Melissa Maygrove

I know it's not Monday, but my next two are booked, so I thought I'd throw a little grammar your way on a Wednesday. See this picture?

I'd like to talk about a subject near and dear to our writers' hearts (or maybe not – ha!).  Manuscript critiques .  They’re a necessary evil of our profession, but done well, they're a valuable asset. The topic of critiquing is so complex, I could write a post way longer than you'd be willing to read, so I decided to focus on a few basic points we should keep in mind as we crit. This advice comes from learning some of these things the hard way.  Writers grow in their skill of critiquing just as they do in their skill of writing.

Today we're going to tackle a few more commonly confused words, also known as homophones. These are words that sound alike, are often spelled nearly alike, but have different meanings. In conversation, we sometimes get by with using the wrong one, but in text, the error is blatantly obvious. First on the list: discreet vs discrete Discreet means showing prudence in conduct, keeping quiet about things of a delicate nature, etc. D iscrete means apart, separate or distinct, and is sometimes used in math and science (e.g. a discrete variable ). 

After getting nabbed for a usage error recently, I decided to do a few GPM posts on specific homophones that are commonly confused words. When we speak, such misuse may go unnoticed; but when we write, it's there in print for all the world to see.  Let's start with the one I goofed. Which is correct? The man's hands were (calloused / callused) from years of work. He has a (callous / callus) attitude toward the homeless. In the first sentence, callused is correct, because it specifically refers to hardened places on the skin. In the second, it's callous . Even though callous means 'to harden,' it refers to an emotional state, meaning to be insensitive.  Another mistake I made for years before becoming enlightened to the error of my ways was using the verb pour when I meant pore . You pour water from a pitcher into a glass, but if you are studying something intently, you're poring over it. A third — and one I was glad I looked up the other day before hit...

This is part II of my lesson on comma rules. Today I'm going to focus on basic comma use within sentences. Last week, I noted that in a series or list, the serial or 'Oxford' comma before the conjunction could often be left out. (Ex: Mary put money, lipstick , and mascara in her purse. ) When joining two independent clauses , however, always put a comma before the conjunction .* Ex: Roger drove into town, and Pam stayed home. *There is and exception to this rule. You can omit the comma if the two phrases are short. I would advise against this, however, unless the phrases are very short and the sentence is very clear without the comma. Ex: Paul coughed and Ben laughed . I'm in favor of tightening prose, but not at the expense of stumbling the reader. What good is it to tighten your sentence, only to have the reader stop and re-read the line? On the other hand, never place a comma between a subject and its verb . Ex: Roger drove into town and went to the store .  Ther...

Today I'm beginning a two-part lesson, covering proper use of the comma — one of the most common punctuation errors I see when I critique...and read published works. *gasp* :) We should all know how to use commas when writing dates and such (ex: Monday, Jume 4, 2012 ), so I won't belabor that rule or others like it. This post will focus on commas commonly used in dialogue and narrative. In fact, let's get dialogue commas out of the way first. If you've been writing fiction long at all, you should know the difference between a dialogue tag and an action beat (sometimes called a descriptive line or beat). A dialogue tag tells us that words were said, sometimes telling us how they were said, and must use a word that denotes a way of speaking. (Ex: said, shouted, whispered, yelled, muttered , etc.) An improper tag would be something like 'smiled' because one cannot smile words. Action beats describe action. Dialogue tags are punctuated with commas, and action beats ...