Nothing seems to get writers butting heads so much as suggesting that they might need to brush up on proper grammar and punctuation.  Mention the “right” way–traditionally speaking, of course, as per The Elements of Style–and the fight is on. On one side, you have those who know enough about good grammar and punctuation to be able to use it to advantage, breaking those rules when appropriate. On the other side, you have those who don’t know the rules and don’t want to be bothered with learning them–individuals who break out in fervent, even vitriolic, tempests on how and why traditional grammar and punctuation should be ignored and abandoned, condemning those who use it as anal-minded remnant perversions of the 19th Century.

I used to get into arguments with these anti-good-grammar/anti-good-punctuation radicals, but, over time, I’ve come to the conclusion that they’re only defending their ignorance and laziness, and, since there are more of a majority of those who don’t know good grammar and punctuation than there are those who do know it, to even engage them in conversation is like inviting attack by a mob of rabid rats. So now, when a battle begins to rage, I might drop in a relatively neutral comment, but I mostly just watch and titter at the antics displayed by the ignorant as they parade their stupidity with oh such puffed-up pride.

Recently:

• Writing Pedagogues
• They Work Very Hard
• Treading the Dangers of Fiction
• Infighting About Grammar & Punctuation
• Scary Writers
• New Novel, Chapter Two
• To the Book Store
• New Novel Amid Chaos
• Raw Gore, Explicit Cruelty, Debased Sex in Novels
• Back from Summer Hiatus