The following comes from Rachel Ann Nunes, author of the best selling Ariana
series. You can find her site at
www.rachelannnunes.com.
By Rachel Ann Nunes
Grammar tips for the fiction author:
1. Learn your punctuation. I can't tell you how many aspiring
authors I've met who don't know if the comma goes before or after the quotes in
dialogue. If you are unsure, do your research. A good grammar book will help
immensely. (See Rachel Ann Nunes'
Resources in the
Tools of the
trade article.)
2. Change paragraphs every time someone new is speaking. (There
are rare exceptions, but you are safe to stick with this until you learn how to
use them.)
3.Watch sentences that can have double meanings. Example: I saw
a movie about a vacation spot which I recommended. So are you recommending the
vacation spot or the movie?
4. Do a search for all the words you habitually overuse. Look up
new words and replace. (See Words to avoid in
Style and words to avoid article.)
5.Trim your sentences for unnecessary or redundant words.
6. Consider hiring a line editor the first few times to see what
they pick up in grammar or structure mistakes.
7.Don't feel that an publisher will overlook the grammar errors. If
there are a few and the story is really good, they might be overlooked, but if
there are so many signs that you haven't done your homework on either grammar,
content, format, or storylines, they won't read past the first few pages, if
that.
8. A good story WILL be published. Editing will make your story
better and tighter.
