Some tips to help new writers with grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc...

[Erin99]

Hi!


I thought I'd post this here because I've read quite a few excerpts in the critiques section that have basic grammar and punctuation errors, which, if given a little more time, could be easily rectified with help. In fact, before I started my novel I knew only the basics of composing a sentence. Looking back now, I feel sorry for my English teacher! But since I wanted to take the craft seriously, I spent a considerable amount of time reading numerous tricks and tips to help myself improve. The points below are what struck me as repetitive and, therefore, something helpful for a new writer to know, if they want improve their chances at being published. And let's face it, seeing your work in print is getting harder these days -- as is snagging an agent.
I'll be honest, though: I'm not published. In fact, I've only just started sending my manuscript out to agents. But the info here can be useful to anyone, and so I thought I'd gather it together, write it up, and see if it will help other new writers.
So, just to reiterate: I make no promises that if you follow these guidelines you'll get published -- chance would be a fine thing! -- but I've heard these points mentioned elsewhere and decided they may be of some use to others. I hope they help!

Here's what I found occurred on numerous "how to" websites:

NOUNS, VERBS, AND ADVERBS​

In your writing, try to avoid unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, especially verb-adverb combinations. Since some people don't know the difference between these (and at one time neither did I), here's a recap of the basics:

1) Verbs are action words like "eating", "running", "burping", and "growing". Every sentence needs one, unless, of course, you're aiming for fragmented prose.

2) Nouns are names of things, ideas, states, or feelings, such as "cat", "Henry", "bottle", "Susan", "cloud", "leg", "happiness", and "gas". Again, every sentence needs one (well, either a noun or a pronoun, which, incidentally, is used instead of repeating the same noun. Examples of pronouns are "he", "it", "they", and "she").

3) Adverbs are words that are (usually) tacked on to a verb (hence "add-verb"). These words almost always end in -ly, such as "quickly", "humbly", "happily", "sleepily", and "clumsily". Not all words ending in -ly are adverbs, however; "family" isn't (it's a noun). Likewise, not all adverbs end in -ly; most adverbs describing the time aren't -- "now", "then", and "yesterday" are just a few. Also, some adverbs are hidden, like "very", "quite", "always", and "just". An adverb is usually easy to spot, though, since its placement in a line of text can vary. Note: "She ran through the woods quickly", or "She quickly ran through the woods", or "Quickly she ran through the woods", or "She ran quickly through the woods".
Lastly (see, an adverb!), beware of using verb-adverb combinations in your writing. Agents and editors hate them! Once you know why, it's easy to share their sentiment. Example: Doris smiled happily. What's wrong with this sentence? Well, for a start, why else would Doris smile? People generally smile because they're happy. So "happy" is unneeded. Another example: Peter fell down the hillside quickly. Again, though the adverb isn't next to the verb (in this case the verb is "fell"), the sentence is weak. Wouldn't it be better to say "Peter careened down the hillside"? In my opinion that's a much stronger sentence, and it's shorter.

4) Adjectives can be great in writing IF THEY'RE USED SPARINGLY. However, sometimes I overuse them too; it's easy to get carried away and want to describe every little thing you envisage. Consider: The hot, yellow sun lit the flowery valley in splendid shades of golden, warming light, whilst two swooping blackbirds sailed the endless blue sky above. Well, that case is extreme, but you get the idea (though "swooping" is actually a present participle, not an adjective). Anyway, back to the example. If you can't tell what's wrong with the wording, please, until you learn about writing, don't aim at seeing your stories published! So, yes, use adjectives to add spice to your description, but remember, too much spice ruins the food! Here's a different version of the above quote: A pair of blackbirds swooped over the sunlit valley. It not great imagery, and given time I could do better, but at least you don't choke on the description.

