Grammar Rules: Create First, Edit Second

The best advise I can give regarding grammar is don't let it consume you. Sit down in front of your computer or pick up a pen and writing pad and start creating. Don't worry about grammar or where to stick commas, this isn't the stage to allow yourself to be distracted. Write whatever you want, let it flow from you to the page. Then, and only then, once you've finished put down that pen or save your Word document. Get up and go make a cup of tea, or dance around the house (don't laugh, I actually have done this). Allow fifteen minutes or so to clear your head. Return to your written piece and start editing it—check your grammar and punctuation. Look up any word you're unsure of in an approved good quality dictionary for your country. Once you think the piece is at its best, give it to someone you trust to proofread. It doesn't matter if it's a family member, friend, neighbor, work colleague or professional editor. Listen to their comments regarding the content and understand they're trying to help. They are giving their points of view, perhaps covering an area you haven't considered. Pay attention to what they question. Are they questioning it because they are having trouble understanding? Perhaps it's not clear enough; if so, then consider other ways of wording it. If they point out a word or punctuation mark that seems inappropriate—look it up!

If your goal is to have your work published, then you have to be professional—that means your attitude and your work. You've probably heard this many times, but it is important. If you were applying for a job, you'd make sure your résumé was impressive before sending it anywhere. Sending your piece to a publisher works the same way. You're competing against all those other writers. Don't give up; hard work and dedication will get you there, but be prepared for the long haul. Everybody wants their dreams to come today, but the most important dreams take time. And when those dreams start to turn into reality—you'll know you are on your way. So let's cover some of those pesky grammar and punctuation queries here over time to help make your pieces stand out and scream—I'm a professional, hire me!

Let’s start with the mighty full stop (or period, or dot, or whatever you like to call them). Such a small mark and it has an important role. It tells us when to stop and when to start. In a group of three it indicates an interruption in speech. And we’d be lost if we didn’t include them in web site and email addresses.

A single full stop ends a sentence and indicates a new sentence. One space follows the full stop. Back in the typewriting days, two spaces was considered the normal rule. Now with our speedy computers that can save and retrieve pages and pages at a click of the button, the need for two spaces no longer applies.

A series of three dots, or ellipsis points, shows a word or words are missing from a quote. Let’s imagine we are listening to a speaker try to emphasize the importance of drafting and editing a manuscript:

“After you write your story, you need to rewrite it and rewrite it, edit it and edit it and edit it for it to stand a chance of publication.”

The speaker does get the message across clearly, and could quite possibly scare the audience. But we might not want to use the entire quote, or scare anyone from writing, so we might end up with something like this:

“After you write your story, you need to rewrite it … and edit it for it to stand a chance of publication.”

The point is still clear, but a little less frightening and it reads better.

It can also indicate an unfinished sentence displayed as dialogue.

Example:

“But I told you, I never …”
“You told me nothing!”

The first person has more to say but has been interrupted by the second person cutting in. Notice how there are only three dots at the end of the first line. Never add another full stop even if it is at the end. The only punctuation marks that can precede or follow an ellipsis are question marks, exclamation marks, and as seen in the first line, quotation marks.

Should a space be left on either side of an ellipsis? That depends on where you are, and where the document is intended. For example, spaces on either side of the ellipsis are omitted for publications with space restrictions such as newspapers. Check the style manual for your area or the house style of the intended publication.

That’s enough theory for now, you’re probably anxious to get back to creating your next masterpiece. Happy writing!

Grammar Rules: Active and Passive Voice

Unfortunately, it's a fact that many new writers—and some experienced ones—drift into the passive voice. When I started writing, my teachers all said, “You’re writing in the passive voice. Use an active voice instead. It will make your writing more interesting.”

“Okay, explain the difference to me,” I always replied.

They all offered the same explanation: “With the active voice, the subject undertakes the action. With the passive voice, the subject is being acted upon,” (or words to that effect).

This did little to help me, but no one seemed able to describe it in any other terms, which led me to countless hours spent surrounded by open books. It was surprising how many books use the same phrasing that the teachers did. What I wanted was a way to detect when I have moved from active to passive. So, for all those writers who have trouble with this concept, I’m going to try to explain it in the simplest possible terms.

How can you tell if you have slipped into the passive voice? Look for the word “by.”

Here is an example of passive voice: “The trespasser was chased by a bull yesterday.”

It takes little work to rewrite the above sentence in the active voice, as the following sentence shows: “A bull chased the trespasser yesterday.”

Notably, there are also passive sentences that do not contain the word “by.” With such sentences we have to rely on the golden rule. I’m afraid I’m going to sound like one of those teachers I mentioned earlier, but once again, active voice is when the subject undertakes the action, and passive voice is when the subject is being acted upon.

Here is another example of a passive sentence: “The matter will be looked into further and a solution will be found.”

Notice that there is ambiguity with this example. Who is looking into the problem? The ambiguity gives a hint that the sentence is written in the passive voice.

