Grammar Tips
WRITING TIPS
Grammar Guide For Self-Editing or Editing Groups
Rule #1 – Get rid of every word that isn’t vital, and make every word left as strong as possible. For example: that, was, were, has been, would have, could have–these words make for passive writing; feeling, it.
1w – One word –Two words should be combined into one. Incorrect: “time frame” Correct: “timeframe”
A – Awkward Sentence Structure – Rearrange, rephrase, or try deleting unnecessary words.
Aa – Additive Adjunct – No comma before “too” when it’s the last word of a sentence, and “too” means “also.” Ex: “Jane graduated from high school too.” Use a comma when “too” appears elsewhere and still means “also.” Ex: “Jane, too, graduated from high school.”
Ae – Affect vs. Effect – “Affect” is a verb. A verb is an action word. So, think “A” for “Action,” or “A” affects “B.” Ex: “The spices in Jane’s soup affected her stomach.” “Effect” is usually a noun. So, “A” has an effect on “B.” Ex: “Jane’s soup produced a negative effect on those who ate it.”
Am- Adjective Modifier – When you have two adjectives that modify the same noun (coordinate adjectives), use a comma to separate the adjectives. Ex: “Jane served a hot, delicious soup.” When you have two adjectives, but the first modifies the second (cumulative adjectives), no comma is needed. Ex: “Jane wore a bright-yellow cotton apron when she cooked soup.”
Ap- Attribution Punctuation – (1) When using an attribution such as “said,” don’t use a period at the end of the preceding sentence. Use a comma, a question mark, or an exclamation point. Don’t capitalize “he, she, they.” Exs: “I have to move into a new house,” she said. –“It’s huge!” she said. — “I’m going to live here?” she said. If the attribution comes before the sentence, use a comma. Ex: She added, “But I know I’ll love it here.” Only capitalize the first word after the sentence if it’s a proper name. Exs: “It doesn’t look small to me,” Jane said. — “It’s huge!” Jane said. — “I’m going to live here?” Jane said. (2) Use a period with a tag or beat. Ex: “It doesn’t look small to me.” Jane shaded her eyes with the back of her hand to maximize her view.
As – As – Avoid starting sentences with the word “as,” which often makes a sentence passive, and to some is considered lazy writing. Delete “as,” and add the word “and” after the comma. Ex: “As he turned the car around, his heart sank.” Ex: Better: “He turned the car around, and his heart sank.” (There are exceptions.)
Aw – A while vs. Awhile – Never follow a preposition with the word “awhile.” “Awhile” is an adverb that means “for a while.” Ex: “Stay awhile” means “Stay for a while.”
“A while” is a noun phrase that follows a preposition like “for” or “in.” Ex: “Stay for a while.”
B – Blond/Blonde – Blond is an adjective used to describe. Ex: “She has blond hair.”
Blonde is a noun. Ex: “She’s a tall blonde.” (The “e” is rarely used when referring to men.)
Bc – Because – When possible, delete “because” and form two sentences. Subordinate conjunctions can annoy readers if overused.
Bg – Began/Begin/Started – When does beginning become doing? Immediately! Ex: Incorrect: “He began to walk toward the door.” Correct: “He walked toward the door.” (There are exceptions.)
Bi – Backstory or Internal Thought – Don’t write long paragraphs of internal thought or backstory to “info dump” every detail of a character’s past. Break it up. Change to dialogue or action whenever possible. No backstory allowed in the first chapter (at least).
Bs – Be Specific – Forget it. Forget that. Forget this. Huh? Be more descriptive. Ex: Bad: “He handed it to her.” Better: “He handed her a drink.” Best: “He handed her a frosty mug of root beer.” You can use unspecific words in the second part of a sentence if the first part is specific. Ex: “She took off the necklace and put it away.”
Bt – Beats–A beat is an action a character does in place of an attribution. Ex: Beat- “Run!” He got up and sprinted. Ex: Attribution- “Run!” he said. You can place a beat before of after dialogue, but always keep your beat with your dialogue. This is how we know who’s speaking without using an attribution.
C – Contractions – Without contractions, writing is clunky. Read both sentences aloud. Ex: “I have hurt my knee and cannot exercise, but do not let that stop you.” Better: “I’ve hurt my knee and can’t exercise, but don’t let that stop you.” Exception: Dialogue. Characters have different speech patterns. But mostly people who speak English as a second language, as well as those who like to sound … educated, don’t use contractions. Everyone else does.
