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It is interesting to discover commemorative calendar days, but this one really inspired me. I have been writing for as long as I can remember. In lieu of National Grammar Day, here are my thoughts on wordsmithing.

I can honestly say that writing is not easy. The words in your head don’t necessarily translate well on paper. It takes time and effort to really communicate clearly. Although it may seem effortless, it take a lot of mental energy and you are required to follow grammatical rules.

There are even different kinds of writing like academic writing, journal writing, fiction, non-fiction, creative writing, and business writing with separate rules. I’ve learned and enjoyed various types of prose but find myself making a few common writing mistakes.

Missing Hyphen

The first error that I’m often reprimanded for is not using a hyphen. This just doesn’t seem that important, but according to grammatical rules words like good-hearted and post-apocalyptic are not correct without the hyphen.

Quote This

Another common mistake is the inproper use of the comma. Does it go after or before the quotation mark? I’m wondering, “Does it go like this?” Comma rules vary based on the sentence and structure.

Wrong Word

This one always gets me! Is it complement or compliment? Is read and read the same in present and past tense?

Writing can get very fanciful, but it never stops me from falling in love with words in general. There is nothing more interesting than (then?!) when someone pops in a random word like hirsute or compendius.