Communicate What You Mean: Her Grammarness Lives. Then There's Something Called A to Z Blog Challenge

Her Grammarness Wears This While Writing.
(Not really)If you can't express your ideas clearly on the page, you're not communicating what you want.At a book signing one of the people in the audience asked, "Do you pay attention to grammar when you write?"

I was with two other authors. One said sometimes. The other said never.

Guess what I said?

Actually, I think I uttered more of a loud English teacher moan before I said, "Without following the writing conventions, we can't communicate what we really mean."

Kind of pompous? Maybe, but come on writers, if you're not clear when you set down your ideas on a page, what do you expect, your readers to do--call you up and ask, "What did you mean when you wrote this?"

Personally, I don't like late night phone calls (I expect that's when I'd get these kinds of calls), so I'm willing to put in the extra care to get the grammar and, for that matter, the punctuation as correct as I can. Even then, I want a keen-eyed editor going over my prose--I messed up on this once, but never again. That's a long and embarrassing story that I shall reveal upon my deathbed, but not before.

I went exploring on the good old Internet and found a few places that are great resources for anyone trying to put ideas on a page. Here are some links, so check them out when you're not sure about your punctuation or when you have to win an argument over that lie/lay-sit/set-passed/past issue. Never again dangle those participles and never again wonder if your clauses are restrictive and need commas or non-restrictive and don't.

QUICK AND DIRTY TIPS
THE GRAMMAR BOOK
FREE GRAMMAR HELP
GRAMMAR SLAMMER




I caught the tail end of the #atozchallenge Tweet Chat Friday night. I met some new Tweeps and chatted afterward. As one of M.J. Joachim's Team, I like to explore what's going on. You might check out the Chat next Friday evening. It starts at 5PM. 

Here's the rest of JOCHIM'S lovely A to Z Team

Ann Hinds - Yeakley/Jones Family HistoryRunner 5Suzanne Sapsed - Suzanne’s TribeSherry Ellis - Mama Diaries & Gone Gardening  Laura - My Baffling BrainBish Denham - Random ThoughtsSliding on the Edge, C. Lee McKenzie, WestSide Books, Spring '09
The Princess of Las Pulgas, WestSide Books, Fall '10
The First Time, Fall '11 (Anthology story: Premeditated Cat)
Alligators Overhead, Outskirts Press, Fall '12
Two and Twenty Dark Tales (Anthology story: Into the Sea of Dew