Grammar Help

[Sapheron]

Well, here I am with a rather embarrassing admission. Having grown up, unfortunately, with some rather, shall we say, distinct problems, many things about my life are strange. One of the most annoying, to me, is the fact I've never really attended school, past the fourth year, and therefore never been taught to write properly. So yes, my admission is really; I don't know how to write properly.

For example, take the piece I posted last (500 words prologue thingy). Someone, in that, sorry for forgetting your name, told me some of my grammar was bad. This isn't good for someone who wants to write for a living. Of course, I know the basics about full stops and the like from what school I did and from reading and the like, but the complicated stuff I just don't have a clue. I can't go to school, so I can't learn like everyone else does. Another solution is needed...

So, could anyone give me a pointer towards something, or somewhere, or even someone, who can help me learn the finer points of grammar?

 

[Glitch]

A quick google found me the following page
BBC Learning English | Grammar and Vocabulary

Other than that I would say read what other people have posted in the forums, I know MS Word will check your grammar as you type and there are also other word processors such as Open Office but I've not used it so can't say how good it is.

 

[chrispenycate]

Actually, your grammar and punctuation is a lot better (judging by the sample you've submitted) than many others who post here. I've been working rather a lot recently, and have fallen behind on my critiqing (it seems everyone leaves the grammar points to me, because it's what I can do) but when I get round to yours you'll see there's less red ink than many; you've obviously grasped the basics pretty firmly. A homophone or two (they're words that sound the same, but mean different things, and are written differently; if I remember correctly you've written "there" for "their"), a sentence without a transitive verb - oh, perhaps I'll try and do it before going to bed, but no guarantees,

No, again if my memory serves me, the comment was about sentence structure, which is more a question of how you form your concepts than grammar as such; well, I suppose grammar is a question of thought structure. really. Anyway, I don't know of any books that teach it, it's more a question of practice.

 

[Aadaenyaa]

Perhaps an online course in grammar? I don't know your reasons for not being able to attend school, but there are courses you can do completely online, and they are being offered by regular schools nowadays.

 

[Culhwch]

Perhaps a style guide, such as Strunk and White's Elements of Style might be a handy reference to keep close at hand. I must profess that I really have no clue as to the, well, 'mechanics', I guess, of writing, not in any official sense - and this despite four years of studying writing at university! I think the best way to learn is through osmosis. Keep reading good books, and gradually you will develop an eye and ear for what is right and what is wrong. It's just that, like me, you'll not be able to explain why something is right or wrong....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Culhwch is right, as he so often is: the main thing is developing an ear (or an eye) for the language, so that you know what's right and what isn't whether you can articulate the rule or not. Reading good books by good authors and paying attention to how they do it will get you there, possibly more effectively than memorizing a lot of rules. As an aspiring writer, paying that sort of close attention to books that you admire (rather than just gulping them down -- I know the temptation) should be helpful in other ways, too.

Although knowing the rules can also be helpful, so that once you've identified a problem you'll know how to fix it. And with that in mind, if you are looking for books on the subject, there is a series by Karen Elizabeth Gordon -- I don't remember the other titles, but one of them is The Transitive Vampire -- that explain the rules of English grammar quite clearly and in a much more entertaining way than most grammar books. (As you might guess from the title.)

 

[Sapheron]

Hmm... thanks all. I think I might try and look for some of the books that have been mentioned for starters. Remembering rules isn't too much of a problem for me, so it'd be a lot quicker than just reading a load and picking it up.

So yeah, thanks again.

 

[Commonmind]

And just keep in mind its not of the utmost importance to memorize the rules, so that you know what an interjection, contraction or pluperfect are by name, per-se, but to understand where and when such things should be used. I honestly couldn't tell you the definitions of certain grammatical terms, but I do have a decent grasp on how to write without making many glaring mistakes. In other words, it sort of becomes natural, and you'll rely less and less on resources, like books on style and grammar, and more on instinct. And, as mentioned above (and I just realized how terribly redundant my post is, considering what others have already said) read, read, read, read and read more. And do not, by any means, stick your nose only into the genre you're writing in; often times reading books which are normally outside your comfort zone can open you up to ideas and concepts you may not have considered previously; or, as is the case with myself, it can help you to shake severe cases of writers block. It may not be the same for everyone, but when writing fantasy, if I'm constantly reading fantasy, I'm sort of stuck in this small little box and when I start writing I feel flooded, in much the same way an engine does when given too much gas. Delving into something different can be beneficial in getting you out of a funk.

 

[Talysia]

I can only agree with everything that's been said here. Reading lots of books - from all genres - and paying attention to the way they're written as well as the story can be a great help.