Cd – Character Description – When a character is in their POV, they shouldn’t describe themselves. Bring out features through another character’s eyes. Ex: “Jane grabbed her brush and tugged it through her long, blond hair.” Correct: “Jane grabbed her brush and tugged it through her hair.”
Cl – Colors – Instead of using an ordinary color, choose a more vivid word. Ideas on last page.
Cn – Colon Use – A colon denotes you’ve described something in the preceding text, (1) A phrase or a list. Ex: “Jane went to the cupboard needing only two ingredients: salt and pepper.” If the phrase after the colon is a short, complete sentence, there’s no need to capitalize the phrase. (2) If the phrase after the colon is a long, complete sentence and denotes a different thought; capitalize the first word. Ex: “Knowing how to make the soup was vital: She couldn’t risk having her friends decline an invitation to her next dinner party.”
Cq – Colloquialism – Using two possessives to modify one noun. Ex: “Her friend’s dad’s car is old.” Correct: “Her friend’s dad has an old car.”
Cs – Comma in a Series – (1) Place a comma before the “and” in the last element in a series to prevent ambiguity. Ex: “I’m going to the park, the school, and the store.” (2) If the last element has a pair of words joined by “and,” the comma goes before the first “and,” but not the last. Ex: “Jane’s going to the park, the school, and the store to buy salt and pepper.”
Csi – CSI Syndrome – Ever watch the TV show CSI? The two investigators stand over the body and say things to each other they’d obviously know, and would never say aloud. The characters are speaking to let us know. Sorry, no-can-do in a manuscript.
D – Dash – Don’t overuse. No spaces before or after a dash.(1)Placed at the end of dialogue, a dash shows interruption. (2)Can replace commas, but be consistent. Use either two commas, or two dashes. Ex: “Jane loved the soup—as it tasted great—but what if her friends hated it?” Incorrect: “Jane loved the soup, as it tasted great—but what if her friends hated it?”
D/t – Day / Time– Avoid starting paragraphs with the day/time. It’s telling. Exs: “The next morning…” (or) “Two hours later…”
Des – Delete Extra Space – One space after ending punctuation. Or, I noted an extra space in your manuscript.
E – Ellipses – Show hesitation, a pause, or omitted words. Don’t overuse. Spaces
before and after mid-sentence ellipses. Ex: “Jane, this soup is … interesting.” Regular punctuation for ellipses at the end of a sentence. Ex: “No, Jane, I don’t need the soup recipe….”
Ex – Exclamation Points – Use when a character shouts, or the mental equivalent! Use SPARINGLY! If not, the exclamation point loses its effect!
F – Farther vs. Further – “Farther” describes distance, literally. Ex: “I can’t walk any farther.” Use “Further” in a figurative sense. Ex: “I don’t want to research the subject any further.”
Fbp – Floating Body Part – One shouldn’t “take a hand,” or state, “her eyes flew to him.” You can lead someone, and a character’s gaze can fly to another’s. Them parts need to stay attached.
H – Hyphenate – (1) Hyphenate when modifying a noun. Ex: “Jane has a five-year-old child.” (or) “Jane has a five-year-old.” (“child” is implied) Incorrect: “Jane’s child is five-years-old.” (2) No hyphen after a “ly” word. Correct: “Jane ran to a brightly lit room.”
I – Intensifier – Emphasizes the word it modifies. Ex: “Monday turned really cold.” Use a stronger word! Better: “Monday turned frigid.” Other Examples: very, totally, quite, extremely, severely, etc. (There are exceptions.)
It – Internal Thought – When a character is directly thinking something, but doesn’t say it aloud. Should be phrased in 1st person. No quotation marks, and no “he thought, she thought.” Put the sentence in italics, and use sparingly. Must know we’re in the character’s POV. Ex: Jane turned from the stove. I can’t believe the soup isn’t ready yet.
Iu – Intended Use – Use words for their intended purpose. Ex: “She has pretty hair.” Incorrect: “She arrived pretty late.” (or) Ex: “She has a little dog.” Incorrect: “Her dog ate little.” (I wonder if ‘little’ tasted good? Sorry; couldn’t help it.)
Iw – It was/wasn’t – If the sentence makes sense without the words, delete.
Lo – Locution – Delete phrases like “she wondered,” and rephrase into a question. Ex: “She wondered why her sister always cut her hair.” Better: “Why did her sister always cut her hair?”
Lp- Long Paragraph – Break it up. Readers like to see some white space on a page.
Ls – Long Sentence – Break it up. If you have to pause to take a breath, the sentence is too long.
Ly – Use of “LY” Adverbs – These sneak emotions into attributions, instead of letting your dialogue do its job. They weaken a sentence. Ex: “You’re not nice,” Jane said angrily. Better: “You’re despicable.” (There are exceptions.)