CONTRACTIONS​

And no, not the kind you're probably thinking! Here's a recap of the common ones:

IT'S = it is / it has
WASN'T = was not
HASN'T = has not
WON'T = will not
CAN'T = can not / cannot
SHAN'T = shall not
COULDN'T = could not
WHO'S = who is / who has
HADN'T = had not
SHOULDN'T = should not
DIDN'T = did not
WHY'S = why is / why has
HOW'S = how is / how has
WHAT'S = what is / what has
SHE'S = she is / she has
SHE'D = she had / she would
SHE'LL = she will
HE'S he is / he has
HE'D = he had / he would
WHAT'RE = what are
WE'LL = we will
WHEN'S = when is / when has
WHEN'LL = when will
I'M = I am
I'LL = I will
I'D = I had
I'VE = I have
YOU'RE = you are
MUST'VE = must have

CONFUSED WORDS​

WHOSE relates to ownership, for example: Whose car is this?
WHO'S means "who is" and "who has". Example: Katie, who's my sister, lives nearby. So always remember the apostrophe is there for a reason. Whenever possible, when you write or type "who's", say to yourself "who is/has", that way, if the sentence does not make sense, e.g., Who's coat is this?, you'll know it's wrong (who is coat is this just doesn't sound correct).

WHERE is always used in relation to a place or position. Example: Where are my trainers?
WERE is the past tense of "be". Example: There were six people in attendance.
WE'RE is short for "we are". Example: I've heard we're going to the cinema.

TO stand for "towards", or any other meaning that isn't covered by the rule below.
TOO is only synonymous with "also" and "in excess". Examples are "I, too, would think it best", "I've got too much food", and "There's too many people here".

LOOSE = If you've lost weight, your trousers are loose.
LOSE = If your trousers are loose and you don't have a belt, you can lose your dignity. I try to remember it this way: The two Os in "loose" make the word longer, or loooooser in terms of letter spacing. Well, it works for me, all right?

YOUR is a possessive pronoun just like "their", "his", her", and "our". You use it when referring to people; that is YOUR bag, not mine.
YOU'RE means "you are". An example is Unlike me, you're tall.

ITS = This is another possessive pronoun. (A possessive pronoun is a word used to express ownership.) Example: In its weakened state, the cat could do little but crawl. Another example: The troll locked her in its dungeon.
IT'S = short for "it is". Example: It's a fine day for a walk.

THEY'RE = they are. Example: Well, as far as I can see, they're happy.
THERE has many uses, the common ones being in relation to a place or a position. Example: My house is there. Or: There she goes.
THEIR = possessive pronoun. This is used to indicate ownership. Example: That's their car.

AFFECT = influence something in some way.
EFFECT can be a noun or verb. Effect can mean "to bring about a change" (verb), or "something that has happened" (noun). Example: After Danny sprayed a full can of Lynx onto himself, he waited for the Lynx Effect to start affecting the women.

THEN is synonymous with "next" and "following"; it indicates that something will happen after it. Example: "We walked to the park, then I got the bus home". Of course, it can be used at the end of a sentence, but the common use is as described.
THAN is only used when comparing something to something else, i.e., "Black cats are better than white cats", or "I prefer spring, rather than summer". Never use "then" in its place; the two words are NOT interchangeable!

SEMICOLON USE​

A semi-colon (or semicolon) is used when a full stop is too harsh, yet a comma too weak. They link two clauses together. However, do not use a semicolon in place of a comma, i.e., "As I walked around the corner; I saw my old friend".

In most cases where a semicolon is used, a full stop could be used instead, without changing the meaning of the sentence/s. An example of a correct sentence: I detest my car; it looks hideous. This sentence could also be written as two separate ones -- I detest my car. It looks hideous -- but depending on the length of the sentences, it may look choppy. There's a good rule I read somewhere once (can't remember where) which helped me learn when it's appropriate to use (as opposed to a comma): Think of a semicolon as the word "because"; therefore, if the word "because" fits in the sentence, you can use the semicolon. Of course, as you get more confident with your grammar and punctuation you'll see other places the semicolon can go -- but it's a good start! Also, this rule works in my earlier example. Try it, you'll see.

