What to do if you need help with grammar: Part 1

Number of entries received for the 2008 InnermoonLit Award for Best First Chapter of a Novel to date: 15

The good news is that many contemporary linguists agree that we learn grammar through usage, not instruction. My prescription for you, if you have problems in this area, is twofold.

First, read. Read a wide array of books, including those biggies you pretended to read in high school but never did. Reread your favorites. You will begin to subconsciously develop an ear for proper usage.

I caution you to make your reading broad so that you don’t inadvertently start to mimic any one writer’s voice. That sort of mimicry is not necessarily a bad thing and, in fact, is probably inevitable for writers just starting out. But if you’ve been at this enterprise for a decade or more, it’s time to develop your own unique voice and avoid the derivative.

I’ll hold off on the bad news for the time being, except to say that I’ve come to believe you can’t become completely proficient with language just by reading. Some instruction is in order.