As a matter of fact, I love a natural voice. I find colloquial differences and nuances in speech intriguing. I often fear our obsession with being proper will rid us of our color. We'll all become boring as a news anchor. No accents. No idioms. No fun. All because we're all worried about being judged an idiot. 

And maybe you do judge people on their grammar. Perhaps butchering the rules is like nails on the chalkboard for you. 

Not me. Personally, I can assure you- I'm not judging your language skills. I'm too busy trying to log all the subtleties of your speech into my memory banks. I want to remember the inflections, the creative off-label use of accepted speech, and the non-verbals that go along with the words. 

All of that combined is the cheat I use to give voice to characters and construct their dialogue.

So, here's my opinion in a nut shell: Writers shouldn't be on grammar patrol; we should be on a ride-along. We shouldn't be judging the vernacular, we should be listening and absorbing, packing it away in our brain cells for a rainy day when the muse decides he'll pour a bit of story into our heads. 

If grammar was always king, we'd not have this adorable green guy. 

But I will admit. There are some grammar snafus that will make me giggle. I can't help it. I never claimed to be perfect.



Thanks to our hosts in this weekly check in: Lexa, L.G, and Tonja Drecker

1. I rewrote my first chapter, yet again. I think after 25 tries, I've got it.

2. It rained!! Everything was so dry and crispy, a bit of moisture was a God send.

3. I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow. After attempting to do it myself, some professional help is eagerly anticipated.




Tara Tyler has a new book coming out in four days!!