First of all, a disclaimer. I’m no expert; I’m sure I make plenty of
mistakes. And don’t even get me started
on correct use of em dashes and ellipses … But as a medical writer as well as an
author, I can be pretty pedantic. The rules in science are very strict: we must
say ‘these data show’ rather than ‘this data shows’.
I can hear you all protesting already: why does grammar matter in
fiction? The standard rules don’t apply. For one thing, we can start sentences
with the word ‘but’ and ‘and’. We can use one-word sentences and probably
should; they add impact. And that’s what editors are there for, aren’t they?
Not according to plenty of books I’ve read; I’m amazed at how many errors slip
through the net. But most importantly, getting a novel published is a
ridiculously competitive business. Agents only have time to consider a tiny
fraction of the submissions that land on their desks every morning. We need to
make our manuscripts as polished as possible.
I’m a beta reader for several writing friends. They’re all great writers,
with a good basic understanding of grammar, but I see the same mistakes over
and over again. Here are five common mistakes that you can correct in your manuscript
today.
Use
of commas
Omitting commas is the most common
mistake I see, particularly before names in dialogue.
'Let’s eat, John’, is correct.
‘Let’s eat John,’ has a different
meaning entirely!
Another place commas are often
missed is after the word ‘said’.
‘she said wondering what he meant,’
is incorrect
‘she said, wondering what he meant,’
is correct.
In general, if you’re not sure
whether you need a comma, read the sentence out loud (one of the best habits
you can get into as a writer). Where your voice naturally pauses, a comma is
usually needed.
Commas can change the whole meaning
of a sentence. Google the words ‘Commas matter’ and you’ll get the idea. There
are some funny examples out there: ‘Hobbies: cooking dogs and reading,’ is a
particularly good one.
Punctuation after dialogue
The mistake I see most frequently
is a comma at the end of dialogue when it should be a full stop. A typical mistake is:
‘I’ve had enough of you,’ she
sighed.
The sighing is
a separate action from the speech. She didn’t sigh the words; she said them.
The correct version is:
‘I’ve had enough of you.’ She
sighed.
or
'I’ve had enough of you,’ she said
with a sigh.
Use
of semi-colons
I agree that this is more tricky
and I doubt an agent is going to reject your manuscript for incorrect use, but
semi-colons can make a manuscript look more polished. In general, they’re used
instead of a comma to break up sentences. If you’re not sure whether to replace
a comma with a semi-colon, look at the sentence fragments on either side of the
comma; if they could be complete sentences in their own right, use a
semi-colon. The previous sentence was an example of correct semi-colon and
comma use (I hope!). Having said that, it’s best not to have too many long,
over-complicated sentences in your manuscript. Mix up long and short!
Use
of apostrophes
After years of
misuse, I think people are finally getting the hang of these, but I still see
occasional mistakes, so I’ll keep it brief. Apostrophes are never used to
denote plurals.
I know the Smith’s,
I was born in the
60’s,
Banana’s (a market
stall classic!),
are all incorrect.
It’s is an
abbreviation of 'it is.'
Its means belonging
to it, as in: ‘The cat chased its tail.’
You’re is an
abbreviation of 'you are.'
Your means belonging
to you, as in: ‘Your cat is chasing its tail.’
Me,
myself and I
Most people know that: ‘Sue and I
went to lunch,’ is correct, but they then write: ‘The waitress approached Sue
and I.’ It should be ‘Sue and me.’
The easiest to work out whether to use I or
me is to take the other name out; it then becomes obvious. I went to lunch and
the waitress approached me. As for the word 'myself', never use it in this way. It sounds
silly.
That’s it for now. If anyone finds this
useful and wants more, let me know what you find difficult. And feel free to
share your favourite funny grammar mistakes.