Style Guides

Grammar: How to Learn What You Don’t Know

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

This is what I did.

In 2008 I attended the Humber School For Writers correspondent course. Joan Barfoot was my mentor.

The course is designed so a professional writer works with the student on a manuscript.

I thought I knew all about punctuation and grammar until Joan pointed out I didn’t know how to use a comma.

In my mind, I was using the pesky little mark correctly. But how would I know unless someone else pointed it out to me?

My point. You need someone your trust, who knows grammar and punctuation, to give you an honest review of your talent.

Then . . .

STUDY STUDY STUDY

Perfection doesn’t come for free.

Do you have any tips for figuring out what you don’t know?

Thanks for reading . . .

Comma Splice: Acceptable or Not?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 22 Comments

Like anything else in life, grammar rules adapt and change.

Some say it’s okay to spilt an infinitive, start a sentence with ‘but,’ and end a sentence with a preposition.

My question: Are comma splices becoming acceptable?

I’m finding more of them in novels than I used to, and I’m not sure if this is due to the way publishing a novel has changed or due to a change in acceptable style.

I’d love to hear your opinion.

Written by a person (me 🙂  )who edits out every comma splice she sees.

Thanks for reading . . . and hopefully commenting.

Proofreading A Novel

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

Being asked to proofread someone else’s novel is a scary and flattering task. #writetip I’ve been asked to do this, and I started thinking about what this means.

I asked the author and myself the following questions:

What is the author looking for? Does he want comments on punctuation and grammar, characters, or plot line.

Does he use a style guide that I should consult?

What are my own talents? Being honest here is important. Can you pick up typos? Or does your eye easily breeze over them?

Do I have the time? It’s a big commitment to review a manuscript. It deserves my full attention. The author has spent many hours creating the manuscript, and it’s better to say no to reading than to rush through it.

With that said, I’d better get focussed and start reading.