Another point worth mentioning: Please, please, please switch off your grammar checker before you start editing your story! If you leave it on, at least have the sense to know that it is not always accurate. If you don't believe me, copy these lines into your word processor:

I walked around the corner; and I saw my old friend, Bertie, who, likes, drinking, and, wandering, on weekends.
I have eaten. Some chips at lunch today. I think when I sat with my friend, Sophie.​

Unless you have a really great program, chances are it'll not highlight any errors.

COMMAS​

I won't talk about commas; the kind people at OWL: Online Writing Lab have done a much better explanation than I could ever do.

POSSESSIVES AND APOSTROPHES​

There are no easy rules I can think of, but I'll try to explain where to put the comma.

Ownership and Possession:​

If the word is a noun (i.e. a name) and it's not already a plural (i.e. media [thanks to The Ace for pointing that out]) and you want to show that something belongs to that person/place/object, add 's on the end. A few examples are Robert's car, James's hat, Tess's boots, and Karen's skirt. Some people prefer to leave the end s off the word if there's already one on the name itself, i.e., Tess, but that's entirely your choice, or the choice of the publishers, who have to conform to house style.
Other examples: The rabbit is Peter's. Don't touch David's computer. I have Kelly's book here.

Plurals:​

1) To write a plural you add s on the end of the word. Most nouns work this way (though there are exceptions, such as "horses", which are too difficult to explain ... well, it's late and I can't be bothered to try, all right!)

So you can have one dog, or two dogs; one car, or ten cars; one person called Sally, or three Sallys.

2) Things become more complex when you have a plural noun, such as "chickens", then want to show that something belongs to the group (of chickens). To show a plural owning something, add only one apostrophe to the end of the word, followed by the item of possession. In the case of the chickens you would write The farmer checked the chickens' wings (i.e., the farmer checked the wings of his chickens).

Other examples:
Mr Jones is the dogs' owner (Mr Jones owns some dogs).
Mr Jones is the dog's owner (Mr Jones owns the dog -- and it's only one dog; there's no plural.)

OTHER COMMON GRAMMATICAL ERRORS​

When writing your novel, try to eliminate simple mistakes such as these:

1) In speech, commas go at the end of the sentence, inside the quote marks. Example: "You know," said Bertie, "talking like that, I'd assume you hate me."

2) This, as with all my advice, is only what I've read elsewhere and learned. Some people may argue that it's not relevant, but I'll write it anyway, since I know it. Okay, here it is: When writing dialogue, try to avoid tags other than "said". The word "said" is invisible on a page, yet still some people panic about using it more than once or twice in a few pages. Instead they write "he whispered", "he replied", "she breathed", "he uttered", "she cried", "she blustered", "he panted", and "he snarled". I can at least think of one well-known author who uses these words a lot; but hey, they're huge -- why should they need to change, if everyone buys their books anyway? And I think that's great, personally, but for unpublished authors who are aiming for publication, I'd say avoiding anything likely to contribute to a rejection slip will be beneficial.

3) Quite a few people (including a couple of published, big-named authors) use verb-adverb dialogue tags such as "he said smartly". But unless your work is so wonderful that an agent/publisher will take you on regardless, I've heard the advice is to avoid these tags. Why? Well, simply put, they're telling, not showing.
In most cases using a verb-adverb combination is the lazy way of writing. Consider:

"Well, I could probably do that, too," he said smartly.

Or:

"Of course I'll do better than you," he said, folding his arms. "I always do."

Now doesn't the person in the second example sound more intelligent and condescending? Yet not once did I have to tell you that he's smart, smug, and annoying. In fact, I didn't describe him at all.

USEFUL EXTRAS​

These are tips I've learnt myself from continued use of Microsoft Word. I hope they're useful!

Find and Replace in Microsoft Word​

Do you want to find those annoying extra spaces at the end of your paragraphs? If you do, type this into your "Find and Replace" box:

Put a "space" in, then type ^p straight after it. Now you can go through and delete all the extra spaces!

