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The Zen of Writing- Includes A Bashing On Grammatical Errors



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Sun May 06, 2007 10:57 pm
PerforatedxHearts says...



This was taken from a research paper that I wrote on writing, basically. It covers a bit on dialogue, a little on outlining, some advice for nonfictions/essays, and a nice bashing on grammatical/spelling/dialogue errors. Enjoy.


Making It Write

As a young boy of a British politician, you’d think that he’d be adept at the instruction of the finest boarding schools with their competent professors. However, Winston Churchill, who grew up to be one of Britain’s most prized prime ministers, often struggled with grammar, spelling, and just the concept of writing in general- the failure of his teachers. And yet he grew up to become an addition- a successful addition, to say the least- to the writer’s Hall of Fame, known for his poignant and cunning way with words.
So what? A lot of writers start out this very way- as an underling in the cruel and alien world of writing. This essay targets many of the stumbling blocks in the life of an average, as well as growing writer, such as correct grammatical objectives, plots in the typical fiction novel, dialogue, and why the heck you’re writing.
When it comes down to grammar, you either know it or you don’t. Grammar is essentially the logic of writing: being able to organize your ideas in such a way that the reader is able to grasp the meaning of what you are trying to say. You want to be able to let each word settle snugly in its little nest, yes, but you also want the sentence as a whole make sense- which is why your old English teachers toiled for so long, drilling the anatomy of sentence structure, subordinate conjunctions, etc. into your little head. It really is important to be able to know or be familiar with these objectives so that [a] you can express yourself to the clearest ability possible – “ [Robert] Lowth declares why it is important to know the rules of grammar: "every person of a liberal education . . . should be able to express himself with propriety and accuracy.” And grammar is essential when filling out a resume (Oops, you forgot that glaring mistake about your major accomplishments!) or a research report (When one such as myself just ain’t bothering with this…) (“Writing Science”, 1)

[b]“I” before “E” except after “C”


Grammar and spelling are two hands closely linked together. You have sentence structure and the rule such as the title above on one hand, and then you have…spelling. With grammar, you can memorize simple little acronyms such as the famous “I” before “E”, except after “C”. But what about spelling?
“I can’t spell.”
“The word’s too big.”
“How do you spell ‘hieroglyphics’?”
When one is faced in such a ‘terrible’ situation, the best and often-used way to improve your spelling is to just practice with a dictionary. Oftentimes you find yourself browsing through so many pages, and your eyes just glance past a few words that you needed help with anyways…
If you don’t know how to figure out the first 3 letters or so of the word, then maybe you shouldn’t be using it in the first place. There are few ridiculously-hard words that don’t give a hint of a vowel or a consonant in the beginning, and if you are using a word such as that, maybe you shouldn’t be using it in the first place.
Easy-to-read dictionaries such as the popular “Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary” make it even easier to browse through that thick book you dread.

Practice really does makes perfect.

Another Word For Revising/Editing Is [CENSORED]

According to Christopher Paolini [Eragon, Eldest], [professional] editing is basically a person “tearing apart your manuscript with a big smile and telling you all the while it’s good for you”. (“Writer’s Digest,” 1)
But he’s right. Editing and revising, even if it’s not your most favorite thing in the world, is good for your story or essay. Why?
Number 1: It gets rid of silly little mistakes on your rough draft, grammatical or spelling. Some people write as they are thinking, so there’s not enough time for them to pay attention for correct spelling or grammar. When you go back to reread over your piece, then usually the mistakes come up. It’s helpful to read backwards for spelling mistakes so you can concentrate more on each specific word. When you are scanning over your story from left to right, you’re so accustomed to all the words you wrote down, so familiar to the flow of your story- whether it’s lurching and halting along, or whether it flows smoother than yogurt- that everything just passes by you quickly. But reading backwards helps pick out certain spelling and grammatical mistakes that you wouldn’t have found out otherwise.
Number 2: Most of the reason for revising and editing is because of number one, but when you have a fictional or narrative story, whether it’s on the TAKS writing test or on your own time, it’s vital to go back through your story and really edit. By editing, I mean by tightening plot lines, going back and making sure your characters stay within their personality, etc. Most writers just stay within safe, shallow revision: changing a few words here and there…maybe even changing a whole sentence or so.
In grade school, your teachers may have forced you to do trifle, shallow revisions. In many ways, this is a waste of time and map color, but if you think that marking up your story gleefully to check for grammatical errors or “Proving-It!” (which works about…40% of the time), then so be it.
Hey! I’m Talking To You!

Dialogue, when used correctly and creatively, can and will be a deadly weapon in your writing. However, so many people either don’t know the simple rules of a regular sentence with dialogue or can’t restrain themselves while using it (as in too much dialogue). For instance:

[Wrong] I looked over towards the café “Hey Mike we were looking for you!” I shouted.

[Right] I looked over towards the café. “Hey, Mike, we were just looking for you!” I shouted.

In other words, this is how a sentence should be with dialogue: The sentence, [period], [quote], [dialogue], [punctuation mark], [quote], The rest of the sentence, if any.

[Wrong] My eyes were busy darting back and forth between the two fighters “Go go go,”, I hollered loudly “What are you waiting for?” “I don’t know!”

[Right] My eyes were busy darting back and forth between the two fighters. “Go, go, go,” I hollered loudly.

“What are you waiting for?”

“I don’t know!”

