I almost gave up writing this week.
Why?
Because, after attending the NWB Writers’ Conference I realized I couldn’t hide anymore. I couldn’t just write, close my eyes and pretend the monsters, the Grammar Gods and Punctuation Pharaohs, didn’t exist. I was once again reminded of my lack of understanding of proper punctuation and grammar. I was reminded that being a writer meant facing my fears.
I can’t hide anymore. My eyes have been opened. I am questioning everything I write. Should there be a comma here, there? Did I put that apostrophe in the right place? Who or whom? Which or that?
And, sadly, sometimes, I cannot answer.
I am supposed to be a writer and I am failing at the most basic of tasks.
Thursday night I emailed several of the speakers from the NWB Writers’ Conference to tell them how much I enjoyed their talks. Looking in my ‘sent’ folder, I realized that in over half of the emails I sent I wrote writer’s instead of writers’.
Talk about mortification!! I just wanted a computer vortex to open and suck me inside, never to be seen again.
Granted, this was a typo, but if I knew the rules better and had more confidence I wouldn’t have made this mistake.
I have always feared grammar and punctuation. I was never good at it and I never understood it.
My teachers always let me slide because of the quality of the content of my papers. In the eighth grade I should have failed English because I couldn’t grasp the elusive knack of diagramming sentences. But, I passed, (with an A), by writing an extra credit short story every week.
At the time this made me very happy, but it eroded my confidence in my writing ability to the point that, although I never stopped writing, I stopped sharing my writing. I always felt like a fraud.
It took over twenty years for me to have the courage and the confidence to share my writing again.
Then I attended the NWB Writers’ Conference.
Once again I felt the angry, hot breath of the Grammar Gods and Punctuation Pharaohs whispering in my ear, “Who do you think you are? You know nothing! You are just embarrassing yourself. Quit now!”
I almost did. Especially when I saw the writer’s – writers’ mistake I made.
But, as I wrote a few days ago about being a professional writer, “…it’s hard work, focus, continuous learning and honing of your craft.” (Even here, going back to this post, to get this quotation (quotation, not quote…and that is a whole other story), I found a grammatical error. I had written its, instead if it’s.) Again, a typo, but how utterly embarrassing!
I keep repeating to myself: “I love to write. I am a writer. I am a professional writer. I am a published writer.”
As a professional writer I will not quit. The Grammar Gods and Punctuation Pharaohs will not frighten. I will not hide my eyes and cower in a corner.
I have a plan of attack. I am ready to face my fears. The Grammar Gods and Punctuation Pharaohs don’t stand a chance.
Step 1: Study. Spend at least one hour every week studying grammar and punctuation.
Starting with:
- Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
- Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
- The Elements of Style Illustrated
Step 2: Research the possibility of hiring an English tutor/coach to work with me a few hours per week.
Maybe in the end my readers may not know if something is wrong, but I will know if it’s right.
Thanks, Barbara. I’ll add these two books to my study guide list.
Thanks, Rachel. I needed that reminder.
As an ex-English teacher, I can tell you that grammar and punctuation are rather boring to master, which is why we resist. Eats, Shoots & Leaves certainly helps. Another book I love is Woe is I by Patricia O’Connell. It’s even fun to read. And Bill Bryson’s Troublesome Words is also a fine addition to your library.
Sandy
At times like this, bring back to your thoughts what Carol Plum-Ucci talked about. Remember all the authors of the “classics” who didn’t have a formal degree. Do you think they got the grammar and punctuation all correct all the time? We all learn the rules of the road as we go along. Some learned it well in grade school or high school. I am not one of those. I learned some more when I was taking online courses a few years ago, but I realize there is so much more to learn. A couple of the speakers mentioned having Elements of Style as an essential reference tool and one of them commented on how dogeared his copy is. That means they use it a LOT, which means they don’t automatically know all the rules either. So you’re in good company.
As for the remorse about emailing the speakers and then realizing your apostraphe was in the wrong place, do you really think any of them would care? I mean, seriously, from what you saw of their personalities, do you think any one of those speakers would look at your subject line and think anything of it? I’ll bet they didn’t notice. After all, even though the name technically is “writers’”, it is still a writer’s conference. You’re a writer. You went. It was a conference for you. Therefore it is a writer’s conference.
I do have one recommendation that you might find immensely helpful. Unfortunately I don’t have the website for it on hand right now. I’m sure there is more than one, so you could probably google it. There is a software available that will scan a document for APA formatting. Even though you aren’t writing college papers, the software could be helpful because it will point out errors in any type of writing.
It works kind of like a more advanced form of spellcheck. The software scans the writing and when it comes to an error it will show why it thinks it is an error and give you opportunity to change it. This isn’t cheating. It’s like having an editor in your computer, plus it gives you opportunity to learn as you go. Rather than just studying a book (which does also have its merits) you get hands on practice with correcting what you have written. I think it makes it easier to remember.
Some things you may choose to ignore. For example, it doesn’t seem to like starting a sentence with the word “it” because it is unclear what is being referred to. When I was writing papers for school, sometimes I would ignore that one if I thought the “it” was suitable or if I couldn’t figure out a reasonable way to revise it.
Just a thought. I found it to be a great learn-as-you-go type of software. The one I used was provided by the university, but my brother-in-law just told me about one that he purchased online for about $20.00. A worthwhile investment!
Don’t quit. Remember Dan Poynter’s motto. Don’t die with a book still within you!