M – Minute, Moment – A minute is finite at 60 seconds, so it can’t be long or short. Incorrect: “She waited a long minute.” A moment is considered short by definition, so it shouldn’t be used in conjunction with the word “long,” and to state a moment is short, is redundant. Incorrect: “He took a short moment.” “A long moment later.”
M + – Media – Italics: Movies, TV shows, books, book-length poems, magazines, newspapers, plays, radio shows, works of art, instrumentals, operas. Also: ships/boats, dream sequences, flashbacks, setting before a chapter. Ex: London, England – 1800
Quotation Marks: TV episode titles, songs, stories, articles, poems, and photographs.
Mm – Misplaced Modifier – Placement of a word, phrase, or clause that modifies an unintended word, causing ambiguity. Ex: “Slim and beautiful, the crowd applauded for the new Miss America,” which reads, “The crowd is slim and beautiful.” Correct: “The new Miss America was slim and beautiful, and the crowd applauded for her.”
Mr – Motivation/Reaction Problem – Putting the character’s reaction before what motivates him/her to react. Check sentences with “as” in the middle. Switch the sentence around, ditch the “as,” and add “and,” or make two sentences placing the motivator first. Ex: “Jane shivered with fright as footsteps sounded on the stairs.” Correct: “Footsteps sounded on the stairs and Jane shivered with fright.” (or) “Footsteps sounded on the stairs. Jane shivered with fright.”
Np – New Paragraph– Start one when you introduce a new speaker, new subject, or, use a one-sentence paragraph to make the statement more dramatic.
Nu – Negation Use – Phrasing your sentence in the negative. Ex: “The park isn’t more crowded on a Sunday than a holiday.” Delete “no, not, never, etc.,” to change the sentence in the positive. Correct: “The park is as crowded on a Sunday as a holiday.”
Nx – Next Page – See next page.
Ny – Not Young – This is a young adult manuscript, and this word/sentence doesn’t sound like teen-speak. [Disregard if this is the character’s speech pattern.]
Op – Omniscient POV – Considered the least preferred point of view by many. Also called Author Intrusion. When your character isn’t talking or thinking, the author or a narrator is talking to the reader. Often novels start this way, as the writer seeks to bring out the setting before mentioning the character. Consider example one as the 1st sentence of a novel. Ex: The soup bubbled, the scent of broth filling the air.” –We don’t know who’s smelling it. Correct: ”Jane Doe [always use a character's full name when introducing them] hovered over the stove where the soup bubbled, the scent of broth filling the air.” –Now it’s in 3rd person. Also, anywhere in the manuscript when an author feeds the reader information.
P – Passive vs. Active Sentence Structure – Write in an ActiveVoice! There’s more than one way to write a passive sentence. I’ve listed some examples.
(1) Passive structure is “B” is done by “A,” or, the subject of the sentence is acted upon. Ex: Passive: “The soup was stirred by Jane.” Active structure: is “A” does to “B.” Active: “Jane stirred the soup.” (2) “Was” before words ending in “ed,” and “ing.” (Also see “Pr.”) Passive: “Jane was confused when she read the soup recipe.” Active: “The soup recipe confused Jane.”(3) Replace expressions with a transitive in the active voice. “Was that”: Passive: “The reason Jane wanted to make soup was that her skills were rusty.” Active: “Waning skills drove Jane to make soup.” (4) “There were/is”: Passive: “There were many vegetables included in the pot of soup.” Active: “Vegetables abounded in the pot of soup.” (5) “Could be”: Passive: “In ten minutes, the soup Jane made could be eaten.” Active: “They could eat Jane’s soup in ten minutes.” (6) “Had been”: Passive: “Jane had been sure her soup would taste good.” Active: “Jane thought her soup would taste good.”
Pl – Pleonasm – A form of redundancy. A phrase or word that repeats itself. Exs: Incorrect: twelve noon, one a.m. in the morning, round in shape, I saw it with my own eyes, etc. Correct: noon, one a.m., round, I saw it, etc.
Pov – Point of View Problem – (1) If you switch to another character’s POV mid-scene [called POV Shift or Head-Hopping], show the break with an extra space, or start a new chapter. (2) Your character can’t see certain things in their POV. Ex: “She turned her back on him and he frowned.” She can’t see a frown if she turns her back. (3) Your characters can’t see themselves. Ex: “Her face turned bright red.” Correct: “Heat rose to her cheeks.” (4) Avoid: he saw, she heard, he knew, etc., when in that character’s POV. We know who’s seeing, hearing, knowing, etc. Incorrect: “She saw him moving across the room.” Correct: “He moved across the room.”