Don’t be afraid to reword the sentence to transform it into the active voice, as in this example: “The mailroom personnel will check into the problem and rectify it immediately.”

Active voice can make a sentence more exciting by speeding up the pace, and it is especially useful when the writer wants the reader to feel anxiety or suspense. But the passive voice does have its place. It can help the reader to catch his or her breath after an exciting, fast-paced section. It is also extremely useful in corporate writing, and to soften the effects of blame on an individual or group.

Here is an example of useful passive voice: “The letter failed to be sent on time by the mailroom personnel.”

The example clearly blames a particular group, but is softened by the use of the passive voice.

The following sentence, which is written in active voice, shows a more brutal attack: “The mailroom personnel didn’t send the letter on time.”

Hopefully these hints will help alert you to the passive voice. You will probably find yourself writing more and more in the active voice. Good luck and happy writing.

Grammar Rules: Habits Of Speech To Avoid

Habits of speech have a tendency to creep into our writing. Things that are accepted or ignore in everyday conversations should be avoided when writing. Have you ever said, or heard, something like this?

The movie starts at 7.30 pm at night.
Her dress was the colour of blue.
The final score was dismal at the end of the game.
I’m telling the truth, he was killed to death!
I ride my two-wheel bicycle for twenty minutes each day.

These are tautologies. A tautology is saying the same thing twice. Let’s look at those examples again.

The movie starts at 7.30 pm at night.

There is no need to indicate it’s at night as the ‘pm’ already tells us this.

The movie starts at 7.30 pm.

Her dress was the colour of blue.

Blue is a colour.

Her dress was blue.

The final score was dismal at the end of the game.

A final score indicates the end of the game.

The final score was dismal.

I’m telling the truth, he was killed to death!

Some times when we try to emphasis a point we can fall into the trap of over doing it. Dead is dead; there are no in-betweens.

I’m telling the truth, he was killed!

However, it is okay to say, ‘He was stabbed to death’, because people can survive a stabbing.

I ride my two-wheel bicycle for twenty minutes each day.

Bicycle means a two-wheeled bike.

I ride my bicycle for twenty minutes each day.

Some tautologies stand out, but some are used in everyday conversations so they can go unnoticed. Keep a look out for them, and then avoid them.

What do all of the following have in common?

Needle in a haystack.
Not over until it’s over.
Plenty of fish in the sea.
A hard slog.
Kicked the bucket.
Beat a dead horse, or flog a dead horse, or whatever variation of it.

They are clichés. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, but it’s amazing how often they still manage to slip in. Any phrase or expression which is overused is a cliché and shouldn’t be used. If you have a character that has a tendency to use such phrases when talking, then of course you’ll probably want to use a couple to enforce this character trait, but don’t over do it. Usually overdone expressions annoy people, especially when reading. There is nothing that can ruin a story faster for me then when I see cliché after cliché. I feel disappointed when they are in a published book by a professional author. It’s as if the author didn’t care enough about his or her readers to take an extra five minutes to think of another way of saying it.

A simple rule: if you’ve heard it before, and pretty sure most other people have then don’t use it. Be creative, and think how else you can say it or describe it.

Grammar Rules: Say Bye To Those Really, Really Nice Words

We’ve already talked about tautologies; now, I would like to discuss other areas where certain words are used that should not make the final draft. Writing is a skill like any other skill that has to be learnt. And when we learn new skills, we have a tendency to fall into some bad habits. Knowing what these bad habits are will help make you aware so that you can avoid the slip-ups.

Follow me on this line of thought; you’re writing a story and want to describe a person’s height, so you think for a minute, and eventually you end up with a phrase such as this:

He was a very tall man.

What is the problem with this sentence? It weakens the writing. First of all, take out ‘very’ and all the other words like it (‘really,’ ‘nice,’ ‘pretty,’ and while you’re at it throw out ‘cute’ too) and don’t use them. They are over-used and do not strengthen your work.

Now we are left with:

He was a tall man.

That’s better, but how tall is he? Is he taller than average? Does he stoop to walk through doorways? Of course, we can state his height as in the following example:

He was a tall man – six feet and six inches.

Or we can use a bit of creative power; think about what it is you’re trying to say. In this instance, I see (in my mind, that is) a man in a crowd, but he’s a good foot taller than the rest, which makes him stand out easily. Once you have the image, play around with words until you find something you like that still gives a clear picture that this man is tall.

He was a tall man, standing a foot taller than the rest of the crowd.

His head bobbed above the sea of faceless heads.

Even though he was a head taller than the rest of the crowd, she didn’t hold out much hope for him to see her. She had been dubbed ‘Pixie’ for a reason.

Another overused word is ‘that.’ It doesn’t mean you can’t use it, but see if the sentence can stand without it. Imagine your sentence is a building and each word is supporting the roof. If a word doesn’t need to be there, or if it’s not supporting the roof from falling in, get rid of it.

