Guest Blog Post By: Elizabeth Simons
What is it about writing that
captivates the reader? Simply put, good writing consists of good words that are
put together in such a way that a new way of thinking is created. Good writing
brings into being something that has not existed before, and that’s exciting.
It’s creation. It’s power.
How do writers make sure their words
hold the reader’s attention? By making their writing impeccable. By making sure
that there are no distractions in the way of misspellings, typos, syntactical
errors, punctuation errors or incomplete sentences. In other words, the writing
must flow seamlessly.
Allow me to backtrack a bit. Once
upon a time, before the publication of dictionaries, writing was more fluid,
especially spelling. Authors exercised their right to arrange letters more or
less the way they wanted, sometimes spelling a word several different ways on
the same page. No one gasped. It was the way things were done. One can see a
remnant of that freedom of expression in names. Consider how many different
ways one can spell a name. For example, Sarah, Sara, Sera, Serrah. No one
questions the right of parents to spell their child’s name any way they
choose. At one time it was that way with
all words.
But standardization came along,
and as literacy increased so did rules. Not only for spelling, but for
construction. Dictionaries came into being and printing presses literally
carved words and phrases into irrevocable shapes. If one wished to be taken
seriously, one spelled and punctuated one’s words according to the standard.
(One wonders who were the arbiters of correctness, but that’s another story.)
Not doing so indicated lack of education, which also meant lack of social
prestige.
Which brings us to present day,
replete with all manners of rules for how to say a thing. A quick search on the
Internet revealed dozens of sites that help you abide by the rules, sites that
parse the complexities of a sentence, sites that tell you how to shape your
sentences so that they don’t distract the reader. Especially the agent/reader
who peruses your manuscript with a critical eye.
So how do you, dear writer, make
sure your prose is flawless? First, learn the most common mistakes in spelling
and punctuation. Check out any number of web sites that tell you how to spot
the most common errors; for example, apostrophe usage. When to use it’s instead
of its? You’re instead of your?
Or how to spell homonyms correctly, words
that sound the same but are spelled differently? Words such as then and
than, sight and site, wright, rite and right? Not writing them correctly might
mean the difference between a Pulitzer Prize and a pullet surprise. For that
reason, avoid relying on spell check. It will never tell you that you ought to
have written your instead of you’re, because both are correct spellings.
It’s annoying, but your brain
automatically corrects a misspelling as your eye peruses the page, especially
after you’ve read over your manuscript several times. This happens to everyone,
amateur and professional alike, which means we all struggle with these
limitations. So step back and take some time off before looking at your work
again. Then look for one thing at a time. For example, go through your writing
and look only for misspellings. Then go through it again and check just for punctuation.
Go through it a third time to make sure your subjects and verbs agree. Check to
make sure you’re not using a word too often. If so, keep your prose fresh by
using a different word in your text.
Another
trick for spotting
mistakes is reading through your manuscript backward. This might work
for shorter pieces, but I can't imagine reading a manuscript this way.
However, if this doesn’t bother
you, it just might be another editing tool in your arsenal.
Ideally,
you should have someone go through your writing, someone who has not
read your text before
and can spot the errors your brain has altered into correctness. This
might be a professional editor (whom you would have to pay), or your
grammar nerd friend who can spot a split infinitive from the back of a
running horse.
Finally, understand that even
today the rule-oriented world of language is fluid. There is even disagreement
among the various grammar and punctuation sites. Who, then, is the ultimate
Grammar Guru?
Let me tell you a secret: There
is no Ultimate Grammar Guru. Therefore, you need to choose a style and stick to
it. If you’re submitting to a publisher, find out what style this publishing
house uses and make sure your prose conforms to their standards. (If you’re
submitting to a publisher in the UK, make sure your punctuation is outside your
quotation marks and write labour instead of labor.)
Pay attention to the details.
Just because you’ve written that last sentence and added “the end” to your
manuscript doesn’t mean you’re finished. Take a break, and then follow up with
that extra polishing that separates your flawless prose from those not-so-flawless
manuscripts.
- - - - - - - - -
Elizabeth Simons is an editor by trade
and a poet by heart. She has been passionate about language from the time she
first learned to speak, and began writing as soon as she could hold a pen. She
has kept a journal since the age of eleven, written many poems and short
stories, written innumerable letters, a manuscript on creative writing for
young adults for the University of Missouri, and most recently a novel for
young adults titled “To Die For.”
