Grammar Nazi or dilettante?

I’m reading a book at the moment full of “prithee, varlet” language. It’s as irritating as Hades, but maybe that’s just me. The atmosphere of fear is building, the characters are forming and the plot slowly emerging.

But despite the over-elaborate language, the author’s grammar is spot on. And that’s what saves it.

Writing is a form of communication and when we structure writing correctly then our message is unambiguous, even in “prithee” language. The reader reads what we intended them to read. Even in a very minimalist-styled book such as any of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher thrillers, the accuracy and clarity of the writing enables the reader to see exactly what the author is saying.

If we don’t write clearly, then the poor reader has to re-read sentences and pause to work out what he or she thinks we meant. After a few jolts to continuity, it’s inevitable that the reader’s pleasure diminishes. And after too many, the reader chucks the book on the floor.

Editors can, and do, do a wonderful job, but even they get to the hair-tearing stage in the face of relentless sloppiness. If they have the choice of working on a well-written manuscript and one weighed down with mistakes, guess which one they’ll prioritise?

Poor grammar and spelling are the things that irritate readers of self-published books  most, and most quickly, even in a free book. We have so much choice these days, why would we spend precious life-hours reading something that is written in a careless and sub-standard way?

However fabulous the plot, characters and narrative thrust of the story, good grammar and spelling matter.

Horrors to avoid (Any one of these makes me chuck the book on the floor.)
your/you’re
Can you say ‘you are’ instead? If so, then it’s ‘you’re’. ‘Your’ is to indicate something belonging to ‘you’, e.g. your book.
it’s/its
Can you say ‘it is’? Then it’s ‘it’s’. 😉  As with ‘your’, when used to show something that belongs to ‘it’, ‘its’ doesn’t have the abused apostrophe, e.g. “Gorgeous book. I love its cover.”
There/their
Can you say ‘here’ instead of ‘there’. e.g. ‘there are /here are’?  There you are, then. Remember, ‘their’ is very possessive…
Affect/effect
‘Affect’ is an active verb. ‘Effect’ is the outcome, e.g. cause and effect. A quick way of remembering is that A comes before E, i.e. you have to affect something before you can see the effect.
‘Bored of’ or ‘bored with’?
Please don’t start me on this one. I hope you  know the correct version. See me in the comments if you don’t.

 

Updated 2024:Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers –  INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO,  AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO  and RETALIO,  and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories.  Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity, a contemporary conspiracy, starts a new series of thrillers. JULIA PRIMA,  Roma Nova story set in the late 4th century, starts the Foundation stories. The sequel, EXSILIUM, is now out.

Find out more about Roma Nova, its origins, stories and heroines and taste world the latest contemporary thriller Double Identity… Download ‘Welcome to Alison Morton’s Thriller Worlds’, a FREE eBook, as a thank you gift when you sign up to Alison’s monthly email update. You’ll also be among the first to know about news and book progress before everybody else, and take part in giveaways.

4 comments to Grammar Nazi or dilettante?

  • Oh brilliant!Another grammar geek. Welcome to my world. I am slowly eliminating from my students’ essays the following: abit alot, would of could of might of. What I frustrating is that most of them do not see these errors as problematic! Thee and me, lady. Thee and me.

  • Alison

    We’ll keep at it until we get bored of it… *cackles and ducks*

  • Chris Torrance

    Oh yes! All of the above examples drive me mad! I am not a writer, just a reader (though my husband and daughters are always telling me I should have been an English teacher!) but spelling, grammar and punctuation errors make me cringe. Are they really more widespread than in years gone by or is it just that social media, texting etc have made it more obvious? I remember a friend telling me in horrified tones that her daughter’s teacher told her ‘Oh, we don’t worry about a few spelling mistakes!’ That was thirty years ago… presumably those children would never have been taught the correct way to spell…

    • Alison Morton

      I can understand that teachers don’t want to ‘stifle creativity’, but without the unconscious use of the tools, the creativity is going to get past first post. Both should run alongside. I’m forever looking things up as i hate being caught out by discreet/discrete, principle/principal, site/sight.

      Sometimes, it’s the fault of the spellchecker, sometimes it’s my rubbishy typing, but I’m the first to put it right – it’s a rite with me.