Pp – Purple/Poetic Prose – A stylistic device. Flowery, poetic speech. Lengthy descriptions and/or too many metaphors/similes. Stay away from these. Denotes a newbie writer!
Pq – Punctuation for Quotes – For single and double quotes used for emphasis, both
the period and the comma go inside the quotation marks, all other punctuation goes outside.
Pr – Progressive Past – Simple past is better. Look for “was” and “were” before words ending in “ing.” Ex: Progressive Past: “Jane was stirring the soup.” Simple Past: “Jane stirred the soup.” Sentences require progressive past if something interrupts an action. Ex: “Jane was stirring the soup when the doorbell rang.”
Ps – Passed vs. Past – “Passed” is an adjective. “Pass” is a verb or noun referring to position or movement. Exs: “Jane passed her soup recipe to her friend.” Or, “Jane will pass the market on her way home.” “Past” is an adjective or noun that refers to a time. Exs: “Five years past….” or “Don’t dwell on the past.”
Q – Qualifier – An unnecessary word that blurs your meaning and weakens your sentence. Something either is, or it isn’t. Ex: “It was a bit cold outside.” Better: “It was cold outside.” Other examples: rather, a little, a lot, seemed, only, slightly, just, almost, nearly, sort of, kind of, etc. Exceptions: a character’s speech pattern or speculation on what another character is thinking.
R – Repetition – Repeating the same words too often. (IMO: More than twice per page, or twice in a paragraph.) (There are exceptions, like using as a stylistic device.)
Rd – Redundancy – Telling us something you’ve already told us, even in a different way or with different words.
Rp – Reflexive Pronoun – (1) Only use pronouns ending in “self,” when the pronoun refers to the subject. Ex: “I hit myself.” (2) Don’t use “own” in conjunction with a pronoun when referring back to the subject. Incorrect: “My own sister died.” Correct: “My sister died.”
Sa – Simultaneous Action – Having a character do something that’s physically impossible; doing two things at the same time. Common when a sentence starts with a word ending in “ing.” Incorrect: “Pulling out of the driveway, he drove down the street.” Correct: “He pulled out of the driveway, (and) then drove down the street.”
Sc – Semicolon Use – A semicolon joins a compound sentence. Use sparingly. Ex: “Jane tasted the soup; it was delicious.”
Sd – Said – (1)One can’t: bark, growl, snap, chuckle, howl, grimace, laugh, roar, smile, pout, or snarl a word. These are sounds or facial expressions. (2) It’s better to have “said” as the last word in an attribution. Ex: “I see Spot running,” Jane said. Reversing the words is a valid style, but is reminiscent of children’s books, so avoid it. Ex: “See Spot run,” said Jane.
Sm – Simplify – (1) Use simple, normal, phrases/words. Ex: “Jane exchanged numerous items of her obsolete attire, augmenting it with additional purchases.” Better: “Buying new clothes improved Jane’s old wardrobe.”
Sw – Stronger Word – Make every word count! Use your thesaurus and find a stronger or more vivid/imaginative word.
T – That – Often a throwaway word. If the sentence makes sense without it, delete. Incorrect: “Jane knew that the soup was ready.” Correct: “The soup was ready.”
Tl – Telling – (1) after, as, when, during, until, before, with, and while at the beginning of a sentence is often telling. (2) Watch forms of “to be” and “felt.” Incorrect: “He felt angry.” Better: “He clenched his fists so hard, his knuckles turned white.”
Tmi – Too Much Information – (1)Don’t write long paragraphs with lengthy descriptions of scenes or rooms, etc. Break them up. (2) Don’t go into detail about what your characters’ actual positions are. This makes it harder to picture the scene. Ex: “He held the man’s right arm with his left hand, and then kicked with his right foot to the man’s left side.” Better: “He held the man’s arm, then kicked him in the side.”
Tw – That vs. Which – Use “that” to introduce a restrictive (defining) relative clause. Identifies what/who is referred to. Ex: “I want to buy a book that has large print.” That has large print is the restrictive clause explaining what kind of book I want to buy. “Which” is used with non-restrictive (non-defining) clauses. Ex: “The students complained about the textbook, which was hard to understand.” The clause which was hard to understand is non-restrictive because it doesn’t point out which book the students complained about. (There are exceptions.)
