It surprises me how many aspiring fiction writers don’t know a thing about grammar. The majority can’t identify the eight Parts of Speech, explain when you would use ‘well’ instead of ‘good,’ or understand why you shouldn’t end a sentence with a prepositional phrase.

I am not a grammarian myself. There are many rules about language structure that I don’t understand, despite having studied grammar independently, taken a few college courses, and taught it to children. I forget, for instance, the difference between an embedded clause and a relative clause (or embedded relative clauses?). I could use more practice in sentence diagramming. I sometimes mix up British and American usage.

Like many writers, I make mistakes. There are also things that I have learned to do incorrectly. For example, it wasn’t too long ago that I broke myself of the habit of using an ellipsis (…) instead of a dash (–) to indicate an interruption. For some reason known only to my muse, I occasionally write her when I mean him or him when I mean her, not because I’m confused by the difference, but by some sort of defunct muscle memory.

My point is that I need a copy editor and a proofreader as much as anyone. However, I do not expect a copy editor to do my writing for me. I know the basics, and I make an effort to always be learning and practicing.

There are many writers who know next to nothing about grammar or punctuation. That’s okay as we all have to start somewhere. However, it is a problem when writers believe that they don’t need to know grammar, either because they don’t recognize how difficult their writing is to understand or because they assume it is the job of a copy editor to fix their mistakes.

Let’s dispel this myth! If a publishing house wants to print your manuscript, an editor will help you make your story better, a copy editor will go line-by-line through your work, and a proof reader will make sure all is set for print, but it is not the responsibility of any of these professionals to teach you how to write.

A writer who cannot form coherent sentences is not going to get published. At the very least, every writer should know the basics of grammar and punctuation. You should know all the Parts of Speech, what they mean, and how to identify them in a sentence. You should understand what a sentence is and how it differs from a clause. You should know how to use all punctuation marks, including commas, semicolons, dashes, apostrophes and ellipses correctly. Otherwise, your manuscript is going to resemble a garbled mess that no one will want to wade through in order to find the story!

At least have a grammar book! Everyone should. It wouldn’t hurt to have several.

Not all grammar books are stuffy and hard to understand. The basic ones are like encyclopedias, but some are written like narratives and can be entertaining. The best grammar books (in my opinion) are a mix of the two and explains the whens and whys with really clear and interesting examples.

My favorite grammarian is Grammar Girl, or Mignon Fogarty, who was one of the first people I started following on Twitter. I love her because she responds to my questions. She has a podcast and a best selling book. In fact, you can win a copy of Grammar Girl’s Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing by entering this contest at Writing the Cyber Highway (ends June 13, 2009).

You can keep up with Grammar Girl in the following ways:

* On Twitter: @GrammarGirl
* Subscribe to Grammar Girl’s daily tip newsletter.
* Visit Grammar Girl’s website and listen to the podcast!

Writing is a craft. If you are serious about writing, you need to understand the structure of your discipline. A writer who ignores grammar is like a chef who ignores ingredients. You need to understand the elements of language if you are going to tell a story you expect anyone to read! Doing so will not only make you a better writer, but also make the process of writing more enjoyable.