Likewise, for all those spaces that slip in before your new paragraphs, follow this rule:

Type ^p in your "Find and Replace" box, then put a "space" immediately afterwards. It will find all of your unwanted spaces before each new paragraph.

To check for double spaces in your work, type a space, followed by another space. This will highlight any pairs of spaces.

Extra grammar checker in Microsoft Word​

Find your Word Options dialogue box (in Word 2003 it's in the "Tools" menu at the top; in Word 2007 it's in your posh menu-type button thingy in the top-left corner of your screen. You're looking for "Options"). Once you've opened up the options box/screen, locate the tab/window that's called "Spelling and Grammar" (You're looking for "proofing" if you're in the newer Word). Somewhere there you'll now have a setting for "Writing Style" -- it'll probably be set to "Grammar only". Set it to "Grammar and Style", then click the "settings" button near it; you'll now be presented with a screen which, if the correct boxes are ticked, enables Word to look for more advanced grammar and style errors, such as negation, possessives, subject-verb agreements, colloquialisms, clichés, split infinitives, sentence structure, and many, many more useful aids. I have my top few options set to:

Spaces required between sentences = 1
Punctuation required with quotes = inside
Comma required before last list item = always.

Other than those, I have every box ticked except "Use of first person" and "Contractions".



I hope some of these tips are useful! Thanks for reading.

 

[The Ace]

Err shoudn't it be Where ARE my trainers ? The easy way, of course, is to shoot anyone using an apostrophe in a plural.
Oh yes and words like media, criteria and agenda ARE plurals.

 

[Erin99]

Err shoudn't it be Where ARE my trainers ? The easy way, of course, is to shoot anyone using an apostrophe in a plural.

You're right, of course! Ah well, considering I put this together pretty quickly, it's better than nothing! I'll just edit the piece...

Thanks for pointing that out, though I do often use "is" when it should be "are" if I'm talking!

 

[Commonmind]

"Fantastic thread Leisha," he said enthusiastically.

er...wait...

"Fantastic thread Leisha," he said with a thumbs up.

 

[Lenny]

Surely it should be:

"Fantastic thread, Leisha," he said enthusiastically, giving her a thumbs up.

Sorry.

But yes, good thread.

 

[Erin99]

Thanks! I wanted to give something back to this forum since it's really helpful, and when I saw an area that needed to be addressed, I thought I'd have a go!

It's nice for my work to be appreciated!

 

[JUNIOR]

this is alot of help for me im writing stories for assesment and this will help me so very much

 

[Commonmind]

Just a thought Leisha, maybe adding "Whom" to the confused words section would be a help, as it seems to be one of those words that's often used incorrectly.

 

[Erin99]

Just a thought Leisha, maybe adding "Whom" to the confused words section would be a help, as it seems to be one of those words that's often used incorrectly.

Since I can't edit the post now, here's a helpful link which explains who/whom:

Link

 

[daisybee]

Fabulous thread! This addresses practically everything I get wrong!
In a grammatical sense anyway.
Did I even go to my English lessons at school?

 

[PTeppic]

I hope some of these tips are useful! Thanks for reading.

Is this a guide for "American English" or "British English"? As an internet quiz compiler with editors from both camps I've been awakened to some subtle differences between the two, other than spelling.

 

[Erin99]

Is this a guide for "American English" or "British English"? As an internet quiz compiler with editors from both camps I've been awakened to some subtle differences between the two, other than spelling.

Hi,

Well, I'm in the UK, but this information can be useful to American or English writers. In fact, I think one of the main differences between the two languages (other than the obvious spelling) is that Americans tend to convert British adverbs into adjectives. In England we'd say something like "I walk quickly", whereas in America they'd say "I walk quick" -- or so I've heard anyway, whilst reading stuff online. I've never been out the country, so I can't confirm this however. But, yes, in general, this info will help all writers.

 

[Talysia]

This is a very useful thread, Leisha. Just reading through it reminded me of my English lessons!

