by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media I often get ideas for blogs from conversations with other writers and readers. A few days ago, Stacy Bender, author of the Sav’ine Guard series and other books, and I were chatting about the importance of good grammar and punctuation in writing fiction.
As a 20 year veteran of teaching college writing, this becomes a landmine field for me. I took an oath to the Gods of Grammar that I shall forever defend proper usage, but, on the other hand, when do the rules get in the way of good flow, and where do we draw the line? I’ve had many would-be writers tell me that proper grammar usage is inconsequential compared to the content, and others that tell me that it’s an editor’s job so why bother. One student told me that he thought English grammar was ‘capricious’, falling back on the theory that we make this stuff up as we go along. While I give him bonus points for the correct usage of capricious, English grammar does have set rules that actually follow a pattern. On the flip side, I’ve seen writers get so mired in technically correct usage that the narrative, and sometimes the dialog, no longer makes sense. I once read a fairly popular book, which I won’t name, that did not contain a single contraction—even in dialog. The result was a stiff and nearly unreadable book where the characters sounded unrealistic and bordered on ridiculous. It’s true; when it comes to fiction, there is a lot of latitude, but as they say--you have to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em. Most writing teachers will tell you that you have to know the rules before you can break the rules, and that’s about right. This doesn’t mean that you have to have a degree in English to write a book. I’ve included a list of books you can use as reference if you think your grammar is weak, and even if you have a good handle on it, it pays to have a few good writing books on hand. Learning to break the rules is an art form that takes some time to craft. Dialog is fairly easy; always remain true to the character. Huck Finn would not have been the captivating character that he was if he spoke in perfect form—in fact, it would have been very strange for a poor Southern boy in the 19th century to speak any other way than he did. Narrative gets a little trickier. If you’ve written in first person, like Huck Finn, take care to keep the grammar patterns consistent even if it means breaking the rules. Third person generally will require more adhesion to standard grammar, but don’t fall into the trap of ‘perfect’ writing. Too many ‘whoms’ or correct usage of subject/verb agreement may not be the best choice for your narrative; it depends on the general tone and voice of the piece. The bottom line is that you are writing for an audience; otherwise, you wouldn’t be concerned with publishing. When you are considering how much or how little to veer from standard English, consider how you want the readers to perceive both the dialog and narrative. Develop your tone and voice and stay true to your audience. Suggested Reading: The classic must have for any writer: Strunk and White's Elements of Style. One of my favorites for good basics in a readable format: Stephen King' On Writing. Get things into perspective from a British point of view: Lynn Truss's Eats, Shoots, and Leaves. I recommend just about anything by Peter Elbow and William Zinsser especially On Writing Well. Have at least one good style book on hand depending on your genre. I have all these: Modern Language Association, American Psychological Association, and Associated Press. For quick reference, the most reliable and up-to-date website is Perdue University’s Online Writing Lab. Also, I've written an interactive manual for punctuation: The Befuddled Writer's Guide to Punctuation.
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by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media Whether you are a pro, a novice or a wannabe, we all need reminders as to how to improve our writing. As you make your New Year’s resolutions, incorporate these ideas into your writing routine.
1. Write. Are you feeling a little cheated by this obvious tip? I’ve heard many would-be writers say that they have great ideas. Unless it’s on paper (or on a hard drive), it’s not writing. 2. Read every day. Not long ago I read about a study of the reading habits of journalism students. A majority didn’t think of themselves as readers—hmmmm. As Stephen Ambrose said, “There are many rules of good writing, but the best way to find them is to be a good reader.” 3. Write every day. Even if you are between projects, daily writing is the best way to keep your skills honed. Start a blog, write letters, keep a journal—whatever works for you. 4. Learn the basics of grammar. And don’t tell me that true art shouldn’t be constrained by rules. It’s why they call it a discipline. 5. Take a class. Whether your passion is creative writing or you want to sharpen your skills as a technical writer, an expert in the field can challenge you and lead you in new directions. Universities and community colleges often offer non-degree classes, and reputable online courses, like the ones offered by Writers’ Digest, are also an option. 6. Find a writing buddy. Sometimes releasing writing out into the public feels like sending a child out into the world. All sorts of insecurity and fears arise. Having a fellow writer or a trusted friend to bounce ideas and finished manuscripts off of can relieve some of the anxiety. 7. Set up creative scenarios to practice writing. For example, take a walk and pretend you are seeing everything for the first time or that you are a different person. How does that perspective change? Is it frightening or beautiful? Does the ordinary seem strange? Write a few pages or paragraphs about the experience. Creative Something has helpful ideas to promote creative thinking: http://www.creativesomething.net/ 8. Keep up with writing and publishing trends. Writers’ Market not only has information for creative writers, but they also publish guides for most types of writing. Consider joining a professional organization for your particular genre to keep current. 9. On the other hand—don’t let fads and trends guide your topics or style. Remain true to your uniqueness. 10. Don’t be afraid to fail. We all fail at some point—Shakespeare has failed; Woolf has failed; Grisham has failed; I have failed. We have all had critics and some from unexpected places. But all writers have successes too. Feed your soul on the praise and learn from the criticism. Fear is the biggest stumbling block to your success as a writer—don’t let it stop you from becoming the best writer you can be. While this white paper is copyrighted material, the author gives her permission for reprinting as long as the following is included: “Ten Tips to Improve Your Writing” by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh ©Copyright 2011 http://wordbranchmedia.com by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media If you are a native speaker of English, then you probably intuitively conjugate verbs without really knowing why they are used in certain ways. It wasn’t until I moved to Ecuador and started learning Spanish that I really began to understand English conjugation. English, however, can take some odd twists and turns, and if you are like my friend Cyndi, it may occur to you that some just sound funny as it did when she was struggling with a past perfect verb tense issue.
