Mechanics, Mechanics, Mechanics

The excerpt for this month’s blog encapsulates many, if not most, of my own perspectives regarding the fine art of grammar. Although we tend to isolate individual nuances associated with the craft, such as proper punctuation and spelling, in the end it is about the big picture and the tools developed over one’s lifetime to paint a depiction representing our deepest creative insights.

My intent at the beginning of 2022 was to continue the familiar flavor of prior posts with infusions of content designed to add a little more depth, and hopefully, tie it all together in a sensible way. The subject matter by itself often elicits heavy sighs, overly exaggerated eye rolls, and an annoyed statement along the lines of Do we have to talk about that right now? Come to think of it, when are eyes rolls NOT over-exaggerated?

While I was looking for a few applicable quotes on our subject matter for today, I found one, although exceptionally humorous for a writing geek such as myself which drives the point home perfectly; Let’s eat grandpa versus, Let’s eat, grandpa. You see, correct punctuation can literally save a person’s life.

When I took creative and college writing in High School (I graduated in 1985), one of the common critiques I would receive scribbled across a report, short story, or term paper after being complimented on my engaging writing style would be, Keep an eye on your mechanics or a very succinct, Mechanics! Suffice it to say, it did not take a genius to figure out where challenges in my own writing style laid.

I have never been one of those students or writers who can easily recite the definition of what is a past participle, conjunctive phrase, or parenthetical expression. As I have gotten older and more experienced, my ability to recognize these plus other writing mechanics is more pronounced. Yet, it has been and will probably remain, more of a common sense and visual exercise for me. If it flows well, has proper word variety, and, at a minimum, adheres to foundational aspects of writing, I find it much easier to grasp those more in depth grammatical rule sets.

In the ThoughtCo. article linked below, I found a statement by Joan Brooks McLane and Gillian Dowley McNamee from Early Literacy, Harvard University Press, 1990 very interesting and somewhat applicable to my own experiences: Teachers using a traditional, product-oriented approach tend to focus on the formal mechanical and technical aspects of writing while paying little attention to the individual writer's communicative purposes. Thus, with this approach there is a danger that, for many children, writing will become an exercise in formal mechanics divorced from personal content and intentions.

As I mentioned previously, the above quote is somewhat applicable because I did have teachers, professors, and mentors articulate how well I was able to quickly grab a reader’s attention to bring them into whatever story or article I was writing at the time. I never once construed they valued mechanics over individual style. Rather, I felt they were stressing the worth of finding balance between them, while I retained my unique perspective and voice related to the craft of writing. Finding balance between them has always been my primary focus.

One could find my statement above to be subjective, especially when you consider our homosapien propensity to cherry pick established constructs to fit whatever narrative makes us feel safe and comfortable. I can assure you, my approach to writing and its associated mechanics leans more towards respecting those who have come before me; ones who suffered significant setbacks and were thoughtful enough to pass along their sage advice. I honor them and those who take time out of their busy lives to edit and proofread my extremely rough drafts by continuing to learn everything I can about this wonderful form of content creation.

Whenever I am presented with an opportunity to learn about how to use words to effectively convey a message readers can picture in their own creative minds, I go back to a conversation between two characters in the 1986 movie, Top Gun.

It took place between Tom Skerritt (Viper) and Tom Cruise (Maverick), when Maverick was dealing with a lack of confidence after the death of his co-pilot, Goose (Anthony Edwards). During one point in the conversation Viper said, “A good pilot is compelled to always evaluate what’s happened, so he can apply what he’s learned.”

As writers, we evaluate and often agonize over not only the words we will use to convey our thoughts but how we will use those words. This is where a fundamental understanding of sentence structure, word variety and mechanics comes from. Notable author, Stephen King is quoted as saying, Grammar is…the pole you grab to get your thoughts up on their feet and walking. Touché, Mr. King. Now, stop scaring me!

I have included a link below from the website, Codeless regarding an article titled, The Proper Mechanics of Writing. For some of you, much of the information is a no brainer and does not require a great deal of thought to get behind. Once you get past the added emphasis on using the free application Grammarly, a software product designed to help you check for several types of writing errors, a summary of these writing mechanics says everything you need to know.

One item I have always conveyed to people in relation to building your vocabulary is…read books! No, this is not a shameless plug to read mine but by the mere act of writing this sentence, it has become one.

Reading books also assists in seeing how other writers substantively approach their own content, which is to say not all writers adhere to proper mechanics. There are a couple of writers I have followed for many years and a couple of them also inspired me to write, in addition to my main source of inspiration, Star Wars. Nonetheless, I see many abuses of the word that plus the overly used and then to continue a sentence past its intended usefulness.

In my regular job as a state employee, I see the word that used in so much official correspondence it makes me want to pull my hair out, which leads me to a final point for this post. Yes, I do have them from time to time. We do not and should not write how we speak. I know it sounds like another no brainer comment but when witnessing some of the written communications I do on a given day, trust me when I say, it is not a no brainer for others.

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for the proper use of emoticons, text lingo, and current speech trends. Language and how to use it effectively is constantly evolving right in the middle of us using it. We must remain aware of its continual evolution because what is a faux pas today, will be an acceptable use tomorrow.

My mom would often joke, Ain’t, ain’t a word when correcting the grammar of my siblings; however, by the time I went to high school and began taking higher level English classes, it had become a word, much to her chagrin.

So, continue to read, do your research, remember a good search engine is your best friend, and keep writing.

Feel free to post your questions or comments. I will respond when I am able. Be safe, be well, and allow compassion to manifest while we continue to navigate a crazy but beautiful world.

Thank you for reading.

Thought Co. Article: https://www.thoughtco.com/mechanics-composition-term-1691304

Codeless Article: https://codeless.io/writing-mechanics/