Grammar Book No. 1

Painless Grammar--I checked this baby out from the local library.

Sounds like a good one right??

Here is where I have to admit I thought I was so much above this book.  I mean, come on...it's for middle school and high school students.

I've graduated college.  I've had English classes.

I decided that the public library didn't have a lot to offer in the way of grammar books and I was going to have to get my husband to check out a few from the university in our town.

Then I started reading and doing a couple of the practice exercises (which are not called practice exercises to try and fool you) and I realized I so don't remember/never cared to learn the intricacies of "showing possession when the noun is plural".  Sounds easy right?

Maria's cat is ugly.

Yeah, yeah... I know all about that.

Then we get into:

The boy's coat v. the boys' coats

okay makes sense

And then more...

Paul's and Miranda's cokes

versus

Paul and Miranda's coke

Yes as I type this it all seems to click like...duh.  But have I been doing all this correctly when I'm writing a mile a minute?  Uh... 

Mr. and Mrs. Jones have a new dog.
The Joneses have a new dog.
Mr. Jones's dog is new.
The Joneses' dog is new.

Pretty much what I've learned is no more character names ending in 's'. (jk)

Maybe this book is totally above you.  Much of it I am skimming over...and then I'm like wait what?  Mental note...take out crazy antecedents.

Moral of the story:  not checking out college level grammar book until I've mastered middle school all over again.  (Kind of sounds like the nightmare I had last night, who wants to go back to middle school, right?)

Wish me luck.

p.s. hapy thanxgivin' 

This is kind of how I feel in the grammar department...but I'm not giving up! 

Why I hate(d) G&P

Dear Mrs./Mr. (Insert all English teacher names I've ever had... and some of the Spanish ones too),

I hate grammar.  I do.  I still hate it.  I hated all the worksheets, all the work book practices 1a-14j, all the tests multiple choice or not.  It all sucked, it was boring.  I don't have the kind of brain that processes that information easily.

But I really, really hated it because I didn't understand why it mattered.  

THIS is why it matters.

So I'm making a pledge...to not hate grammar, because I need to learn the ins-and-outs like...a couple of years ago.

I'm going to find myself a grammar book and I'm going to read it...and I may even do the practice exercises from my sisters high school textbook.  I may not love it, but I will trudge through until I understand it.

And it will make my writing BETTER.

So I'm sorry for hating your lessons on grammar (and maybe you for teaching them).  I'm sorry for rushing through the work I labeled "busy".

I still may not regret quitting piano lessons... but I do regret slacking in the grammar department.  

Sincerely,

Red  

Back in the Saddle...

I've failed at Nanowrimo. But I'm excited.

My word count for the month is way under even 5,000 words.

I've been writing again.

Period.

And that's what's amazing.

And I realize that not only was my writing slump attributed to being in my first trimester, it was also because I was scared to write my really good idea. The other ideas that I thought were good just weren't pushing me to finish... the stakes weren't high enough for me.  And if they weren't high enough for me to write it, why the heck would anyone want to read it?

So I'm working on the new WIP with actual enthusiasm and can't wait to see all the places it takes me.

Side note... I do want to write those other books someday, they are still good ideas... but I can't write them until I figure out how to up the ante.

Back in the saddle again :)