But perhaps none sounds as funny as the subjunctive mood. I’ve seen many confused expressions, as well as heard gleeful chortles, from people who were sure that I made a grammar snafu when I used the subjunctive mood. I certainly do make my share of mistakes, but not this time. The subjunctive mood is used when something hasn’t happened; it is a hope or desire. If the verb is not a form of ‘to be’ then simply use the past or past perfect tense; however, the confusion comes when a form of ‘to be’ is used in the subjunctive mood. In that case, substitute ‘were’ for ‘was.’ • I wish I were on vacation. • If I were only richer, I would go on vacation. • If I were you, I would go on vacation. Besides showing that I obviously need a vacation, these are the phrases that raise eyebrows. I agree that in some circles it sounds snooty, but I can’t bear to break the rule for the sake of acceptance. The subjunctive mood does have honest roots. Scholar LM Berk theorizes that it comes from old English but it is being used less as time passes, and others believe that it is fading from use completely. I wish that weren’t true. http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/539/07/ http://www.ceafinney.com/subjunctive/excerpts.html by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media “The written English language is not decoration!” I thought to myself. This thought comes to me fairly often as I look at butchered ads, badly written articles or, gulp, botched blogs. Written language is code—symbols for the real thing. If the symbols are nouns (person, place or thing—remember grade school?) then they are concrete, touchable for the most part. But if the symbols are verbs, ah, then it gets interesting. Verbs are the philosophers of language, creating intangible ideas ranging from mundane actions to enigmatic infinitives: to be . . . or not.
So with all these wonderful verb and nouns held together by functional articles and flamboyant adverbs and adjectives, why do we feel the need to decorate language with a flourish of unneeded commas, apostrophes and capital letters? Is it because we’re afraid that the weight of our thoughts is not enough to capture the attention of our audience? Or is it because no one taught us the right way? I suspect a little of the former and a lot of the latter. So that puts a heavy burden on us English teachers. Before we wail about how hard we try and nobody listens, let’s ask ourselves how we are getting the message out and how we can be more effective. How can we take language from the loftiness of academics to the earthiness of craft? And you writers, you’re not getting off so easily either. Have confidence in your words so that you don’t need to decorate them with extra punctuation like so much cheap glitter. Take the time to learn the language with all of its nuances and complexities. Learn the code. And so I don’t come off looking like too much of a pompous ass, let me confess. As a writer, I’ve made a mistake or two . . . or many more . . . over the years, and I’ve been tempted to sprinkle some decorative glitter from time to time. As a teacher, I’ve failed to engage my students or to drive home my anti-glitter campaign. I accept my burden. Fifteenth century Roman emperor, Sigismund, claimed, “I am the Roman Emperor and am above grammar.” I suppose if you are a Roman emperor you can do what you want. However, those of us who aren’t should play by the rules. by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media Capitalization: I’ve battled this demon for years, and I can’t say that I have won. Students, relatives, and friends still stare in disbelief when I tell them that there are actual rules to capitalization. One student even accused all English teachers of making it up as we went along. Hmmmm . . . Many people believe that capitalization denotes importance while, in our age of text-messaging, others see it as an unnecessary inconvenience.
