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Rules of the rode (road).
By admin | September 4, 2008
By David Hibberd
The other day while waiting at a red light, I observed the smooth flow of traffic. This took place just after 5:00 pm, rush hour. When lights turned green traffic moved while cars with red lights waited for their turn.
All of this took place because of the drivers’ adherence to the established traffic laws. When we abide by those laws we arrive at our destinations without incident. If we choose to ignore those laws then accidents and injury are sure to happen.
Writers receive certain “laws” that allow them to arrive at a well-written piece if the laws are followed. When we choose to ignore those laws, our writing suffers.
What laws should writers use? We describe the laws of writing as grammar. They tell us how to construct sentences, how to use punctuation, and how to build paragraphs. They also provide tools that enable a writer to fine-tune their writing. Poor grammar often ruins an otherwise good piece of writing.
Grammar defines those things we should avoid, our red lights; the things we must do, the green lights; things we should use with care, yellow lights; and how we should pace our writing, the speed limits.
My neighborhood sports many “Caution: Road Construction Ahead” signs. Writers need some “Caution: Word Construction Ahead” signs. Spelling comes to mind as vital to good writing. Your going to be a better author if you pay attention to you’re spelling. This happens to be one of my pet peeves when it comes to spelling errors: confusing you’re, meaning you are, with your, a possessive pronoun. Don’t trust your spell checker. It will flag a misspelled word, but won’t let you know when you’ve used the wrong word. Words are a writer’s most important tool. We must use care to get it write. Get it rite. Get it Wright. Get it right.
Point-of-view plays an important part in writing. It tells us when we see things through the driver’s eyes, first person; the passenger’s eyes, third person; or from God’s perspective, omniscient view. One mistake writers sometimes make is switching from one point-of-view character to another in the same scene, and even using many point-of-view characters. In a novel with many characters we may sometimes have difficulty keeping track of the characters. Start jumping from one character’s head to another’s and you will lose your reader.
Writers are taught to “show don’t tell.” Penny was happy. Boring. Penny jumped up and down, clapping as her smile raced from ear to ear. Her laughter brought a smile to her friend’s face.
The next time you take your computer out for a spin, just remember the rules of the road and you will find the destination makes the journey worth the effort.
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