For Word Nerds

In this chilly little part of the world, spring has finally arrived. The crocuses are in bloom and the winter blues have melted with the snow. Time for yard work, digging in the garden, and finding creative inspiration in nature. I've found tiny leaves of rhubarb unfurling in my patch, and a tuft of chives in the herb garden. All that potential energy is so exciting--like when a story is burning inside you but you have yet to sit down and write the first word. Anything feels possible.


Speaking of writing...yesterday was the 50th anniversary of that ubiquitous grammar manual, Strunk & White's THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE. Author Marc Acito pays a hilarious tribute to the book on NPR's All Things Considered, which you can listen to here.


Enjoy the weekend.

Favorite Quotes

In going through my old papers, I’ve found several of my favorite quotes. These tidbits of wisdom have been taped to the edges of my monitor or pinned to my bulletin board since I started writing professionally, giving me a nudge when I needed it most. Maybe there’s something here that will give you a little inspiration as well.

The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow. –H.G. Wells

Exquisitely developed characters and heartbreaking stories are the obligations of any novel worth remembering. –John Irving

We must be the change we wish to see in the world. –Gandhi

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action; and because there is only one of you in all time, this expression is unique. If you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. –Martha Graham

Write a little every day, without hope, without despair. –Isak Dinesen

Before you speak, ask yourself: Is it kind, is it necessary, is it true, does it improve on the silence? –Shirdi Sai Baba

Every act of love is a work of peace, no matter how small. –Mother Teresa

And my personal favorite, found in a fortune cookie:

Show-off always shown up in showdown. –Confucius

I also have a clipping that was given to me by a friend’s mom. It’s basically a crash course in grammar, with each rule humorously illustrating the point.

How to Write Good

Avoid run-on sentences they are hard to read.

No sentence fragments.

It behooves us to avoid archaisms.

Also, avoid awkward or affected alliteration.

Don’t use no double negatives.

If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times: Resist hyperbole.

Avoid commas, that are not necessary.

Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

Avoid trendy locutions that sound flaky.

Writing carefully, dangling participles should not be used.

Kill all exclamation points!!!

Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.

Proofread carefully to see if you any words out.

Take the bull by the hand, and don’t mix metaphors.

Don’t verb nouns.

Never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

Last but not least, avoid clichés like the plague.

--William Safire

If you have any words of inspiration you’d like to share, please do.

Artistic License

For an interesting discussion on grammar in dialogue, head over to novelist Tess Gerristen’s excellent blog. Her last two posts have been a response to readers who complain about grammatical inaccuracies in her characters’ speech. With her usual grace, Tess explains the difference between “proper” English and “spoken” English, and how it’s a conscious choice to ditch the rules for the sake of natural dialogue.

As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to dialogue, anything goes—as long as it doesn’t sound stiff. Real people speak in broken sentences, they clip words, they repeat themselves. Speech is naturally imperfect and imperfection is emotionally revealing. A character’s speech patterns are determined by background, level of education, geographical location, and motivation, among other things. If the dialogue doesn’t reflect these parameters, the story will suffer a credibility gap.

Intentionally using improper speech, as Tess points out, isn’t always an easy choice. There’s a risk that your reader will think you are stupid, or will take offense. For example, in my novel, there is a fair amount of profanity. A few readers have told me that they would have enjoyed the book more if there had been less swearing. I make no apology for my use of language because I do not use such words lightly. The characters in my story are from a rural town, have limited education, and are a bit rough around the edges. To purposely avoid profanity—especially in emotionally charged situations—would have given the dialogue a false ring. On the other hand, I’ve had a reader comment that my characters didn’t swear enough. One can go overboard that way, too. Dropping the f-bomb in every sentence is distracting and can render a work unreadable.

Another instance when incorrect grammar can be used to good effect is in narration. If you have a strong narrative voice, you are effectively having a dialogue with the reader and it can be treated as such. Take this blog, for example. Two paragraphs up I was supposed to put “and” before the phrase “they repeat themselves”. I left it out intentionally because it had a better rhythm. I’m also fond of sentence fragments, which can be very conversational. And how.

Let’s face it, folks—rules are meant to be broken. It’s artistic license. Instead of getting ruffled by every little grammar mistake, I think we need to look at the bigger picture. Grammar is a system of rules designed to make speech and writing more clear and precise. If a writer has done this, even while breaking the rules, then we ought to be generous enough to cut him a little slack.