Sin and Syntax

If you'd like to get the basics of modern grammar, or just tighten up your prose a bit, Constance Hale's book will "coax, coach, and cajole you"...

Hale has a flair for language and an ability to use examples from the great literary masters, as she makes us all remember what we first loved about language and writing. She reminds us that "there is much more to memorable prose than linguistic ability." She says, "You also need worthy ideas, you need to tell stories with strong plots, and you need to cast and control the right characters."

Learning the Rules, So You Can Break Them...

In her celebration of words, Hale builds upon the basic rules of grammar, and then she shows how powerful prose can be created in unconventional ways. She offers these principles: "relish every word," "be simple, but go deep," "take risks," "seek beauty," and "find the right pitch."

Hale explains these principles by drawing upon literary masters like Walt Whitman, George Orwell, and Henry David Thoreau. Under her section about taking risks, she writes, "Dive into the polygot English tongue, taking a cue from Walt Whitman, that high priest of the rambunctious."

Whitman once said: "I like limber, lasting, fierce words. I like them applied to myself—-and I like them in newspapers, courts, debates, Congress... cry down the use of strong, cutting, beautiful rude words."

Of course, "there is much more to memorable prose than linguistic ability." Read more about the "carnal pleasures" of words as we further explore language...

Carnal Pleasures in Grammar

Before you can try out the "carnal pleasures," you first need to know the basics. So, before Hale goes into the right ways to break the rules, she first discusses what the rules are...

For nouns, you'll want to avoid the "carnal sins": sloth, fog (the lovely vague that appears everywhere in red ink), pretense, gobbledygook, jargon, and euphemism. For pronouns, you'll avoid: "pronouns on the loose," "eating your its and theys," "loosey-goosey references," "whomdunnit," "whose on first?," and others. She goes through it all: nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, etc. Then, she goes through the sentence, and finally music: voice, lyricism, melody, and rhythm.

Words Can Be Fun Too

After the lessons are over, she tells you about the mischief you can make with language... Find out how to use those interjections, when to use slang, and when to forget about punctuation. Speaking of James Joyce and his "Ulysses," she says that his "punctuationless paragraphs and endless sentences worked because of his superior command of cadence. Phrases and clauses did their work—even without commas—and words themselves... became Joyce's punctuation."

So that's the thing... Language can be a beautiful thing. A pen in a writer's hand can craft amazing and powerful prose. You just need to know the basics and a few simple rules. And, of course, it's terribly useful to have some common sense and a good idea. But, if you master the principles of good writing, even sentence fragments can be elevated to the level of art. Hale says, "In the hands of skillful writers, sentence fragments can perk up prose, making it less stiff and formal. They can also help punctuate long sentences. Call it a pause and effect, the fragment brightening the narrative with a dash of staccato."

Discover the Wonder of the English Language

Prose can and should be musical. Hale paraphrases Ezra Pound: "don't imagine that the art of prose is any simpler than the art of music; spend as much time developing your craft as a pianist spends practicing scales." That means more than just writing.

If you're eager to develop as a writer, you should read books that may be outside of your comfort zone. Read, read, and read more. Shake up your sensibilities. As Hale says, "Discover the rut you're in, and climb out.

Then experience life. As Hemingway once said, "Write hard and clear about what hurts."