be OCD – Well, you can be OCD if you want. I like to break the rules sometimes. Eventually, I returned to ending sentences with prepositions, but only when it was the best way to communicate an action or idea.

Good Grammar for Writers

Writing isn’t really about grammar; it’s about communication. A writer’s job is to share an idea, inform, or entertain. Yet grammar is essential to clear writing. If you write without understanding grammar, it’s like playing a game without learning the rules. You’ll be all over the place, your performance will be a big mess, and you don’t have a very good shot at winning.

So, make good grammar a part of your daily life. Get it into your routine, and embrace it as part of the work one has to do in order to write well.

Good Grammar and Capitalization

Proper capitalization is one of the cornerstones of good grammar, yet many people fling capital letters around carelessly.

Not every word deserves to be capitalized. It’s an honor that must be warranted, and in writing, capitalization is designated only for very special words.

Capitalization of Titles

Keep in mind that there are several contexts in which we can examine capitalization. For example, when writing a title (of a blog post, for example), almost all of the words in the title are capitalized. This is called title case.

Title case is used for titles of books, articles, songs, albums, television shows, magazines, movies… you get the idea.

Capitalization isn’t normally applied to every word in a title. Smaller words, such as a, an, and the are not capitalized. Some writers use a capitalization rule for only those words longer than three letters. Others stretch it to four. There’s no fixed grammar rule for which words are capitalized in a title and you should check your style guide for specific guidelines.

Capitalization of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronyms and many abbreviations are capitalized, regardless of whether the words they stand for warrant capital letters.

First Word of a Sentence

As I’m sure you know, the first word in a sentence is always capitalized.

Capitalization of Proper Nouns

In a recent post on parts of speech, I explained what constitutes as a noun. To keep things simple here today, we’ll refer to a noun as a person, place, or thing. You need not worry about the other parts of speech because only nouns are eligible for perennial capitalization.

There are two types of nouns that matter in terms of capitalization: proper nouns and common nouns. Proper nouns are the names of specific people, places, and things. Common nouns are all the other, nonspecific people, places, and things.

When considering whether to capitalize, ask whether the noun in question is specific. This will tell you if it’s a proper noun, which should be capitalized, or a common noun, which remains in all lowercase letters.

Proper Noun Capitalization Example

The word country is not specific. It could be any country. Even if you’re talking about the country in which you live, which is a specific country, the word itself could indicate any number of nations. So keep it lowercase because it’s a common noun.

Conversely, Chile is a very specific country. You can tell because Chile is actually the name of a particular land in which people reside. When you discuss the people of that land, you won’t capitalize the word people. However, if you’re talking about Chileans, you definitely capitalize because Chileans are a very specific people, from a very specific country, Chile.

Hopefully that makes sense. If not, keep reading because I’m about to confuse you even more.

Capitalization of Web and Internet

Have you ever noticed the word Internet capitalized? How about the word Web? The linguistic jury is still out on these newfangled technology terms, but generally speaking, the Internet is one great big and specific place. The Web is just another word for that same place.

Wait — what about websites? Do they get capitalized? Only if you’re referring to the name of an actual site, like Writing Forward. A website can be any number of pages online. Think of it like a city in Chile, which is similar to a website on the Web or Internet.

Capitalization of Web and Internet is not a hard and fast grammar rule. Lots of people write these words in all lowercase letters. Do note, however, that when these terms are used as adjectives (also known as modifiers or descriptive words), they should never be capitalized:

I was accessing the Internet from an internet cafe.

The first occurrence of “Internet” uses capitalization because it refers to the (specific) Internet. But an internet cafe is a type of cafe and in this example, internet is used as an adjective rather than as a proper noun, and is therefore not capitalized.

Again, capitalizing Web and Internet is optional.

Common Capitalization Errors

Folks often think that capitalization should be applied to any word that’s deemed important. Here’s an example:

We sent the Product to the local Market in our last shipment. Have the Sales Force check to see if our Widgets are properly packaged.

It’s not uncommon, especially in business writing, to see nouns that are crucial to a company’s business capitalized. This is absolutely incorrect. Here’s correct capitalization of our example:

We sent the product to the local market in our last shipment. Have the sales force check to see if our widgets are properly packaged.

Now, in a rewrite of the example, some of the words will be again capitalized, but only if they are changed into proper nouns – names or titles of things and people.

We sent the Widgetbusters (TM) to WidgetMart in our last shipment. Have our Sales Manager check to see if our widgets are properly packaged.

What about Capitalization for job titles?

Ah, this one’s tricky. Job titles are only capitalized when used as part of a specific person’s title:

• Have you ever met a president?
• Did you vote for president?
• Do you want to become the president?
• Nice to meet you Mr. President.
• He once saw President Obama in a restaurant.

Again, this has to do with specificity. “The president” or “a president” could be any president, even if in using the phrase, it’s obvious by context who you mean. However “Mr. President” or “President Obama” are absolutely specific individuals and they call for capitalization.

That’s it for Capitalization

Do you have questions? Need clarification on capitalization or good grammar? Do you have your own capitalization capers that need to be addressed or do you have more capitalization rules to add? Leave a comment!