There are rules to capitalization, and like most other grammar and usage issues, the rules are common sense. The confusion comes in that no one really explained it to us. Capitalization is merely a signal of several different items: proper names, titles, beginning of sentences, the pronoun, “I.” When we talk about capitalization, we can use the phrase upper case for capital letters and lower case for small letters. And when we say that something is upper case, we generally mean the first letter of the word not the entire word. Proper names are the names of people and specific places as well as titles used before the name. So Bill, the name, is capitalized, while the bill that you receive in the mail is not. Central City High School is capitalized, but my high school is in Central City is not. Notice that Central City is still upper case because it is a proper name, but if I were talking about a city, no proper name, it is lower case. Counties and languages are also considered proper names. Brand names are capitalized because they are like proper names. Quaker Oatmeal, for example, is upper case, but “I eat oatmeal for breakfast” is not. Titles are capitalized when used with a person’s name. It becomes a part of the proper names. For example, Doctor Ruiz is capitalized, while “I have an appointment with the doctor” isn’t. Perhaps more confusing is the capitalization of kinship titles like mom, uncle, cousin. If you use the title in place of a name, like “Mom went to visit Grandma” then use the upper case. If you would say, “My mom went to visit my grandma” then use lower case. And easy way to remember is that if you can replace the person’s name with the title, then use upper case. My mother’s name is Mary, so I might say, “Mom (Mary) went to the doctor’s office,” but I wouldn’t say, “My Mom (Mary) went to the doctor’s office.” I had a student a number of years ago who never capitalized “I” in his writing. I explained to him that the personal pronoun was always capitalized, and he replied that he didn’t think he was important enough to capitalize it. How sad. But self-esteem aside, always capitalize I; there are no exceptions to this one. Capitalization in titles of books, articles, poems, songs, etc. usually confuse my students; although, there are very few rules. Remember that the first letter of each word in a title is capitalized unless it is an article (small connecting words like “and,” “the,” “but,” etc.), but capitalize the article if it is the first word in the title or sub-title. The first letter of the first word of all sentences is also upper case. I told you that there are common sense reasons for these rules, so let me explain. According to Lynn Truss, author of Eats, Shoots & Leaves, most grammar and usage rules came from the standardization of the English language. The first group of people to find the written version of English particularly useful was actors. Many of the standards of punctuation, capitalization, and apostrophe use came from the need to make clear in a script who was doing what in a concise manner. Once you understand the rules and where they came from, it begins to make sense. I promise. by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media We live in a world where ad hyperbole has become acceptable as standard English in some crowds. “New and Improved!” is considered a full and complete sentence. A student once argued passionately that if it were written on a greeting card or in an ad, it must be standard English—after all, professionals write them, don’t they? Sentence fragments, or incomplete sentences, sometimes sound fine to us because we’re used to hearing truncated advertisements.
Speaking as one of those professionals, I’ll tell you why we sometimes use non-standard English. It forms the tone that creates a positive selling/buying atmosphere. For example, if I were to write “No one knows his or her business like we do,” or “The soap is new and improved!” you would focus more on the syntax than the sentiment. For the record, both of these are correct. So I understand the confusion over sentence fragments. But if you are writing a business proposal, a college paper, or an email to a client, you want to sound professional and polished, and it would be best to avoid fragments as well as other forms of non-standard English. We’ll start with our old friend, sentence structure. Are you seeing a pattern here? What they taught us in grade school really is the basis for the language. To have a complete sentence, you must have two parts of speech: a subject and a verb. The verb part is easy—an action word. Some words don’t sound all that active like to sleep, to read, to be, but if you can reduce them to their infinitive (a “to be” in front of it), chances are you’ve got a verb. A subject is always a noun, but not all nouns are subjects. A subject is doing the action (verb). So, in the sentence, “The girl is walking the dog,” girl would be the subject since she is doing the walking of the dog (the object). In most cases, if you can identify the subject and verb in a clause (section of sentence or whole sentence), then you probably don’t have a frag. Notice the word probably. Now, notice this sentence. Do you see a subject? Nope—the sentence isn’t doing the noticing, so there’s no subject. Well, sort of (now this IS a frag!). Therein lay the proverbial exception to the rule. In commands, and it is a command, subjects are understood and don’t have to be written. So, “Run!” wouldn’t be a fragment because it’s actually a command and the “you” is implied. Phew! Ready for the next one? THAT is a fragment too, so let me rephrase that: Are you ready for the next one? You may remember an English teacher telling you to write in the active voice, and you may have been confused. Aren’t they all active? Active simply means that the subject is non-exssitant or not in the best place. For example, “The vase was broken by John” is passive because John (the subject) is in an awkward place preceded by “was” which is often a tell-tale sign of passive sentence. I know that the vase isn’t the subject because the vase didn’t do the breaking. The active, and better, version is, “John broke the vase.” Sometimes a passive sentence is all right to use when you don’t know the exact subject: “The house was robbed.” The house is the object (it isn’t doing the robbing), so we don’t have a subject. In this instance, where we have an unavoidable passive sentence, the subject is once again implied. We assume a robber robbed the house. Now that your sentence structure is “New and Improved!” go out there and impress them! by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media A number of years ago, an acquaintance asked me to review his company’s website. The graphics were nice, and it was well organized. However, it was riddled with punctuation errors, grammar problems, and typos. As diplomatically as possible, I pointed out the flaws. He was clearly offended, and informed me that his customers didn’t care about things like that.
