Subscribe

Grammar & Style Essentials

Grammar isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being understood — and trusted. When readers trip over a misplaced comma or a “your” that should be “you’re”, they stop thinking about your story and start thinking about your mistakes. The good news? You don’t need to memorise every rule. You just need to know the ones that matter most.

Grammar Rules Every Writer Should Know

Sentence Structure

A sentence fragment is missing a subject or verb. “Running through the rain.” is evocative but incomplete on its own. A run-on sentence jams two independent clauses together without proper punctuation — your reader runs out of breath. Both can be used deliberately for effect, but only if you know you’re doing it.

Punctuation Essentials

  • Commas — use them to separate clauses, list items, and after introductory phrases. Don’t scatter them like confetti.
  • Semicolons — join two closely related independent clauses. Think of them as a longer pause than a comma, shorter than a full stop.
  • Em dashes — these are your best friend for adding drama, an aside, or emphasis — like this.
  • Apostrophes — only for possessives and contractions. Never for plurals. Never. (No “banana’s for sale”.)

Common Confusables

  • Its / It’s — “it’s” = it is. “its” = belonging to it. “It’s lost its way.”
  • There / Their / They’re — location / belonging / they are. Tattoo this on your brain.
  • Effect / Affect — “effect” is usually a noun, “affect” is usually a verb. The effect was dramatic. It affected everyone.
  • Who / Whom — if you can answer with “him”, use “whom”. Who called? He called. Whom did you call? Him.
  • Lay / Lie — you lay something down; you lie down yourself. Yes, this one trips everyone up.

Active vs Passive Voice

Active: The dog bit the man. Passive: The man was bitten by the dog. Active voice is usually stronger, clearer, and more direct. Passive has its place — particularly in academic writing or when the actor is unknown — but in fiction, active almost always wins.

Style Essentials

Show, Don’t Tell

Telling: She was nervous.
Showing: She twisted the hem of her sleeve until the thread gave way.

Showing trusts your reader. It lets them feel the emotion rather than being told what to feel. Use it for the moments that matter most.

Vary Your Sentence Length

Long sentences create rhythm, a sense of flow, and can carry the reader through complex ideas or moments of reflection. Short ones punch. Mix them. Your prose will breathe.

Avoid Clichés

If a phrase comes to you immediately, it’s probably a cliché. “Time stood still.” “Heart of gold.” “At the end of the day.” When you find one, ask: what do I actually mean here? Then say that instead — in your own words.

Word Choice and Precision

Don’t say “walked” when you mean “trudged”, “strolled”, or “crept”. Every word should earn its place. A precise word does more work than a vague one surrounded by adverbs.

Cut Unnecessary Words

First drafts are allowed to be messy. But in revision, cut ruthlessly. “In order to” becomes “to”. “Due to the fact that” becomes “because”. “Very unique” becomes “unique”. Less is almost always more.

Which Style Guide Should You Use?

  • Chicago Manual of Style — the standard for fiction, non-fiction books, and academic publishing. If you’re writing a novel, this is your bible.
  • AP Stylebook — used in journalism, PR, and digital media. Leaner and more prescriptive.
  • MLA — for academic essays and humanities research. Required by most universities for student writing.

Recommended Free Resources

These are genuinely useful — not just filler links.

  • Purdue OWL — the gold standard free resource for grammar, punctuation, citations, and writing style. Bookmarked by every serious writer.
  • Grammarly Blog — practical, readable writing tips covering everything from comma usage to storytelling technique.
  • Chicago Manual of Style Online — the definitive guide for book writers. Free Q&A section covers hundreds of common questions.
  • Merriam-Webster — don’t just check spelling; use the thesaurus to find the precise word you’re reaching for.
  • Grammar Girl — short, friendly, no-nonsense grammar tips. Great for quick answers.
  • The Elements of Style – free on Project Gutenberg — Strunk & White’s timeless guide. Read it. Re-read it.

Tools to Help You Write Cleaner

  • Grammarly — catches grammar, spelling, and style issues in real time. The free version is genuinely useful; premium adds tone and clarity suggestions.
  • ProWritingAid — deeper analysis than Grammarly, especially good for fiction writers. Checks for overused words, pacing issues, and readability.
  • Hemingway Editor — paste your text in and it highlights hard-to-read sentences, passive voice, and unnecessary adverbs. Brutal and brilliant.

How to Proofread Your Own Work

Proofreading your own writing is hard — your brain fills in what it expects to see. Here’s how to outsmart it:

  1. Read it aloud. Your ear catches what your eye misses. If you stumble, your reader will too.
  2. Take a break first. Leave it overnight if you can. Fresh eyes spot far more.
  3. Read it backwards. Start from the last sentence and work up. Forces you to look at each sentence in isolation.
  4. Print it out. Something about paper reveals errors a screen hides.
  5. Use text-to-speech. Have your device read it back to you. Robotic delivery makes awkward phrasing obvious.
  6. Check one thing at a time. One pass for commas, one for dialogue tags, one for your personal bugbears. Focused beats scattered.

You’ve Got This

Even the most celebrated authors — Hemingway, Woolf, Fitzgerald — had editors who caught their mistakes. Grammar and style aren’t about being flawless; they’re about respecting your reader enough to communicate as clearly as you can. Learn the rules, then bend them with intention. That’s where great writing lives.

Keep writing. Keep improving. The fact that you’re here means you’re already doing it right.