Why Great Writing (and Good Grammar) Matters Online

A recent and somewhat shocking post over at Skelliewag attempts to convince web writers that quality writing, good grammar, and spelling do not matter online.

In a post titled, “Why Great Writing Doesn’t Matter Online,” Skellie declares that web writers do not need to adhere to the same level of standards as other writers.

While the Internet is notorious for its lack of great writing, and for it’s abundance of low-quality content and complete disregard for good grammar, there is no need to encourage producing anything less than one’s best writing – especially when someone is paying you for your work. And let’s face it, the better your writing, the more it’s worth.

Forget About Great Writing

Here are a few statements pulled from Skellie’s post:

• People don’t read online. Nor do they scan.
• Good writing, clever writing, beautiful writing — all of these things are unnecessary in the creation of great web content.
• Clarity is the only necessary characteristic of good web writing.
• Good ideas will shine through ‘bad’ or just ‘OK’ writing… Good writing can’t save bad ideas (or a lack of ideas).
• In truth, though, truly bad writing is rare.
• Average writing abilities are more than enough to write great web content. Average ideas are not.
• Shelf The Elements of Style. You don’t need it.
• Your readers aren’t looking for great writing — if they were, they’d look inside a broadsheet newspaper, a well-loved magazine or a Pulitzer Prize winning novel.

Who Needs Good Grammar?

In other words: Hey everyone, since the Internet is already so jam-packed with inferior writing, why bother putting out great writing? Just be average. Here on the web, that’s more than enough.

As I read this post, I found myself in a complete state of disbelief. I was literally speechless, and it was all I could do to muster up a comment in response. Turns out I need an entire post to respond in a manner that I feel is adequate. It’s unfathomable that a person who has set herself up in a leadership role advising bloggers and other web professionals, and who offers professional writing services, would publicly declare that great writing — online or anywhere else — is unnecessary. Since Skellie shows more skill in writing than the average blogger, the post was especially hard to digest. In fact, I had to check my calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1st.

Perhaps I simply operate from a different set of ethics, a different philosophy. I believe in encouraging people to be the best they can be, to constantly grow and consistently improve. Can an average writer become a huge success? Of course, but an above average writer has far better chances and will enjoy a better level of credibility and respectability. Does web writing have its own special set of rules? Yes, of course. Every type of writing, whether it’s fiction, technical, or copywriting, has its own style and standards. But writing is writing, and for it to be considered great, online or off, it has to be a lot more than just clear.

Here’s what I think:

Great Writing Matters and Good Grammar Does Too

• People do read online. They also scan.
• Clever and beautiful writing is not a requirement for any type of great writing. Sometimes, simple and direct gets the job done. Whether it’s web content or an erotic romance novel, great writing is great writing. Period.
• There are very few writers who have truly immaculate grammar. People with good grammar skills and flawless spelling are called editors. Still, anyone who calls herself a writer should have a firm grasp on spelling and grammar, and should understand that poor spelling and grammar can alter the meaning of an entire concept. Don’t believe me? Read Eats, Shoots & Leaves. Hell, just read the back flap.
• All good writing requires clarity. A writer’s duty to her readers is to make sure that her words make sense. However, clarity alone does not make for good web writing. There are sites with pages and pages of information about products and services. There are blogs about every subject under the sun (including literature), and there are millions of articles, essays, and even books being written and published online. Saying that web writing only needs to be clear is like saying all I need in a car is good gas mileage. It’s just wrong. I need that and a whole lot more.
• If writing is bad, or just average, good ideas will not always shine through. There are plenty of readers (I among them) who will click away as soon as it becomes apparent that the quality of the writing is poor. This is one of the reasons that many people believe that the Web as we know it is going to collapse under its weight of low-quality content.
• Conversely, good writing can and has saved many bad ideas. Readers like to be entertained, so if a writer has a humorous, witty, or sarcastic voice, there’s a good chance that she’ll build up a decent sized readership regardless of the ideas that are presented.
• Truly bad writing is prevalent all over the Web. It’s everywhere and it’s annoying. The good news is that this gives average or good great writers an edge.
• Average writing abilities produce average web content because average writing is… well, it’s average. Can you succeed with average writing? Yes you can, but the content is and will always be average, no matter how much money you make from it. If you have a truly stellar idea, you’d be smart to publish it in a truly stellar writing style. Don’t have the chops? Hire a writer or an editor.
• Do not shelve The Elements of Style. Keep it handy, and add to it: The Chicago Manual of Style and The Gregg Reference Manual.
• There are two types of readers: those who care about good writing and those who do not. Here’s the thing: if you produce great writing, you can appeal to both types of readers. But if your writing is sub-par, you’re only playing to half the crowd.

I’d like to note that great writing and great content do not always equal success. Achieving success involves many additional factors, such as marketing, networking, and more than a little luck. Poor quality writing has earned millions of dollars for many a writer but producing great writing means having standards and creating something that you can be proud of, regardless of how much money it makes.