But do they? When I teach website evaluations to students, one of the critical factors is the amount of typos and grammar and usage mistakes on the site. The theory is that if a person doesn’t care enough to proofread, or hire someone to proofread, his or her website, can the information in the site be trusted? Conventional wisdom says no, or at least it needs collaborating evidence. If I were Internet shopping for a product, I would be reluctant to turn over my money to a business that didn’t care enough to take the time to make sure the presentation to the public was accurate. Websites aren’t the only offenders. I’ve often said that someday when I go completely off the rails, I am going to don a mask and cape and become Captain Proof, defender of grammar and usage. My plan is to take a giant Magic Marker and correct all the erroneous signs in my town: No more “Whether Veins,” “Its a boy,” or “Worship hear”! People are touchy about their writing, and that’s understandable. Writing is an act of creation that comes from a deep place. Most people don’t feel confident about their writing abilities because they see it as a mystical process that is a part of who they are. No one wants to be told that his or her writing is flawed. In both my teaching and editing, it is my job to tell people how to make their writing better and to separate the writing from the person. I make a point to be professional and empathetic and to make it clear that they are not being criticized. I’m not sure some of my students would believe that, but my goal is to help them make their writing better. Contrary to my acquaintance’s ideas, people do care about accuracy. It doesn’t take an English teacher to see that a word is misspelled or a sentence is grammatically incorrect. It’s bad business to assume that your clientele doesn’t know any better, and you will never know how many potential customers you’ve lost because of sloppiness. by Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh: President, Word Branch Media Due to a move to another state, it’s been a while since I posted a blog, and I feel rootless. Because there’s a lot of chaos in my life right now, I feel the need for structure . . . and . . . rules. I once had a computer-tech major tell me that the reason that he didn’t like studying writing was that language is “capricious” (look it up!). Students sometimes feel we, by “we” I mean English teachers, are making it up as we go along. Writing is neither capricious or made up; there are some pretty hard-core rules, and I find this comforting when I feel like the rest of my life is out of control.
So I thought I’d blog about my favorite set of usage rules: commas. I am very well aware that this is not fascinating stuff to the majority of the planet, so when I do my comma lecture in class, I always watch for the tell-tale signs that I’m losing my audience like eyes glazing over and sneaking peeks at cell phones. When I begin to see that I’m losing my most attentive students, I cut it short and switch to something fun for a while. Since I can’t see you stealthily backing away from your computer, I’ll keep it brief, and I’ll post a fun break at the end of the blog. I’ll also keep it to just one usage of commas, and save the others for another day. So stay right where you are and pay attention. It will hardly hurt at all, and it’s good for you! Let me first debunk the most insidious rumor about commas: you insert one when you need to take a breath. That would mean that long-distance runners would use fewer commas than heavy smokers—right? Well, it’s not quite that capricious. You first need to go back to Mrs. Smith’s third grade class and dredge up some of those old terms you thought you’d never have to use again. A full sentence (an independent clause) is made up of two parts of speech: a verb and a subject. A verb, as you know from third grade, is an action word: to run, to sleep, to be, etc. A subject is a noun (person place or thing) that is doing the action. Therefore, “I walk” is an independent clause. If I wrote “I walk the dog,” dog would be the object (the noun that has the action done to it), but an object isn’t needed to make an independent clause; it just makes it easier to understand and often to flow better. So let’s take two independent clauses: I went to the store. And: I bought bread. As two sentences, they sound choppy, so to improve the flow, I might want to “glue” them together. If I joined them together without punctuation (I went to the store I bought bread), it would be a run-on sentence. If I joined these two independent clauses together with a comma (I went to the store, I bought bread) it would be called a comma splice. Think of a comma as white glue trying to hold together two heavy objects; it wouldn’t hold very well. I could do several things to fix my sentence. I could use a semi-colon, the super glue of punctuation: I went to the store; I bought bread. However, that’s a little too dramatic for this very functional sentence. Because they are both independent clauses, I need more glue. I can use a comma and a conjunction (and): I went to the store, and I bought bread. If I wanted to make this a simpler sentence and take the focus off of “I,” I can lose a subject, and now my sentence would be an independent clause (I went to the store) and a dependent clause or fragment (bought bread). Now I don’t need as much glue, so I can leave out the comma: I went to the store and bought bread. Got it? It would hurt me deeply to think that you are out there playing solitaire instead of breathlessly consuming my grammatical wisdom, so I prefer to think of you eagerly awaiting your reward for paying rapt attention, so here it is: http://freerice.com. It’s fun; its language related, and you can do a good deed as well. And please note my correct use of semi-colons and comma in that sentence. Reposted from May 25, 2008 Although you may use this advice freely, the writing is copyrighted and may not be used without the express permission of Catherine Rayburn-Trobaugh. Email me atcatherine@crtwriting.com for more information. |
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