 

[Erin99]

I try not to remember my English lessons! I can't believe how much I didn't understand back then; I didn't even know the difference between a verb and a noun. So it just goes to show that you can learn, if you're preared to put in the time!

Edit: And, no, I wasn't dumb. I actually passed all my exams!

 

[Duchessprozac]

Lots of useful bits and peices. Great work. I shall be putting this information to good use.

 

[Commonmind]

A few more beginner tips that should help... (posted with Leisha's permission)

Setting up application defaults in Microsoft Word.

In general these settings will work for previous versions of the application - I know for certain they translate to Word 97-2003 (though the way you find these options in your particular iteration of the program may vary, the end result should be the same). Since I’m using Word 2007 my navigation directions are centered around this version of the software.


Now, as a side note, if you use Word for a majority of other tasks besides writing, it may not be a great idea to change defaults, as it eliminates the convenience factor. Instead of going through the hoops to set up a default document for writing, you’ll be putting things back to normal, and that’s a bit of a time waster as well. For those of you who use Word more often for writing, these are some very basic tips to make sure your new documents are always the same and that no tedious setup process has to be done. As well, please remember these settings are my preferences, and that you should set the application defaults in the way you are most comfortable. Besides the font, I tend to keep things pretty close to what most publishers list under their submission guidelines.

First, we’ll start at the very beginning. Fonts. Open the Font option menu and select whichever font you like to use (Times New Roman, Courier, Dark Courier, etc.) and the font size. Check your character spacing tab as well, and make sure everything is set to normal and that scale reads 100%. After this is done, click the ‘default’ button on the bottom left of this window to set this as your default font settings for any subsequent blank documents you create.

Next, we’ll look at paragraph options. People will have their own preferences when it comes to line spacing and indention. Either way, open up the correct menu and set yours accordingly. My options (which fit general submission guidelines) are set as follows: alignment = left; indentation = first line, by 0.5 (this is a 5 point indentation you’d normally set with your ruler tool); spacing = double (or 2.0). There are cases where Word defaults a space between paragraphs, usually set to 12 points under the spacing options. This can be annoying as some folks don’t know how to change it. All one needs to do is set the ‘after’ option to 0 in the 'spacing' bracket and it will rectify the problem. (I know in word 07, most of my new documents were set to allow a 12 point break between paragraphs, meaning I was constantly having to go into my Ribbon’s paragraph options and click the “remove space after paragraph’ option.) When all the correct changes have been made, click the ‘default’ button, and from now on all your new documents will be perfectly formatted.

The third thing we’ll change is the Page Layout, more specifically, Margins. In your Page Layout menu, change your margins to whatever you’re comfortable using. Mine are set to 1.5 all around; top, bottom, left and right. Click the default button, and, again, every subsequent blank document you create will be formatted correctly.

Now, there are quite a few defaults you can change, but don’t play around with them too much or you might end up in a heap of trouble. Just change the settings that you’re accustomed to using frequently, and if you run into a problem, or something looks confusing, it’s better to avoid making changes or revert to the original settings. Which means if you’re not proficient with the application, make sure to make a note of what the original settings were before you started playing around with the options in each menu.

If you’ve done everything correctly, and every new document created is formatted to your liking, you can (in Word 2007) minimize the Ribbon (or toolbar) and eliminate the ruler (which can be done from within the View tab). That way you have a minimal and non-cluttered work environment (even though 07’s interface is quite eye-pleasing and already pretty streamlined).



Now, If you’re worried that you’ll no longer have quick access to font options by minimizing your Ribbon, don’t fret, as all you have to do is select the text you’d like to modify and right click with your mouse. This opens a menu to change things like font size and style. If you're also worried that eliminating the ruler will make it harder to reset the paragraph indention so you can center text correctly, not to worry, as all you have to do is hover your mouse over the top of your page (between the document and the menu bar) and the ruler will appear in its normal place. After you've made the necessary changes, it will disappear, leaving you with a clean workspace once again.