When you are using dialogue incorrectly- without a paragraph, especially- it not only makes you look like a bumbling idiot who didn’t pay attention or skipped their English class, but it distracts your reader from all of the confusing mistakes you’ve added in with the sentences. Forgetting to paragraph each time you are starting a new idea or when another person is hogging the conversation leads to confusion: the reader will honestly think that the character[s] talking in multiple times are either schizophrenic or extremely lonely. Don’t forget to paragraph, place the commas and sentence marks in their proper places, to make the conversation sound realistic, and once again, to paragraph.

Questions For Self-Examination

A diligent writer, in every sentence that they write, will ask themselves at least 4 questions:
-What am I trying to say?
-What words will express that?
-What image or idiom will make it clearer?
-Is this image fresh enough to make an effect?

--George Orwell (“12 Writing”,1)

Say It Simple

Bill Stotts, author of Write With A Point said, “We have been told to use simple words, but we don’t do it. Why? Fear…simple words don’t seem ‘impressive’ enough.” (87)
How true.
Stotts, an English professor who has seen so many students struggle with finding ‘adult’ [big] words, especially college students, advises readers in his book to simply say what you want to say. “Beating around the bush” simply isn’t acceptable, when you are repeating that idea over and over again, though in different words, or just trying to make pointless points leading up to that “big, revolutionary idea”, or at least that’s what Stotts thinks.
When writing an essay, sometimes one might feel that they must use “big” and “impressive”, adult words to get their meaning across to the reader/critic. When the itch to do so happens, just listen to a tidbit of Winston Churchill’s advice: “Short words are best, and the old words, when short, are best of all.” (qtd. In “Write With”)
Churchill is referring, when talking about “old” words, to words derived from Anglo-Saxon and Latin words. There is a small trick to varying your sentences and balancing them by using strong, Anglo-Saxon, “native English” words in one sentence, then balancing it out with a longer, more doctor-type and surface feeling Latin words in the next sentence.
But the essence of his quote is true: Just say it simple. When a word’s right, it’s right. Don’t try to use another words as a substitute for it, simply use the word again.(Stotts, 106)

[Example]: “I always strive for better words to express myself, rather than rely on the same hackneyed syllables.” (Stotts, 14)

What the student desperately wants to say but is afraid to repeat is “…rather than rely on the same words.” ‘Hackneyed syllables’ just doesn’t fit quite like ‘words’. Well, I guess we know what his problem is now.

Prove It, Don’t Preach It.

So many students tend to get so caught up in their essay that they end up not “proving” it. “Prove it”, not prove it, if you know what I mean.
A simple solution to this somewhat large problem?
Quotes.
Groan if you want, rip this little packet up and hurl it at the wall, but quotes from other people validate the information you’re trying to get out to others. Quotes show that there really are other people who support your ideas and agree with them. Quotes show “proof”.
And no, emphasis on certain sentences by italicizing them does NOT count. Hence the “prove it”, not prove it.

Outlining

Many essays contain a certain order of events or organized ideas for you to transition better between sentences to sentences, then paragraphs to paragraphs. Here’s a can’t-miss, can’t-fail-you, college style outline.

I. Introduction
a. Why is it interesting?
b. What is going to be discussed?
c. Hint at the conclusion.

II. Main Body
a. Thesis
b. Anti-thesis (Anything contradiction to the thesis)
c. Synthesis

III. Conclusion
a. Summary
b. Major conflicting ideas
c. Is this a topic for the future? Where do we go from here?

(McCrimmon, 71)

All in all, the road to being a successful and worthy-to-be-called writer contains many hidden as well as obvious stumbling blocks. You can’t really skip over those roadblocks, but you certainly can be prepared for many of them, through practice…and practice…and practice. These tips aren’t a Bible to the fine art of writing, they are simply a guide for you to refer back to sometimes for lectures on grammar and spelling.
Be like Ronald Reagan:
“Not since Lincoln, or Winston Churchill in Britain, has there been a president who has so understood the power of words to uplift and inspire.”
That’s your job, fellow writer, whether the story you want to tell is an action-packed novel or a children’s book- maybe even a full-fledged chick lit series- to inspire others to write to the best of their abilities. You’re their examples, their idols.
It doesn’t happen overnight, it doesn’t matter how many letters of rejections you receive for publications- Gone With The Wind was rejected over 700 times until it was published and became an American classic- it doesn’t matter what happens during the journey, per say. But in the long run, though, writer: you really can make everything write.

* * *

I'm still expanding on this essay. I have a lot of advice especially for fiction. Of course, I'm pressed for time right now but once I do have it, I'll add more to this. Look for signs such as [EDIT:1] (the first addition), etc.
Last edited by PerforatedxHearts on Mon May 07, 2007 8:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
  





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Sun May 06, 2007 11:14 pm
Snoink says...



Sadly, we don't have a center feature, so I took that out for you. If there's any other formatting issue, you can always add it yourself. ;)

This was a very fun article to read! I hope you continue it soon... :)
Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est.

"The mark of your ignorance is the depth of your belief in injustice and tragedy. What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the Master calls the butterfly." ~ Richard Bach

Moth and Myth <- My comic! :D
  





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Gender: Female
Points: 890
Reviews: 125
Sun May 06, 2007 11:24 pm
PerforatedxHearts says...



Ohh! I didn't know that. I'm just so used to using [center] and such.

Thank you. Hopefully, I received a 100 on it.
  








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