#grammartips

99% of the time, you’ll use “affect” as a verb and “effect” as a noun.

I tried to affect my grade by studying.

This was the effect: I passed with flying colors.

Grammar: it’s a cause-and-effect relationship. 😉

🔗 Here is a detailed explanation.

Want a quick tip to improve your writing? Write simple; write straightforward.

Going through my recent writings, I've found that I’m not a sinner. I was amazed that I don’t use and abuse adverbs, though I can be as guilty as the next writer.

The adverb, for me, was the perfect tool for expressing action or emotion.

“He closed the door firmly.” sounds a little, for lack of a better word, firmer, than He closed the door.

One has a little umph to it, an extra energy that pushes action or emotion, if not both. The other? Well, it kind of falls flat where it is. 

Yet, you’ll meet these literary giants saying never use adverbs. Why? 

Hemingway would say, “Adverbs are the enemy of the verb.”

Stephen King: The road to hell is paved with adverbs.

Elmore Leonard: If an adverb became a character in one of my books, I’d have it shot. Immediately.

Writers hate adverbs because they should. They should because they weaken their writing. They weaken the verb, to be more specific. 

Adverbs add bloat to your writing. Or they underestimate the reader to know the action or emotion involved. 

If you say, “He shouted,” is there any point in adding, loudly?

If you say “She thought,” do you have to add quickly to the mix? Or do you think your readers won’t understand your intention?

Equipped with this understanding, I’ve gone back to my past writings. Anything from short stories and messages to long articles. The idea was to find every adverb and replace it with a stronger verb. 

I surprised myself by being somewhat of a miser for adverbs. I didn’t find as many adverbs as I expected, and I would change those I found to make them simple and straightforward. 

This practice made each of my writings better. My sentences were clearer and easier to understand. There was no need for: quickly, quietly, loudly, really, or definitely anymore.

My mind and tongue have become adverb-conscious, spotting them and avoiding their use at all costs.

There are times when adverbs fit better. When their use enhances your language, so don’t completely eliminate it from your repertoire. But keep in mind that more times than not, you can cut adverbs from your sentence—and it would be better for it.

Let’s be honest — tackling verbal skills can feel like trying to tame a wild beast. Grammar rules popping up like surprise quizzes, vocabulary that sounds like it’s from another planet, and reading comprehension passages longer than your last Netflix binge. But don’t worry, I’m here to guide you through this jungle with a roadmap that’s almost as fun as a Sunday brunch.

Step 1: Build Your Vocabulary — One Word at a Time

No, you don’t need to memorize the entire dictionary overnight (unless you’re a superhero). Start with high-frequency words and use flashcards, apps, or heck, even sticky notes on your fridge. Make it a game — challenge yourself to use a new word every day. “Obfuscate”? Perfect. Try it in a sentence before your morning coffee!

Step 2: Master Grammar Like a Pro (or at Least Like You Know What You’re Doing)

Think of grammar as the rules of a board game. You don’t want to flip the table midway through. Focus on the basics — subject-verb agreement, tenses, and common pitfalls like “their,” “there,” and “they’re.” And remember: commas are tiny ninjas that can change the whole meaning of a sentence.

Step 3: Practice Reading with Purpose

Don’t just read for the sake of reading. Pick articles, essays, or books that challenge you but don’t make you want to scream. Take notes, underline key points, and ask yourself: “What’s the author really saying?” This will sharpen your comprehension and critical thinking — skills that are gold in any verbal test.

Step 4: Write, Rewrite, Repeat

You learn language by using it. Write essays, summaries, or even tweets (because brevity is its own art). Get feedback, edit ruthlessly, and watch your skills bloom.

Bonus Tip: Don’t Fear Mistakes — They’re Your Best Teachers Every slip-up is a step closer to mastery. So, embrace the oops moments. They make for great stories later.

Hello everyone! This is going to be a new series where I will recommend books for you all to read for pleasure, or to help improve your writing.

This post will be a series - each series containing different genres of books and different writing books to help improve our writing in general.

1. The Dictionary:

as simple and straightforward as this is a dictionary is a writer's best friend, or at least is should be.

i don't know about ya'll but i prefer to hold an actual dictionary than look up words and their meaning online. there is something gratifying to me about looking up the word on my own.

i would recommend the Merriam Webster is a good dictionary to have.

2. Thesaurus:

a thesaurus is probably one if my favorite books.

i love expanding my vocabulary by finding synonyms or antonyms of words.

one thing i learned when writing is never use the same word more than once in a sentence - excluding articles of course. so a thesaurus is a great way to get your point across but using different to achieve that.

i also prefer to hold a physical thesaurus than type it up online.

3. Vocabulary Builder

is also a great book to have with you, however this is optional - compared to the common dictionary and thesaurus.

this book is exactly what it says a 'vocabulary builder.'

a lot of the words in this book are words you should already know, but if don't that's okay.

this book builds vocabulary based off of simple words. ex: bell - antebellum, bellicose, belligerent.

4. Grammar Book

the one grammar book I recommend is The English Grammar Workbook for Adults.

the book will help you improve your fluency in all things grammar: nouns, pronouns, adjectives and of course beyond the basics.

of course this is the book I recommend, but there are millions of other recommendations that will be good for you.

if you buy the book and find it’s not right for you keep searching till you find the one.

5. Using the Right Words

this are a few books written by the same author Nancy Ragno.

these books exactly what the title of this section says, helps you find the right words.

these books are designed to help you recognise when a word is misused in stead of a word that should be there ex: affect v. effect.

I know the above mentioned sounds like basic English and it is! but sometimes we all need refreshers.

she has a few books under this series, so I recommend you go check out the rest!

There you have it folks! Some book recommendations that will help with your writing (even as I’m typing this out I still use you’re instead of your).

I hope you find this useful and I’ll hope to make a new post soon about this with other books.

please reblog and share this post if you find it very useful! i'll work on a part two soon! if you want to repost this on instagram please tag me on perpetualstories.

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Hey! Thanks for the ask!

I am from the south, so I write a lot of dialect when my characters are talking. I try to make my dialogue realistic. Southerners say some weird things that aren’t always words. I try to incorporate that as much as possible. (Link to post: things southern people say that other people just don’t>>)

https://notyouraveragepromptpage.tumblr.com/post/677290058453336064/i-have-more-i-have-more-13-it-dont-matter-a

Other than that, I try to be as grammatically correct as possible in my actual authorship. I’m not, like, a 1900’s style writer, but grammatically correct when it comes to modern standards.