I hope that helps, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, so if anyone has any questions feel free to ask.

 

[HappyHippo]

I attended, and enjoyed English classes, but was never taught verbs, nouns, et cetera.

I can spell (but not type, I do it too fast) and after that, I'm lost!

Thanks, Leisha

 

[Erin99]

Thanks to everyone for their kind comments!

And Commonmind, that's excellent advice. I'll just point out that once you've set up Word the way you want (including rearranging your menus, etc), do a search on your computer for the file Normal.dot -- it's the file Word uses to store all its defaults and program settings. That way, if you back up a copy of it somewhere, when you need to reinstall Word, you can just paste the file into Microsoft's "Startup" folder in its program location*. Once the file is pasted, Word will automatically set itself back to all your previous settings.

*Microsoft's main folder is usually located in C:/Program files/Microsoft Office/Office/

Though I'll just point out that sometimes the folder is called "Office11" or "Office12" instead of "Office". But either way, pasting the backed-up Normal.dot file into the "Startup" folder will keep your settings as they were.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I think one of the main differences between the two languages (other than the obvious spelling) is that Americans tend to convert British adverbs into adjectives. In England we'd say something like "I walk quickly", whereas in America they'd say "I walk quick"

What you are describing is an ungrammatical colloquialism which most Americans do NOT use. (Neither is it converting an adverb into an adjective, but the other way around.)

I can usually identify members from the UK and Australia by their use of the word "whilst," which Americans never use unless they're trying to sound Medieval. (I understand that it's a perfectly good word in British English, but it can sound affected to American ears.)

Some editors and agents do get obsessed with the whole no-adverbs thing, others don't notice them at all unless adverbs are over-used to the point where they call attention to themselves -- and there are circumstances where only an adverb will do. There is another rule of good writing that says don't use four or five words when just one word will do the job as well or better, and sometimes that one word is an adverb. Anyway, it's a matter of style, not grammar.

How many adjectives you use is a matter of style, too. It's not just popular writers who layer them on and get away with it, some great writers have done so, too. But those "extra" adjectives shouldn't be redundant and they need to add to or amplify the description in some way.

In the end, it comes down to learning to use language in a way that is both flexible and eloquent. You can't do that by relying on adverbs instead of action verbs, or saidisms instead of other dialogue tags, or by piling on adjectives instead of searching for the one right word that will create the most vivid imagery. But you can't do that by putting a ban on a perfectly good part of speech, either.

 

[Erin99]

What you are describing is an ungrammatical colloquialism which most Americans do NOT use. (Neither is it converting an adverb into an adjective, but the other way around.)

Ah, thanks for clarifying. I have no real idea, seen as I've never been to America, but it's just what I read somewhere.

Some editors and agents do get obsessed with the whole no-adverbs thing, others don't notice them at all unless adverbs are over-used to the point where they call attention to themselves -- and there are circumstances where only an adverb will do. There is another rule of good writing that says don't use four or five words when just one word will do the job as well or better, and sometimes that one word is an adverb. Anyway, it's a matter of style, not grammar.

How many adjectives you use is a matter of style, too. It's not just popular writers who layer them on and get away with it, some great writers have done so, too. But those "extra" adjectives shouldn't be redundant and they need to add to or amplify the description in some way.

In the end, it comes down to learning to use language in a way that is both flexible and eloquent. You can't do that by relying on adverbs instead of action verbs, or saidisms instead of other dialogue tags, or by piling on adjectives instead of searching for the one right word that will create the most vivid imagery. But you can't do that by putting a ban on a perfectly good part of speech, either.

Definitely! If an adverb/adjective fits in your sentence, USE IT! I do, as you saw in my examples. The guide was only there as a reference to beginning writers, so rather than using weaker words, they will have a choice -- a conscious choice -- over which word/s are best for their writing. And to be honest, I still use too many adjectives in my first drafts!

As always, you add some valuable comments. Thank you for pointing that out.