I remember my English teacher drilling it into our heads, “It is double inverted commas for direct speech. And always remember to close the quotation marks.” I don’t remember much else from those English grammar classes but this one thing has somehow stayed with me. 

Of all the punctuation marks, I have a soft corner for these little hook-like marks. To me, they have a distinct personality and I’ve always felt they stamp their authority in print because people love to read conversations. After all, conversations must necessarily begin and end with these little hook-like characters. “What a presence they have, these little creatures”, I used to think. 

In those days, we did not know that there are two brands of English – British and American. Of course, there are many brands of English spoken across the world – from the Hinglish (Indian English) to Singlish (Singaporean English) to Australian English (we get a taste of this English when Australian cricketers speak in post-match press conferences). If ever the Chinese learn to speak English, I’m not sure what that brand will be called (Chin Ling English?). In any case, the two broad standards of English – at least written English – continue to be the British and the American standards. 

Working on a book edit recently, all stake holders agreed that British English would be the standard to follow. As I went through the 200-odd page book, I found the inverted commas popping up every few pages. You see, the author had mistakenly inserted single inverted commas for all conversations. Diligently I added comments for the author each time I saw the single inverted commas – trusting my education and trusting the fact that what we learnt at school was in fact, British English. 

Imagine my utter disbelief when the author pointed out that British English used single inverted commas and American English used double inverted commas. “No, no, no!” I shook my head, “that’s not true.” I was smug in my knowledge that it was the other way around. To confirm my belief, I dug out some books from my book shelf. British authors – old and new – Enid Blyton, Colin Thruborn, Salman Rushdie. Book after book, I saw that the poor double inverted comma had lost out to its singular cousin. When did this happen? I have no clue. Perhaps, some publishing house somewhere decided that thousands of reams of paper could be saved by making that tiny adjustment in publishing. Perhaps, that’s true. In any case, these are matters of style and not of grammar. Some consolation that!  

Note to the reader: Do me a favor. Replace all existing double inverted commas in this blog post with the single ones. It will take me a while yet to do the same. What is it that they say about old habits? 

There are innumerable books out there on writing. They describe how to write, the craft of writing, dos and don’ts and other such useful advice. One of the better books I have recently read is ‘On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft’ by Stephen King.

King has published over fifty novels and written nearly 200 short stories. Most of his works are in the realm of horror, fantasy and suspense. His book on writing is a fabulously entertaining read for anyone interested in writing anything at all. The first, shorter part tells the story of his life, and the second part is about writing. Although he focuses on writing fiction, the advice is still pertinent to any writer. Here are some of the more interesting thoughts from the book.

• Every writer has a toolbox. It had at least 3 layers, vocabulary, grammar, and structure.
• The adverb is not your friend. Adverbs end in ‘ly’. She looked at him ‘kindly’. Too many of them can ruin a piece of writing. They are generic, and do not lend character to the description. The description should bring to life the kindness with which she looked at him.
  
• The active voice is better than the passive voice. The passive voice shows a weak person trying hard to assert authority. 
  
• The best form of dialogue attribution is the simple word ‘said’. Too often we tend to imagine that ‘said’ becomes boring, and instead use ‘screamed’, ‘growled’, ‘whispered’ and other words. ‘Said’ works best most of the time. 
  
• Reading is the creative centre of a writer’s life. To write well one has to read continuously. There are many opportunities for short spells of reading during the day, such as waiting at a bus-stop, while commuting, or between meetings. If you’re lucky you can avail of long spells of reading, that last several hours or an entire day.
  
• Writing is best when intimate. Write what you know. The heart also knows things, as does the imagination.
  
• There are 3 parts of a story: Narration, description and dialogue. 
  
• Dialogues are the audio portions of any piece if writing. They define character. 
  
• The key to good dialogue is honesty. 
  
• Good stories are based on ‘what if’ situations. Don’t worry about the ending. The ending will show itself as you write. 
  
• Description makes the reader a sensory participant in the story. Too little leaves the reader bewildered and near-sighted. Too much buries him or her in images and details. It’s important to know what can be left out and what can be described. Avoid over-description. It can be self-indulgent. 
  
• Good description begins with clear seeing and ends with clear writing; the kind of writing that employs fresh images and simple vocabulary. 
  
• Description begins in the writer’s imagination and ends in the reader’s. 
  
• Opening the ‘mental eye’ when writing involves opening all the senses.
  
• Avoid clichéd metaphors and similes such as: 

                He ran like a madman
                Pretty as a summer’s day
                A piece of cake

• Never tell, always show when you can. You can show a lot about a character through dialogue, instead of telling. 
  
• Your own thoughts and experiences can be used in your work. 
  
• Avoid pronouns with unclear antecedents and adverbs. 
  
• Unclear antecedent: 

               I never go to that shop because they have stale fruit.
               What does ‘they’ refer to? Both I and they are singular.
               Correct: I never go to that shop because it has stale fruit.

• Is the story coherent? 
  
• Delete stuff that goes in other directions. 
  
• Pace is the speed at which the narrative unfolds. Each story should be allowed to unfold at its own pace. 
  
• Second draft = First draft — 10%