Where do I start? So much has happened in the past couple of weeks and I’m struggling to blog in a timely manner, which is kind of annoying me but feel a tad useless to do much about it since other things are taking up my time: like my other job; the grating never-ending insomnia; domestics and so on. Nothing new to any of us, I know but it’s still managing to annoy the shit out of me. But this post is about something extremely useful and clever and exciting like Grammar!
And I’m in serious awe about those who understand the rules of grammar and have such a great handle on the use of language and its origins. It’s fascinating stuff – something that would have bored me shitless as a teen now excites me and wishes I knew more. The Little Green Grammar Book by Mark Tredinnick is a very good start. I had the good fortune of attending his masterclass today at the Queensland Writers Centre.
I learned many things, actually, that I will need time to process and hopefully the penny will drop and I will have that a-ha moment and eventually get it. I mean really get it.
Get things like:
· the proper use of a semi colon, which up until now I have avoided like the plague because I don’t understand its correct use
· the Em dash will become my friend
· and I will re-embrace my use of long sentences, but make sure they do the job they’re intended to do.
I will mix the sentences up: short, long and in-between, and as strange as this may sound it isn't necessarily easy to grasp. However, (this word is a no, no in this context) I finally get what makes a sentence.
Shouldn’t I have already known this? I’m a writer – doh! Yes, I do know this on a subconscious level but not always on conscious level, so now when my grammar/spell check tells me there is a ‘verb confusion’ I now know what to look for and will quietly and methodically work through my completed manuscripts and take notice of my sentences, long, short or otherwise and see if I have the basic sentence structure.
So, what is the basic sentence structure?
Subject, verb, object, modifier – this is only the beginning as there are subordinates clauses and main clauses, sentences declarative, interrogatory, directive and exclamative.
We covered things like: preposition in space and in time; pronouns; conjunctions; clusters of words or phrases and many more. I am now in possession of Mark’s eco friendly little green grammar book and I will study this and aim to improve. Make better use of my sentences, write strong and grammatically correct sentences so at the very least if I break the rules know what rules I’m breaking.
As Mark taught us today - ‘The rules of grammar are the rules for paradise’.
And a quote from his book, the little green grammar book:
‘Learn the rules’, wrote the zen poet Basho, ‘and forget the rules’. Just don’t ignore them. They’ll set your writing free.
Forgive me for any grammatical errors in this post. Disclaimer: I’m very tired nd I’m still trying to grasp this wonderful thing called the English language that has origins in so many other languages. While Mark makes grammar sound simple and I guess it is – I’m also going to be unlearning bad habits of poor school curriculum, teachers who had no idea, many years of secretarial dumb ass grammatical rules that are now redundant, and everything I thought I knew about grammar in creative writing, has somehow, over time been lost, confused, or taken out of context.
So yep, I have a lot to learn but I feel excited that I’m so much closer to understanding what I’m doing on a conscious level and looking forward to the day of breaking the rules because I know I can J
Mark will be launching his new collection of poems ‘Fire Diary’ Monday, 29 November, 2010
Where: Avid Reader, 193 Boundary Street, West End
When: 6.00 – 8pm.
Cost: $5
Midnight rambler finding the rhythm in sentences
Grammar is my weak point and I found out today that ‘grammar is about the sentence’, and ‘verbs are magick’. This is important, very important – I do like this, so much so, that today I feel stronger, better, slightly more confused and befuddled but somehow quietly confident that I learned a thing or two today.Mark Tredinnick, is Qld Premier's Literary Award Winner and author of "The Blue Plateau", "The Little Green Grammar Book", "The Little Red Writing Book" and "The Little Black Book of Business Writing" and more recently his new collection of poetry "Fire Diary".
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