A Crash Course in Grammar and Punctuation?

[Rayeneth]

I am currently in need of both - my education is severely lacking on those points. I would very much appreciate any website suggestions you might know - most/all websites I have found personally have been unhelpful due to my woefully inadequate knowledge on the subjects.

Thank you!
-Rayeneth

[mammamaia]

neither is something you can magically 'get' in a crash course... i don't know of any free ones and doubt they would do you any good even if they existed...

what you need to do is get yourself a good grammar primer and punctuation guide and just bone up on the basics on your own, while constantly reading/studying good writing, to see the rules put into practice by the masters of the writing art, along with how they can bend them and get away with it...

here are some online starting points for you:

http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~jlynch/Writing/index.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/grammar/g_overvw.html
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/tenses.html

and, of course, a good dictionary:

http://dictionary.reference.com/

keep in mind that none of these is a substitute for real books that you can study anywhere and in more depth, than on a monitor... but they're good to keep handy for referring to while writing and can at least kick-start your self-teaching project...

hope this helps... love and hugs, maia

[NaCl]

I can only add one thought to mammamaia's excellent resource list and her advice.

Some people learn best by "doing". This WF website offers a "Review Room" where you can learn a great deal about writing. You will be expected to offer a few "reviews" of your own before you earn the right to post your own writing for review. Don't be intimidated by this requirement. You do not have to critique Spelling, Punctuation And Grammar (SPAG). Your observation can simply cover the general story line...for example, "I like the opening but became confused when the scene jumped to..." This kind of input tells a writer that the story might need clarification or restructuring in the sequence of action. My point is YOUR input is valuable, despite your lack of formal training. YOU are more like a potential reader than many of the aspiring writers who offer detailed advice on SPAG.

Also, while you are offering your own reviews, spend some time studying what others have said about the same original post (OP). You'll find these reviews to be enormously instructive.

[architectus]

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar

This site has been useful to me over the years. It has the basics and beyond.

[mammamaia]

i'd forgotten about that wonderful site, arch... i keep it in my email enclosures to send to mentees who need help, but have forgotten to add it to the list above, so thanks for the reminder and addition!

hugs, m

[stonecold]

I love that site, I'll go and learn too.