Uw – Unnecessary Words and Phrases – Omit extra words and phrases. Write each sentence with as few words as possible. Phrase Offenders: the fact that, all of a sudden, at the very least, in spite of, if nothing else, etc. Ex: “By the way, I just wondered if you think that this dress looks good on me.” Better: “Does this dress look good on me?” Word Offenders: that, perhaps, however, although, over, under, up, down, back, both, even, quite, rather, suddenly, etc. Ex: “Suddenly, I thought that perhaps she should go back over there and sit down up on top of the fence.” Better: “She should go sit on the fence.”
W – Walked/Ran – Boring! Options: advanced, ambled, boogied, darted, dashed, drifted, glided, hastened, hiked, hustled, jogged, loped, lurched, marched, meandered, minced, moseyed, moved, paced, paraded, patrolled, plodded, pranced, raced, rambled, roamed, roved, rushed, sashayed, sauntered, scampered, schlepped, scurried, scuttled, shuffled, sidled, slogged, slinked, sprinted, staggered, stepped, strode, strolled, strutted, swaggered, tip-toed, toddled, traipsed, tramped, traveled, tread, trooped, trudged, waddled, wandered.
Color Options:If a date follows the color, the word wasn’t in use before that date. Words without dates weren’t checked.
Black:anthracite, black pearl, blue-black, coal, ebony, inky, jet, licorice, midnight, obsidian, onyx, pitch, raven, sable, shadow, soot/sooty, tar
Blue:aqua, aquamarine, azure (1300), baby, blue-gray, blue-green, cadet, cerulean, cobalt (1683), cornflower, delft (blue and white), denim, electric, federal, indigo (1555), lapis, midnight, navy, neon, ocean, peacock, periwinkle, powder, robin’s egg, royal, sapphire (1200), sky, steel, teal, turquoise (1350), ultra marine, wedgewood
Brown/Beige:earth, nutmeg (1400), cinnamon (1300), chocolate (1604), cocoa (1788), tan, chestnut (1300), bay, tawny, roan, mahogany (1660), pecan, rosewood, maple, taupe, coffee, toffee, cafe au lait, mocha, tortoise shell, ginger, walnut (1100), brunette, espresso, ecru, mushroom, fawn, buckskin, nut brown, umber, saddle, raisin, khaki, drab, bronze, copper, tanned, foxy, sandy almond (1300), oatmeal, tumbleweed, sienna, sepia
Gray/Grey:smoky, pearl, charcoal, ash, silvery, dove, gunmetal, steel, sooty, hoary (no wisecracks!), chrome
Green:jade (1585), emerald, malachite, kelly, leaf, moss (1880), celadon (grayish yellow-green)(1768), seafoam, hunter, lime (1650), forest (1800), olive, peridot, pistachio, grass, pea, mist, chartreuse, verdant, celery, mint, apple, hazel, green-blue, shamrock, avocado, spring, asparagus, pine, seaweed
Orange: apricot, rust(y), peach, tangerine, persimmon, orange-red, shrimp, salmon, terra cotta, auburn, burnt orange, mandarin, copper, nectarine
Pink:almond pink, blush, bubble gum, carnation,cotton candy, electric, flamingo, fuchsia, hot, neon,petal, rose, rubescent (blushing)(1725)
Purple:amethyst, violet, lavender, heliotrope (reddish-lavender), mauve, plum, wood violet (pale purple), lilac, orchid, tyrian (purple-red)(1505), grape, wisteria, royal
Red:ruby, poppy, scarlet, garnet, red-amber, rose, dusky rose, crimson, cinnabar (bright red), wine, claret, cerise (deep red), russet, burgundy, henna, ox-blood, carmine (strong or vivid red), apple, cherry, tomato, red-orange, brick, cardinal, rubicund (ruddy), vermillion, cochineal (vivid), maroon, strawberry, raspberry, blood, candy apple, beet, currant, titian (reddish-brown), lobster, fire engine, coral (reddish-yellow), flame, siam, cranberry
White/Off-White:argent (silvery white), milky, quartz, white jade, moonstone, ivory, cream, snow, pearl, alabaster, opal, magnolia, vanilla, chalky, oyster, marble, bone, cadmium (whitish-blue metallic) (1822), eggshell, parchment, lily, porcelain, bleached linen, buff, ecru
Yellow:fool’s gold, gold(en), goldenrod, blond, ash blond, platinum, burnished, brassy, amber, palomino, honey, primrose (pale), daffodil (1548), jonquil (1664), butter, buttercup (1777), lemon (1400), dun, tawny, flaxen, sandy, straw, hay, citron (pale), canary (1584), topaz, ochre, sulfur (greenish tint), mustard, butterscotch, yellow-green, dandelion
