On Grammer (And Yes, I Know I Spelled Grammar Wrong)

Written by Joseph Devon


There has been a growing trend, in academic circles and in my own life, to place grammar and its larger rules upon an impeachable pedestal. A growing number of people who seem to cling torepparttar rules of grammar as if its only throughrepparttar 136440 memorization of these rules and strict adherence to them that proper communication can be achieved. To these people I have but one word: Hogwash. The application of grammatical rules is notrepparttar 136441 holy grail ofrepparttar 136442 writing world. If anythingrepparttar 136443 exact opposite is true and it is nothing but silly to pretend otherwise. There have been far too many different great works in far too many different phases of these rules to believe thatrepparttar 136444 standards we have now are entirely correct and always will be. Joyce never used quotation marks, Melville loved run-on sentences, and Kerouac barely even seems to be speaking English at times. Should we assume that these authors and their works are no longer worth reading because they do not adhere torepparttar 136445 strict grammatical rules in use today? Or, even worse, should we retroactively edit their words, changing their concept of what they wrote so that every quotation mark follows a comma and semicolons are used correctly? Of course not. These works should no more be touched than arms should be affixed torepparttar 136446 Venice De Milo. They were created when different rules applied, and this should be respected. But this does not mean that those different rules are antiquated versions ofrepparttar 136447 written word when compared to what we have now and that today’s standard isrepparttar 136448 correct one. Today’s standard is simplyrepparttar 136449 phase we are slipping through atrepparttar 136450 moment, and it is bound to change as well. The rules of grammar should be likerepparttar 136451 rules of law, stable but never standing still. To create a system of rules for writing and yokerepparttar 136452 written word to these rules is going about things backwards. Writing comes first and thenrepparttar 136453 rules, notrepparttar 136454 other way around. Those rules are in place to aid writing, not to stifle it, and they should bow out gracefully oncerepparttar 136455 world has moved on without them. They work for us, as I’ve said, notrepparttar 136456 other way around. This notion ofrepparttar 136457 rules stepping aside forrepparttar 136458 writers is not a request, I should point out; it is an out and out threat. Experimentation with literature andrepparttar 136459 unavoidable influence ofrepparttar 136460 spoken word on writing insures thatrepparttar 136461 language will continue to shift and change, and if these rules andrepparttar 136462 people who cling to them will not yield, then they must be broken. The stricterrepparttar 136463 set of rules is,repparttar 136464 smaller your reachable audience becomes, either in time, or in space, or in both. Let’s say that a unique thought about life occurs to you inrepparttar 136465 abstract, and that you then put voice to this thought. And let us say that you constructrepparttar 136466 most perfect sentence in impeccable Queen’s English to express this thought. You have now encapsulated it for transmission to other people and you will be understood completely over three continents. The only problem is you have alienatedrepparttar 136467 rest ofrepparttar 136468 world. Nobody who speaks Chinese, or Greek, or Russian or Spanish will understand you. Likewise, a century from now your words will seem somewhat quaint. Two hundred years from now they’ll be downright archaic. The use of language for self-expression is an act that began back during our days of living in caves. It was, and is, a much needed way of communicating thoughts and ideas to those around us by creating an agreed upon methodology for this communication. But, again, it is used to communicate with those around us, those withrepparttar 136469 same agreed upon terms, and those terms are radically different asrepparttar 136470 world, andrepparttar 136471 shared experiences of those inrepparttar 136472 world, begin to vary with space and time. It’s only natural. Language changes over space, and lingo changes over time. The more you specify your rules for communicating,repparttar 136473 smaller your audience becomes and any attempt to actually lock those rules down into an unchanging law will only result inrepparttar 136474 suffocation of communication, notrepparttar 136475 perfection of it. Or we can go back and look towards my previous comparison ofrepparttar 136476 rules of grammar torepparttar 136477 rules of law. They are not very different, after all. The law has a strict set of definitions and rules for words so that minimal subjective interpretation is allowed. People go to school for years to, in part, learn this strict language, and that is my point entirely. The stricterrepparttar 136478 rules,repparttar 136479 more learning is required to apply them, and more expertise is then required to interpret them, and thus,repparttar 136480 audience becomes smaller as less and less people haverepparttar 136481 acquired skill needed to communicate…and that is not self-expression. Self-expression needs to breath. And, in some strange way, self-expression needsrepparttar 136482 ability to be misunderstood.

Writing for Dollars - How to get Started

Written by Heidi Richards, MS


“When you provide good information from which readers can learn and profit, people are more likely to buy your products and services.”

- Heidi Richards -

So just how do you get started? The first step, of course is to writerepparttar article. The second step is to findrepparttar 136333 right medium. I have a small business inrepparttar 136334 floral industry. Sorepparttar 136335 floral community would be my first likely target. Industry experts are generallyrepparttar 136336 most sought after writers for targeted publications. Since I write mostly about sales and marketing for small business, my second likely medium would be business-related publications, such as those published by Chambers of Commerce, small business journals and other retail industry publications.

I have also found that each type of media that has printed my articles has different criteria for submission. Some want you to send a letter outlining your ideas while others will allow you to submitrepparttar 136337 actual article. However, most editors prefer that you send a query letter first and include a paragraph about yourself. I also include a link to both my websites in case they want additional information. However, many ezines and online publications allow you to sendrepparttar 136338 actual article. Visit your library, online or local bookstore or do an Internet search withrepparttar 136339 words query letters forrepparttar 136340 “how to’s” of writing them.

It should go without saying thatrepparttar 136341 article must be grammatically correct and free of spelling errors. A publisher is looking for quality content that will make her or him look better torepparttar 136342 reader. The more unique your article,repparttar 136343 better your chances of getting it published. Real-life, personal examples and stories have a much greater chance of getting published than do “book reports.” Make surerepparttar 136344 article is yours! No plagiarism allowed. If you do copy someone else’s work, not only will you open yourself up to all sorts of legal problems, you will destroy any credibility you hoped to establish.

Whether you write articles for print media or for online publications, follow these guidelines to increase your likelihood of getting them published.

P Readrepparttar 136345 publication. Become familiar withrepparttar 136346 writing styles and content. It took several months, before one of my articles was accepted by Balance Magazine. It was an article on leadership, which they liked and found space to include. Because I was patient, tenacious and had developed a relationship withrepparttar 136347 editor, I was asked to berepparttar 136348 South Florida Profile Editor and now write an ongoing series of articles calledrepparttar 136349 PMS Principles™. I interview successful women in South Florida and write their stories. What a great way to gain exposure! Byrepparttar 136350 way,repparttar 136351 PMS stands for Partnering, Mentoring and Service, which is alsorepparttar 136352 title of a new book I am writing.

P Send your article torepparttar 136353 assistant editor when there is one. You will find her or him listed inrepparttar 136354 publication.

P Askrepparttar 136355 publication for their editorial calendar (often found on their website). An editorial calendar listsrepparttar 136356 “focus” or theme of each issue. This is a great tool to use when deciding what to write and submit.

P Find outrepparttar 136357 submission requirements (writer’s guidelines). These will include length of article, format, number of words, do’s and don’ts, as well as deadlines for submission. In some cases it will also include writer’s compensation, if and when they pay for articles.

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