Star Stuff Writer

One forgets words as one forgets names. One’s vocabulary needs constant fertilizing or it will die.
Evelyn Waugh

I never made a mistake in grammar but one in my life and as soon as I done it I seen it.
Carl Sandburg

Do you want to improve the quality of your writing? – whatever kind of writing you do. Are you looking for writing tools that can move as speedily and nimbly as your mind moves. Are you seeking to improve your grammar skills?

Writing Tools

A dictionary and a thesaurus are basic, essential tools for any writing. At the same time, using a book for these tools is time consuming, and I tend to pick up the book only when I have to.

When I’m writing, these days, I’ve found it helpful to have a tabbed web browser window open with my dictionary (dictionary.com) in the first tab and my thesaurus (thesaurus.com) in the second tab.

Any time I want to make sure I’m using a word correctly, I flip to my dictionary window and look the word up. A few mouse clicks and keystrokes, and I know what I need to know.

Any time I want to find a word – or want to find a better word – I flip to my thesaurus window and do some exploring. Any time I find that I’m using the same word repeatedly – in uncomfortably close proximity – I go to my thesaurus and explore for alternatives. A few tiny movements – merely a moment of time – and I find the words I need.

Sometimes I find a good alternative word – perhaps a better word altogether. Occasionally I find that I’m using the best word already.

I also have a larger book mark group that includes my dictionary and my thesaurus. It also includes a few style guides and quotation resources. I open this 6- or 8-tab group only when I’m using the additional tools.

Now – this arrangement violates a guideline that I’ve read over and over – to keep the Internet turned off when I’m writing, because it’s a dangerous distraction. This can certainly be true. You will have to decide for yourself whether the tools are more valuable than distracting – or the other way around.

Grammar Resource

I am not interested in becoming a grammar expert. At the same time, I find the grammar on some web pages, and on some blog pages, to be distracting and embarrassing. I would like to avoid writing embarrassing grammar. And I wish to gradually and persistently improve my grammar.

The most beautiful and powerful grammar resource I’ve found is Grammar by Diagram by Cindy L. Vito.

One reviewer wrote: “This book is perhaps the clearest and most useful guide to grammar, usage, and (especially) punctuation that I have come across. It is valuable as a reference even to graduate students who already write well.

I might add that the typography and layout of this book is also a work of art.”

Ms. Vito covers everything from a clear explanation of the parts of speech, to compound-complex sentences and usage errors. She also explains ten basic sentence patterns – three with the be verb, two with a linking verb, one with an intransitive verb, and four with a transitive verb. I found the idea powerful and valuable – and I’d never heard of basic sentence patterns before.

There is a chapter on punctuation and capitalization. Ms. Vito gives ten rules for comma use – starting with using a comma before a coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.  I trip over many web writers ignoring this rule.

If you have an eye for sentence diagrams, this is an extraordinary resource for improving your grammar.

And so …

These tools and resources can be enormously valuable by helping you develop and maintain high quality, professional writing.