Today’s post is a bit off the beaten path for Wonder, Friend, because my friend Christina from A Closet Writer asked me to take part in her new series, The Blogging Mavens: Blogging For All!

How could I say no to that?

I am now a Maven. My kids and husband are not giving me the respect I assumed came with the title of Maven, but I’m still thrilled.

There’s a little something for everyone in this series, starting today with a post about the mechanics of writing.

Wait! Wake up! Stop snoring!

I know. There are only a handful of people out there who share my love of grammar, spelling and punctuation.

I know. You’re considering closing this window and moving on with your day.

Stick around. I’ll do my best to keep things painless and – with any luck – convert you to a GSP Nerd*. (*That’s a Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation Nerd, by the way. I’m trademarking that.)

Writing has a mysterious, elusive air around it. Thanks to traumatic early experiences when we had to stand in front of our class, permed mullet and all, diagramming sentences, there are a lot of fearful writers out there. You have a story to tell, but you’re afraid you don’t know how to punctuate it.

Forget about your fear. Forget that someone – a thoughtless someone – once made you feel like an inadequate writer.

Instead, commit to telling your story.

In his book (that you must read), On Writing, Stephen King says this,

[sic] I don’t believe writers can be made, either by circumstance or by self-will (although I did believe those things once). The equipment comes with the original package. Yet it is by no means unusual equipment; I believe large numbers of people have at least some talent as writers and storytellers, and that those talents can be strengthened and sharpened.

If you’re a blogger, you’re a writer. Whether your blog is a memoir, a journal, a how-to guide, whether your blog is about food, photography, or crafts, you are a writer.

It’s time to strengthen and sharpen your talents.

Blogging is a forgiving medium, a conversational medium. There is a lot of leeway in writing these days, and you should feel free to find your style. Before you can properly embrace that style, however, you need to have a grasp on basic writing skills.

There are some amazing resources available for writers. I will mention a few books and websites in this post, and highly recommend you add them to your bookshelf or bookmark them. Therefore, I do not need to take up this space with a writing lesson. I will, however, let you in on some simple secrets to improving your writing.

Learn to use commas, semi-colons, colons and dashes.
Punctuation can change everything. Have you seen the book, Eats, Shoots, and Leaves? The title perfectly illustrates punctuation’s value. Eats shoots and leaves: the panda’s dietary habits; Eats, shoots, and leaves: the punchline to a bad cowboy joke.

There are two must-have books for punctuation reference – Strunk & White’s Elements of Style, and William Zinsser’s On Writing Well. Keep them close. Refer to them when you have questions.

Spelling.
Do not rely on spell check. We all do it, because spell check is convenient. It’s in your face with those little, red, squiggly lines.

Here’s the thing: spell check does not take context into account. Spell check cannot catch the misuse of there vs. their or we’re vs. were. Spell check cannot read.

Grammar.
Oh, such a scary word. Is this a Halloween post?!

Do not be afraid. Embrace grammar. Learn when to use who and when to use whom (visit Grammar Girl for a very user-friendly explanation).

Short of mastering English grammar, start looking up your questions. If you’re not sure how to contract two words (it’s y’all, not ya’ll, by the way), consult an expert – Grammar Girl, a good friend, The Elements of Style, or any reliable source that you like to use.

Paragraphs.
Use them.

One, long, uninterrupted ramble is hard to read. You want your readers to stick around, so go easy on their eyes.

People tell me they are not sure where to end one paragraph and where to start the next. While writing resources can point you in the right direction, this is something that requires practice. If you’re not sure, read your piece out loud. Anywhere you would pause in conversation is likely a great place to start a new paragraph.

Think of it like this: start a new paragraph when you start a new thought. Any time you move the story along, that’s probably a nice place for a paragraph break.

Vary your sentence lengths.
One and two word sentences have impact; so do rambling, run-on sentences. Mix things up.

As with paragraph breaks, think about how a conversation flows. Sometimes you say everything you have to say in one, huge breath. Other times, you punctuate with bursts of thought.

In writing, you do have to use some caution, because your reader does not have the luxury of reading your expressions or hearing your tone of voice. You can’t always structure a sentence exactly as you would when speaking, but you can use that as a jumping off point. Re-read your post – out loud – and see if it flows, if it makes sense.

Now What?
Once you’ve mastered the basics, and you feel comfortable with the rules, go ahead and bend them to suit your needs. If you’re looking for some guidelines on rule-bending, look no further than this post, and this post, from Melissa over at Adventuroo.

In Short…
If you get one takeaway from this post, I want it to be this:

Your goal? Make your story readable so that more. people. read. it.

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Click here to learn more about the series: The Blogging Mavens: Blogging for All! This week’s posts include words of wisdom from:

:: Kelley’s Break Room on Wednesday, November 17: Finding Your Voice & Developing Content

:: a belle, a bean & a chicago dog on Thursday, November 18: Using Twitter to Develop a Community

:: Crystal & Co. on Friday, November 19: Loving Your Work

:: June Cleaver Nirvana on Saturday, November 20: Taking Your Blog to the Next Level