What Is Grammar For?

Horrible grammar is fine in dialogue if it suits the character who is speaking: but iffy grammar anywhere else is a sure way to get rejected.

Grammar isn't elitist; it isn't a set of rules designed to exclude certain people: it's part of a code (the other parts including punctuation, spelling, logic and rhetoric) which has evolved in order to ensure clear and effective communication. You can object to it all you want, but if you get it wrong your meaning won't be clear. And as writers, isn't communication our aim? Communication of ideas, stories, themes: if we don't communicate effectively, we're stuffed. So, if we don't bother with grammar (or logic, punctuation, spelling and the rest), then we're failing before we begin.

Editors Use Google Too

Writers work very hard on their books and if they don't want to waste all that effort, it is essential that they present them in the best way possible. This means they must follow all available submission guidelines to the letter, and be courteous in all subsequent correspondence with the people they’ve submitted to: but there's more to consider than just that.

One of the first things that an editor or agent will do now, on the rare occasion that a thoughtful, well-written and appropriate submission ends up on their desk, is to run a quick internet search for the writer’s name.

This reveals a lot about the writer’s work: most publications and competition placements from the last decade or so should appear somewhere or other.

It also reveals a lot about the writer. Especially if they belong to writers’ message boards where the posts are open for all to see.

If their posts routinely contain careless errors or sloppy grammar, or are hectoring or bullying in nature, lacking in logic, or wildly misinformed, how do you think the agent or editor is going to respond?

Grammar: Essential References

Here are two lovely books about grammar. Both are really nice and functional: they’re easy to understand, funny to read, and packed full of useful stuff; and since I got my hands on them I've used them both almost every day.

English Grammar for Dummies, written by Lesley J Ward and Geraldine Woods, is an excellent reference to keep by your desk: it’s very thorough and explores just about everything about the subject that you'll need to know.

My Grammar and I is smaller, and so more portable. Don't assume that its small size makes it less useful: Caroline Taggart and J A Wines have squeezed a lot of information between those deliciously textured covers along with a good few jokes too. My only quibble is that this one could do with an index, as the table of contents doesn't quite do it for me: but still. Two lovely books about grammar. Hours of fun for the writer and pedant. If you're a writer, buy them both: you need a grammar reference, and these two are excellent.