And let’s face it, quality has longevity. Do you want to be a disposable writer? Web writers need to do exactly the opposite of what Skellie proposes. I for one, am tired of the way that traditional writers and journalists look down on blogging and other types of web writing as sub-standard. I’m not interested in being a B movie. I want to be a blockbuster, an Oscar winner, and you should too. So instead of shelving your grammar guides, and settling for being average, reach for the stars and be the best writer you can be.

After all, bloggers are writers too.

Are You a Stickler for Good Grammar?

“I don’t like to end sentences with prepositions,” my friend said while we were discussing ways to restructure a sentence.

“But it’s fiction. That’s a whole different ballgame,” I told her, “In college, as a creative writing major, I was taught to learn the rules, then break them.”

Writers need to value good grammar, but sometimes being creative means breaking the rules.

Good Grammar vs. Breaking the Rules

There are countless arguments for sticking to the rules of good grammar, just as there countless reasons to break those rules.

Ultimately, each writer has to decide whether or not to be a stickler for good grammar. Some writers intentionally toss out the rules, and develop a writing style that’s outside of the rules. Others adhere to proper grammar strictly and evenly.

Maybe there’s a nice spot in the middle – where you learn the rules and then figure out when it’s appropriate or desirable to break them.

Grammar is Good

Practicing proper grammar has its advantages:

• Adhering to strict grammar rules demonstrates superior language and writing skills.
• A thorough knowledge of grammar is a sign of intelligence in a writer.
• Accurate grammar indicates a writer who has mastered the craft.
• Following grammar rules all the time adds an interesting challenge to the writing process.
• Practicing good grammar keeps the language consistent and concise with well-defined rules.

Rules Are Made to Be Broken

If you do break the rules of grammar, it sure helps to know them first. Otherwise, your writing might come off as amateurish. If you’re planning on letting your good grammar go bad (or at least naughty), then make sure you know the difference between good grammar, lawless grammar, and plain bad grammar.

• Since spoken language rarely adheres to proper grammar, writing that relieves itself of the rules can be easier for readers to absorb.
• Dialog that sticks to the rules of grammar can sound unnatural.
• Taking creative license with one’s art means breaking the rules.
• Bending the rules can add punch, as in starting a sentence with a conjunction.
• Ignoring the rules, or tweaking them, can help a writer develop a personal style.

Your Thoughts on Grammar

Do you think good grammar is important for writers to master? Should we even bother with all those annoying rules? Many writers feel that we should focus on voice or story and leave grammar to proofreaders and copyeditors. Others say that understanding proper grammar is a basic writing skill.

What’s your position?

Share your thoughts on good grammar and breaking the rules of grammar in the comments.

Good Grammar Forward

Creative writing may be the heart and soul of this site, but every now and then we have to sing the praises of good grammar.

Hopefully, we can do that without being overbearing sticklers about it.

Good Grammar is Great!

We honored National Grammar Day earlier this month. Now, let’s take a little tour thorough some of the grammar-related articles that have been featured here at Writing Forward. The earliest grammar post dates back to September, 2007, just a few weeks after this site was launched, and it talks about using apostrophe -s.

Punctuation Love

I admit to having a penchant for punctuation. In fact, I’m smitten for the serial comma and I know the difference between dashes and hyphens. I can even show you how to use a semicolon.

However, for creative writing (and fiction writing in particular), quotation marks are essential for writing dialog in its proper format.

Doy you have a favorite punctuation mark?

Homophones and Word Pairs

Like many lovers of language, I get a big kick out of studying words. That’s why there are entire sections on this site devoted to homophones and word pairs.

I’m particularly fond of which witch (which you have to admit has a nice ring to it) and affect vs. effect, two words that often confuse and are confused.

Homophones, homonyms, and homographs are lots of fun but so are other types of word pairs and word groups. It’s nice to know whether you should use farther or further when talking about distance. It’s also nice when you set something down and you don’t have to ask, “Did I lay or lie it there?”

The Mashup

We’ve also looked at parts of speech, which are essential for basic sentence structuring. Split infinitives are optional and not quite as essential, but proper capitalization is pretty important unless you’re a rogue poet.

A Few Good Grammar Resources

If you need more grammar tips on a regular basis, I recommend the following resources:

Punctuality Rules has an entire section dedicated to grammar and punctuation with well-written posts that offer simple explanations of grammatical complexities. Plus, lots of other content related to writing, which we all love.

Grammar Girl is a blog and a podcast, so you can either read or listen (I recommend listening). Each post/episode is just a few minutes long, very entertaining, and Grammar Girl’s expertise cannot be denied. This girl knows her business!

Daily Writing Tips is updated every single day, has a team of writers, and brings you tons of nitty gritty information about good grammar, language, punctuation, etymology, and more. Subscribe, because they are an indispensable resource for writers.

A Way with Words is actually a one-hour radio program that is syndicated over the airwaves, but also is available as a podcast. The website has a synopsis of each episode and you can listen directly from the site using the audio feature, or you can hop into iTunes and subscribe there. This is a super engaging show, and you can even call in with questions about words, language, and grammar.

Do you have any good grammar resources that you’d to share or do you have any ideas for grammar topics that you’d like to see covered in future posts here at Writing Forward? Share your thoughts, knowledge, and suggestions in the comments.