Grammar is for editors

 

 


Grammar is for editors

Many writers prevent themselves from finishing a book or script because they’re hung up on editing their story for proper English grammar. Guess what, that’s not your job. Your job is to create the characters, the storyline, the plots, the ending and most of all the flow of words that describe all of the above. Your job is not to concentrate on the grammar, you’re not an English teacher grading a paper for some student. Thinking about grammar and how it looks on paper is the editor’s job not yours.

As I stated in my last post “get the story out of your head”, concentrate on the story and forget about the grammar until you’re done with the book. You can worry about how it sounds or inserting grammar once you’re in a position to reread the draft. Trust me when I say you will go through a minimum of 4 drafts before you are done, so you’ll catch any grammatical errors along the way and you can fix them as you find them at that point. In the meantime, just get the book written.

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.

Many writers prevent themselves from finishing a book or script because they’re hung up on editing their story for proper English grammar. Guess what, that’s not your job. Your job is to create the characters, the storyline, the plots, the ending and most of all the flow of words that describe all of the above. Your job is not to concentrate on the grammar, you’re not an English teacher grading a paper for some student. Thinking about grammar and how it looks on paper is the editor’s job not yours.

As I stated in my last post “get the story out of your head”, concentrate on the story and forget about the grammar until you’re done with the book. You can worry about how it sounds or inserting grammar once you’re in a position to reread the draft. Trust me when I say you will go through a minimum of 4 drafts before you are done, so you’ll catch any grammatical errors along the way and you can fix them as you find them at that point. In the meantime, just get the book written.

Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, journalist. business professional, and creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a Masters in Criminology and a BS in Business Management who stepped out of the loop for a while, but who is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel, photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.

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