Diction and Grammer

[Justme]

I drive a truck over the road and have done so, consecutively for over 20 years. Before that I was in the military for a little under 9 years. In all that time, I had never needed to work on my writing skills.

I was wondering if anyone had any advise on how it could hone my skills and possibly take classes, while being on the road. I do have a Iphone and use it almost exclusively to get online.

[Steerpike]

I feel that reading a lot is very helpful, as is writing a lot. If you are on the road, get good books on CD. May not help with grammar but can help you get a sense of story flow, word usage, structure and so on.

[Devor]

In terms of getting involved while on the road, you should listen to Audiobooks and find a few Podcasts about story construction. The only one I listen to is the Roundtable Podcast, but there are others.

You could also try dictating your own writing into a microphone. It works for some people but that would never work for me.

[Caged Maiden]

I have book called "the Big Blue Book of Grammar" which I found helpful. I bought it for $12 and it was well worth it, just to be a back-up when something doesn't sound quite right.

[Penpilot]

Echoing what Steerpike said, read lots and write lots. Also when you read, occasionally just study a sentence or two from time to time, see how they're constructed. But don't go over board with it and be aware some authors break the rules on purpose.

Now if you want to actually study grammar, try listening to the Grammar Girl podcast. She's got like 200+ episodes, each only a few minutes long, explaining common mistakes and confusion with grammar.

[Justme]

Thank you, one and all. It's been decades since I tried writing and the last class I took was 1970 something. I'm going to freashen up a little and then try this stuff again. Thank you!