A-Z Challenge: G - Grammar

G is for Grammar

 I recently stumbled across

The Fumblerules of Grammar

by William Safire - listing 54 self-contradictory rules of writing -thanks to Lists of Notes. I think they are not only hilarious, but extremely informative. I have picked 10 randomly but they all worth a read. For the full list, go here.

1. Remember to never split an infinitive.
2. A preposition is something never to end a sentence with.
3. Don't use no double negatives.
4. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
5. A writer must not shift your point of view.
6. Don't overuse exclamation marks!!!
7. Place pronouns as close as possible, especially in long sentences, as of 10 or more words, to their antecedents.
8. Take the bull by the hand and avoid mixing metaphors.
9. Be more or less specific.
10. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.

And now, something completely unrelated, but I thought it was so fab I wanted to share. A fellow blogger, Cheryl Reif, had this excellent post here with a link to a site called "I Write Like". You drop some of your writing in the box, it analyses it and then tells you which writer you are most like. The first time it told me I write like Dan Brown (yeah, right!) and the second time Douglas Adams. The third time (yes, I was becoming obsessed) was Margaret Atwood. So, not sure how accurate (or consistent) this tool is, but now I just need to emulate their best-selling ability!

Tell me who you write like if you try it.