Non Fiction

August

Three Writing Books and Why You Should Own Them

Justin Schwan

All writers should know their grammar. But when it comes to learning, where are the best places to turn? If you’ve been out of school for a while then your choices are limited. You don’t have your teacher to depend on any longer, so you’re left on your own to teach yourself something that, as a child, seemed too complicated and utterly impossible. But it can be done, because writers nowadays have the largest array of information at their hands, more so than any other generation of writers before them.

And one of the best ways to learn to write well (writing clearly, so the reader can understand what exactly you’re trying to say; cleanly, so the reader will not be distracted by ugly errors in grammar and punctuation; and fluidly, so the reader will really enjoy what they read) is to read books geared toward showing writers how to construct their work.

These aren’t school textbooks, where the teacher has the Holy Grail to understanding, and you’re left scratching your head for answers. You don’t need a teacher’s manual to find your way, but you will need to be able to sit down and read them and be interested.

But how do you know which writing book is best? You could certainly read every book on the market...or you could slice the market into three types (the reference guide, the mechanics guide, and the style guide) and then choose the best book from each.

The Reference:

The Chicago Manual of Style is a large, universal guide to the writing world. If you need to know how to use foreign languages in your work, abbreviations, Indexes, mathematics, tables, illustrations and captions, quotations and dialogue, numbers, names and terms, the correct way to spell certain distinctions of words, grammar and usage, punctuation, rights and permissions, proofs, manuscript editing and preparation, and the parts of a published work, then this book is for you.

The Chicago Manual of Style is a reference book. It tells the how, and not so much the why. It’s a fact book, relying on, well, facts, and not much commentary or philosophy to get the point across. In other words, it’ll tell you exactly what to do, but not why you should do it. It could very well be the grammarian’s bible, but it’s more for the writer already skilled in the English language than someone just beginning down the writer’s path. This manual is best used with the finished product, by editors, or writers acting as their own editors, and not someone learning the ropes, so to speak, of editing and revising. It’s something you can set next to the manuscript you’re working on and refer to when you need it.

The Mechanics:

For the beginner, the writer who is clumsy with grammar and punctuation like a three-year-old is clumsy with speech, there is Whose Grammar Book is this Anyway, by C. Edward Good. This laid back book on what we were supposed to learn before junior high, is something new writers can understand, study, and incorporate into their writing. It’s like having your elementary school teacher leaning over your shoulder in a class the size of just you. It shows the how and the why, but does not go into the detail that The Chicago Manual of style goes into on the other important parts of English. Whose Grammar Book is this Anyway sticks with just grammar and punctuation: the mechanics of the written word, sentence, and paragraph.

If C. Edward Good, a man who teaches lawyers how to write, doesn’t know what he’s talking about, I’m afraid no one does. And it takes only 400 pages for Mr. Good to give the reader an overview of the English language.

Whose Grammar Book is this Anyway is a good place to start for any writer. It’s not the only place, though. There are hundreds of books like it on the market and the key to finding the right one for you is to skim those that catch your attention, looking for the things Mr. Good does well. He’s conversational, making the reader comfortable with a subject that hasn’t often been a comfortable one to tackle. He’s also informative in such a way that the rules of English will stick with you.

The Stylistic:

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White is a masterpiece and a must have for any dedicated grammar student. Written almost 100 years ago, it is still relevant today, and may be more so than many grammar-book-wannabes. And it does something that other books cannot. It explains not only what the rules are and how they work, but why they work; why you should write simply, using the fewest words available; why the reader will appreciate your fluent use of the English language. Its goal is to show you how to put English to good use in making stylistic and readable prose. It does what the other two cannot because it assumes you know what the other two say. By doing this, Strunk can jump right into the driver’s seat and connect the dots to Style. And he does this in less than 100 pages, proving that not only can he teach, but he can also do.

I own all three of these books because there is valuable information in each, not found in the other. I can see three different angles of the English language and I can understand more clearly by doing so. If you own only one of these books, let it be The Elements of Style. If you are clumsy and ignorant, then Whose Grammar Book is this Anyway. If you’re an efficient grammarian and simply need a universal reference, then graduate to The Chicago Manual of Style.

One more thing before I leave you. In our day and age the Internet has become the center of knowledge. It shouldn’t surprise you that many of the ingredients in these books above can be found across the web. If you want to skip the counter and get your information for free, I suggest checking out many of the online sites that devote themselves to the art of English.

But whether you soak up the rules of the written word by paper back, hardcover, or pixilated screen, you will do yourself the greatest favor, as a professional writer. Grammar and punctuation is the base of your writer’s toolbox. Use them and control them to your advantage. Good luck.