That’s (chuckle) all, have fun writing.

Grammar Rules: The Power of Adjectives

Adjectives carry a fascinating role; they describe a noun. (A noun is the name of a person, place or thing, hence the common reference ‘a naming word’.) Adjectives can give nouns shape, color, even feeling. Take a look at these examples:

It’s a cold day.

Tony is a tall boy.

He was a con man.

The dog was scared.

In one word these amazing adjectives have conjured up a picture. What happens when we take the adjective out?

It’s a day.

Tony is a boy.

He was a man.

The dog was.

It leaves us with sentences that are useless, either stating the obvious or showing no clarity.

Therefore adjectives are necessary in creative writing, right? WRONG! Adjectives are so powerful that they tell us, the reader. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, ‘show it, don’t tell it’. This is my round about way of saying the exact same thing.

Showing instead of telling helps the reader experience. It can pull the author’s words from the page and make the story come ‘alive’. Perhaps the reader has been in a similar situation before and can relate, or the scenario may be completely foreign to the reader but skilful wording creates understanding, and feelings. This is the writer’s goal, to create and allow readers to experience all the same things they are reading. It doesn’t matter how old we get; no one likes being told. So doesn’t it make sense when reading that we still don’t want to be told what is happening? We want to experience it right along with characters.

The commuters turned their coat collars up and repositioned scarves while the wind whipped around their reddening faces.

All the schoolboys in the back row except Tony had to stand on a crate for the class photos.

The salesman ignored my questions and continued his fast paced monologue.

The dog backed further into the kennel unable to peel his wide eyes from the explosion in the sky, his whimper drowned out by the New Year celebrations.

Adjectives are a great way to unblock your thoughts. Start off with a simple sentence, for instance: The star twinkled brightly.

Then play with it and watch it grow. It may, for a moment, turn into a single star fighting it’s way through a cloud to be seen, and then ‘hey, presto’, before you know it you’ve launched into a science fiction story, or a falling meteorite that threatens human existence, or another form of life, or whatever. Give it a shot, you may just surprise yourself.

Grammar Rules: Repetition

It can be hard work to make a passage interesting enough for someone else to read it. There are so many things to remember … don’t do this … don’t do that … but, try to do this … It can be scary, especially for a new writer. These rules are not to scare; they are to help the newbie know what professionals already have learned through hard work, and many years of receiving rejections. That story about wallpapering your walls with rejection slips – it’s true. Unless, of course, you learn from those that have already made every mistake there is.



Which brings us to the next hint: repetition. Try to avoid repeating the same word too often. Please read this:

Jack leapt from his bed; the alarm hadn’t gone off again! Jack was bound to be late and be fired for sure this time. Jack then rushed through the shower so quickly that Jack wasn’t sure if the water actually touched his skin. Jack skipped breakfast and bolted for the door. Jack’s hand reached for the car keys as Jack always kept them in a dish by the door – well, mostly always. And this was one of those cases Jack hadn’t. Jack stared at the empty dish as the colour drained from his face. How was Jack going to get to work on time now?

Sick of reading the name ‘Jack’? Use your alternative pronouns instead of the character’s name to break it up a bit. But don’t overdo it like in this example:

Jack leapt from his bed; the alarm hadn’t gone off again! He was bound to be late and be fired for sure this time. He then rushed through the shower so quickly that he wasn’t sure if the water actually touched his skin. He skipped breakfast and bolted for the door. He reached for the car keys as he always kept them in a dish by the door – well, mostly always. And this was one of those cases he hadn’t. He stared at the empty dish as the colour drained from his face. How was he going to get to work on time now?

The overuse of ‘he’ has become annoying. Let’s do it right this time.

Jack leapt from his bed; the alarm hadn’t gone off again! He was bound to be late and be fired for sure this time. He rushed through the shower so quickly there was doubt if the water actually touched his skin. Jack skipped breakfast and bolted for the door. His hand reached for the car keys; he always kept them in a dish by the door – well, mostly always. And this was one of those cases he didn’t. He stared at the empty dish, the colour drained from his face. How was he going to get to work on time now?

‘And’ is one word that is over used. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great word and is handy, but let’s not get carried away.

And here we are, another beautiful day by the sea, just relaxing and watching the swimmers, and the children building sandcastles and the boats on the horizon. The perfect way to spend a day away from the office and let the hours drift by without a single thought about emails and missed calls and the files that are no doubt piling up.

A few paragraphs of this and you’ll be throwing it into the sea.



The best way to pick up if you’re using a word too often is to read it out aloud. This can be a little embarrassing at first, but you’ll get over it. I used to refuse to read my work aloud because I was embarrassed. Now, people tell me I don’t shut up. They even start thinking I’m on the phone because I’m rambling; actually I’m talking to my computer.



That it for now, keep writing and have fun with it.