A WRITER’S RESOURCE…

It doesn’t take a genius to mess up punctuation and grammar. But you can look like a genius by using them correctly…

It’s Wednesday April 15, 2009 and I’m sitting on a plane flying from New York to Texas: four months before Speedsuit Powers, my new book, is slated to be released (August 2009). And right now, I’m reading through a book my wife gave me on punctuation and grammar (she’s a reading and language arts teacher).

Images from my 7th grade english class play in my mind: I can see and hear Ms. Evans (a short woman in her 50’s-60’s with blond hair, tanned skin and a voice that was a cross between Bette Middler and Joan Rivers) teach the class about nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs… you get the picture. I also remember so clearly that the more she moved into deeper territories-like dependent and independent clauses-the more my brain checked out. “Why do I need to know these? My writing is decent already.”

Flash forward 20+ years and I’m finishing up the final revisions on my second book before sending it back to the publishing company for finalization. My deadline: April 30th. (My first book, Transition: Breaking Through the Barriers, was released in 2006).

PEN AND PAPER

Writing and editing go together like pen and paper. Over the years, people have complimented me on my writing and I’ve often heard other writers talk about the beauty of having an editor. Now some people LOVE the intricate details of punctuation and grammar. These people make great editors! However, I’m not the kind of person that bathes in the cool, shimmering waters of ‘the standardized nonalphabetical symbols and marks that are used to organize writing into clauses, phrases, and sentences, and in this way make its meaning clear.’ :-)

Although writing, for me, is a passion - historically, punctuation and narrative voice tense have not been. I’ve lived the mantra: just write the story and get yourself an editor to sort out the little details like punctuation. This has suited me - until now. Why? Because I didn’t think I’d be the one having to do the final revisions on this book.

FROM GOOD TO GREAT

Several editors have read Speedsuit Powers for story, pacing and content, while picking up puncuation along the way. Each has loved the story, while making similar comments concerning ways to take it from being good to being great! The changes they recommend, now fall on me to implement. So I’m rereading the story,line by line, and where necessary, making revisions to scenes, dialog and punctuation.

So as I began the revisions, the realization of me needing to have a better understanding of grammar and punctuation became clear. Going through the writing process for my new book has forced me to confront many of my punctuation fears; and doing so can only serve to make me a better writer and overall communicator. Knowing the difference between the use of a colon and semicolon has always baffled me; but now I understand them. To be honest, it feels good to know more about the world of punctuation!

It’s crazy to think that I’ve been hiding behind a fear that could have been neutralized a long time ago by taking one simple action: reading up on my area of weakness.

TIME FOR AN UPGRADE…

So if you’re a writer who doesn’t have a command (or at least a strong basic working knowledge of grammar and punctuation), it’s time to learn everything you can about them. In reality, the more you know about these elements, the more versatile you will become as a skilled communicator. Then you can sit back and watch how your writing can really touch lives for the better.

It may be ‘cool’ to mess up the subject/verb agreement in your writing; but only if it’s done purposefully - to lend texture to a character in your story.

WRITING STEPS:

1. Write the story (don’t worry about punctuation if you don’t know it.)
2. Get someone to read your story for content, pacing and punctuation.
3. Study punctuation to catch errors and make revisions in your story.
(Get a study book AND study the puctuation from your favorite author!)
4. Make the changes.
5. Get a professional editor to go through your work.

Now, you may ask, what’s the use of learning punctuation if you’re going to get a professional editor anyway. Trust me when I tell you that if your writing has a minimum amount of errors by the time it gets to the editor, the editor will be your BEST FRIEND as they will be able to focus on your story as a whole, which will benefit you in the long run.

I look forward to reading your book some day!

Let me know what you think.

-Allen Paul Weaver III-

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