These Grammar and Creative Writing Pointers Will Boost Your Writing

Mastering grammar and creative writing can be challenging, especially if you are just beginning the journey. But don’t despair. Many have mastered the process using the right tools. And you can do it, too. 

Grammar Basics

We will start with grammar basics, learning that grammar "is the foundation of writing that consists of a system of rules, which allows us to structure sentences. In the English language, grammar involves parts of speech such as verbs and adverbs, independent and dependent clauses, punctuation, and word order" (Delfino).

We now turn our attention to the sentence.  Know that a sentence is a group of words that expresses a complete thought.  

A sentence is broken down into parts of speech to help readers understand its meaning. McLendon identifies these nine parts of speech: 

• Verbs indicate an action or a state of being.
• Nouns are people, places, things, ideas, or concepts.
• Determiners go with a noun or noun phrase to shape its meaning.
• Pronouns stand in for a noun or noun phrase . . .
• Adjectives describe a noun . . .
• Adverbs describe a verb, adjective, or [an] other adverb . . .
• Prepositions tie nouns to other information in the sentence . . .
• Conjunctions join words, phrases, or clauses in a sentence.
• Interjections are outbursts that indicate strong emotion. Examples of interjections: Ouch! Awesome! Oh, no! . . . (24, 25)

Recognizing these nine parts of speech when comprising a sentence, will speed you along the way to learning them thoroughly.

Many online resources can provide more tips and tricks for improving grammar and creative writing skills. Find these resources on websites, blogs, and social media channels. You can also find grammar and creative writing books at local bookstores. 

By relying on these pointers and continuing to practice often, you will find yourself well along the path to mastering grammar and creative writing.

With a thorough understanding of sentence structure, it won’t take long to write sentences that communicate clear information to the reader.

Be on the alert for misused words, such as those in the sentence below: 

Its great that your always on time for our meetings.

The above are just two examples of words that are commonly misused. The word Its should be replaced with the word It’s, which means it is. The word your is the possessive form of the pronoun you and is misused here. The correct word should be you’re or you are. 

Reading and analyzing written works will improve your grammar skills. Consider reading different genres, including poetry, short stories, novels, and essays. Make it a priority to read material that teaches grammar.

Mastering these will give you the firm foundation that you’re looking for to improve your grammar and creative writing goals.

Creative Writing Basics

Creative writing involves creating, which is borne out of the imagination. It helps if you have an active imagination to create meaningful stories.

What are the fundamentals of storytelling? They are:

• Plot development
• Character creation
• Genre
• Setting 
• And more—review these 12 steps here.

Creative writing is the process of creating original works often through composition, research, revision, and editing. The composition can cross many genres, such as fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.

In creative writing, authors put their ideas and traumatic feelings into their writings. Individuals often use journaling, which is now popular, to do the same.

One way to enhance your writing is to know the importance of a strong opening sentence. This sentence should hook your reader. You want her to stick with your story until it ends.

It should also be a smooth read; that is, she shouldn’t have to reach for the dictionary to look up words to understand what you’re trying to say. If she’s forced to do this, your story has become a chore. 

Your reader desires to be taken out of her world and placed into another, which will pique her curiosity. Her life may be humdrum, and she doesn’t want to read about some other humdrum life.

Readers are savvy. They’ve read many stories and works before. So you want to have twists to your story. These are elements of surprise that send the story in a different direction.

And by all means, don’t have her correctly guessing the ending. If done masterfully, she may guess the general ending, but it will still have a surprise twist to it that she didn’t see coming.

Imagery is used to create a vivid picture of the setting and characters in a story. It must paint a picture in the minds of readers so they can “see” and involve themselves in the story. Take advantage of using the senses to convey feelings to your reader. 

Supposed your main character, Oliver, is devastated by receiving a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. Sometimes you can power up the impact for the reader by saying that Oliver is machine-gunned down by a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. This expresses more creativity and involves more power than the word devastated.

The word devastated is fine to use, but sometimes you may want a little more oomph to your writing. Don’t overdo it, though.

Pointers for Improving
Grammar and Creative Writing

As you practice and improve your grammar and creative writing skills, avoid being too critical of yourself. This happens even among seasoned writers. Sometimes what you want to communicate just doesn’t come across.

This may be referred to as writer’s block. It doesn’t mean you’ve fallen off the path, it may mean you need to take a break. Below are other pointers for improving your grammar and creative writing skills.

• Read much earlier works. Note that rules sometimes change. For instance, there was a time when the emphasis was placed on wordy descriptions of characters and settings. Today there is much less emphasis on this. Descriptions have become more succinct and creative. We no longer need to have a page of descriptions of a central character’s height, weight, eye color, flawless skin, and so forth. 

• Read and analyze written works. The more you read, the more you will come across different grammar styles and conventions that help you learn. 

• Create writing pieces of your own. One of the best ways to practice and improve your grammar and writing skills is to create your written pieces. These include creating pieces in the form of short stories, poems, and/or essays. It’s also a good idea to write topics about which you are passionate.

• Get feedback about your writing from teachers and peers, and correct your writing based on meaningful feedback.

• Don't get frustrated if you discover you’ve made a mistake after finishing your work. Simply correct it. Being a writer means finding mistakes and rewriting.

• Practice, practice, practice. There is no better way to improve your grammar skills than to practice. And there is no such thing as too much practice. The more you practice, the quicker you will advance toward your writing goals. You can practice alone or in a group setting. In a group setting, you can learn from other writers.

Many online resources can provide more tips and tricks for improving grammar and creative writing skills. Find these resources on websites, blogs, and social media channels. You can also find grammar and creative writing books at local bookstores. 

By relying on these pointers and continuing to practice often, you will find yourself well along the path to mastering grammar and creative writing.