writermag.com • The Writer | 17DYSLEXIA AND
GRAMMARWhen I polled writers for
their grammar questions, a
prolific author whose work
has appeared in publications
including The New York
Times and Narratively raised
an excellent point. “I’m a
dyslexic writer,” she told me.
She noted she has spoken
with other writers with learn-
ing disabilities who feel
shamed in traditional literary
spaces when they admit to
difficulties with grammar.
The writer said she hires
copy editors to look over her
writing. Since this method
may not be accessible for
every correspondence by a
writer with a learning dis-
ability, other possibilities
may include:- Asking a friend with
strong grammar skills to
proofread - Investing in a grammar
checking app (though
remember, these are
fallible) - Using speech recognition
software to dictate your
work vs. typing it yourself
You also could consider
mentioning your learning dis-
ability when you contact an
editor. When an editor can
exercise situational aware-
ness, they will view the
grammar in your pitch within
the proper context.
kkTip: Remember “farther” by
thinking of far, which implies distance.
(But don’t think of further as fur –
unless you can come up with an excel-
lent PETA-related mnemonic.)
7
That vs. which
I see everyone from college pro-
fessors to my teenage son mix up
“that” and “which,” probably because
we’re told their usage is tied to restric-
tive or nonrestrictive clauses. Most peo-
ple, even writers, don’t know what this
means, so I’ll simplify it. Use “that”
when you want to define the identity of
the subject. Use “which” when there’s no
limit on the subject’s identity and it’s
more like a parenthetical aside.
For example, “my mug that my
daughter gave me sits on the counter”
refers to a specific cup my daughter
bought for me. It implies I own other
mugs, but I’m highlighting this one for
a reason. You can’t remove the clause
because it is vital to the sentence. Now,
let’s plug in “which:” “My mug, which
my daughter gave me, sits on the coun-
ter” describes a mug but doesn’t imply
that I have more than one. The mug’s
origin is not crucial to the sentence.
Remove the clause, and I still have a
mug sitting on the counter.
kkTip: Which requires a comma
before it in nearly every instance. That
does not.
8
Punctuation in quote marks
Keep punctuation inside of
quote marks. This includes
when you use them around titles, such
as a poem or for dialogue. Examples:
“Is April the cruelest month?” he
asked. “April is the cruelest month,” she
replied. “I agree with T.S. Eliot’s
thoughts in ‘The Waste Land.’”
kkTip: Apostrophes are punctuation.
Keep those inside the quote marks, too,
such as when you give a poem a
possessive: “I think ‘The Waste Land’s’
description of April is unhinged.”9
Hone vs. home in
“Hone” means to sharpen. You
hone your skills by practicing
them. “Home in on” means to target or
aim toward. You home in on coffee
every Monday morning.
kkTip: When you think of “home in
on,” imagine homing pigeons as they
wing their way toward a destination,
homing in on it.10
Semicolons vs. dashes
When to use one or the
other? Break these common
pieces of punctuation into their most
essential functions. Semicolons join two
sentences with distinct subjects; dashes
disrupt a sentence – by allowing you to
emphasize a particular point.
Limit your dashes and semicolons.
Like exclamation points, they are effec-
tive only in moderation. Save them for
when you really want to jolt the reader.
kkTip: Most of the time, you can
navigate by feel. When you reach a big
reveal, pull out a dash. When you
merely narrate the story, opt for the
semicolon.
•••Editors want to focus on your story’s
or manuscript’s ideas, not performing
syllabary surgery on a misplaced
apostrophe. By learning these 10
grammar lessons, you can clean up
your copy and perhaps land more
assignments as well.Toni F i t zgerald is the copy editor for The
Writer. She discovered her inner grammarian at
a Dow Jones News Fund editing internship in
1997 and has since plucked typos from books,
magazines, newspapers, whitepapers, and
website copy. She recently added a weekly blog
on grammar tips to her website, tonifitz76.com.