Grammar. Yes. Grammar.

Things are slow. It's winter and the piles and piles of snow make things very blasse. But there's never a better time to start some mischief than in the winter when it comes to editors and grammarians. March 4th was National Grammar Day. I know, you were all excited, right? I completely forgot.

However, upon reflection, I got to thinking about grammar, its function, its importance, its draconian nature. So I've decided to do a string of grammar-related posts that I think will aid those who follow my blog. I know of a number of writers who struggle with grammar - even the basics - especially when it comes to writing solid fiction. Editors love nothing more than to toss out a story on the slush pile for bad grammar: it's an easy rejection, and it shouldn't happen.

So I'll start out with a bit of a background into my thoughts. In the next day or so, I'll post some actual grammar thoughts.

I went through school as a Presciptivist*. There were certain rules that grammar had, and you always followed them. I knew the rules; I studied the rules; I yelled at people for not knowing the rules. You knock on a door and say "It is I" not "It is me"! Then I went to college.

In college, I took a number of similar grammar classes, but I was fascinated by linguistics. So I learned the nature of Descriptivists**. There are rules, and yes they guide the language of the written word, but communication and interpersonal relations go beyond the need for rules so long as meaning is conveyed. If you can get your point across in grunts and head-slapping, that's language (it's a very bad example, but it's true).

When it comes to printed form, though, one has to keep in mind that there are still certain standards that writers must follow. I work with a variety of clients - from fiction writers to business writers - and there are rules that each class of writer must follow. Those rules are ever fluid, and any good writer knows how to follow that fluidity and use it to their best advantage. It also helps to know some of the rules that allow for that fluidity.

These short posts will be similar to grammar girl (who seems to have gone by the way-side), but I'll give a bit of personal insight into them and maybe some point-counter-point analysis.

Wikipedia articles with a bit more information:
*Prescriptive Linguistics
**Descriptive Linguistics

Table of Contents:

1. That's It. Period: A post on the full stop.
2. OMG! What's the Deal?: A post on question marks and exclamation Points
3. Commas, Commas, Commas: A post on the use of commas
4. You Say Potato; I Say Potato: A post on semi-colonsl