Becoming a Grammar Fanatic

I don't know all the rules, and I am very sure that I make a lot of mistakes as I write. What is good though, is that I am willing to improve, and I'm tenaciously working at it.

Grammar is the not-so-fun part of writing. If you struggle with it, that is. It just takes a little effort and determination to make good grammar an automatic part of the writing process. Clearly, I'm still in the effort and determination stage.

On my personal journey to getting published, I have made grammar my first stop. I wish I could say that I paid attention in my English classes. I was always able to get 'A's, but that doesn't mean I retained any of the education when it comes to grammar. If you don't have a problem with grammar, I'm very jealous.

After months of going over old grammar text books and trudging through countless websites devoted to the subject, I still don't feel confident. I cannot take a sentence apart and name them all. I still try to put commas in places that they don't belong and leave them out when they are needed to connect two complete sentence. Or, should I say two independent clauses? I have no idea.

I do know that my writing skills have vastly improved. Truly, you do not want to see what my writing looked like six months ago. I would not subject anyone to it. Here's hoping that I continue to improve.

I am not looking for perfection. And, yes, I know that there are proofreaders and editors, during the process of getting a work published. I am just a little obsessive and, I want to take pride in my work.

There are many good grammar sites online. One that I really liked and found myself going back to often is Guide to Grammar and Writing

I recommend this site, because it is easy to navigate, easy to understand, and has interactive quizzes. I used the quizzes to determine my skill level and concentrated on learning the areas that I scored poorly in.