Mignon Fogarty: Grammar Girl
Author of Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Suite101: You have a fantastic radio/podcasting voice. Did you take elocution lessons or go to journalism school to perfect your delivery?
Mignon: Never in my life, until I started podcasting, did anyone ever say to me, "You have a fantastic voice." What started as a hobby developed into all of this. It was such a surprise – you don’t know what skills you even have until others find them useful.
Suite101: What was your goal when you set out to write about grammar?
Mignon: A lot of grammar advice threatens people. My goal is to make grammar fun and easy for people so that they can learn the rules without feeling intimidated by them.
Suite101: What is your biggest challenge when writing about grammar?
Mignon: The truth is language experts don’t always agree with each other about what is correct and what isn’t. I don’t want to side with the stodgy conservative camp that believes language is stagnant and never changes.That is by far the biggest challenge I face.
Suite101: Do you have any tips for the aspiring writer?
Mignon: The most important thing a writer can do is to recognize when they don’t know something and look it up. There are so many great, free, online dictionaries and style guides to consult if you are unsure about how to write a sentence, or what word to choose. In this way, writers can expand their knowledge and vocabulary quickly while saving themselves the trouble of having incorrect work critiqued later.
Suite101: Our readers are curious about your writing/creative process. Can you expand on this?
Mignon: I start with a reader's question and then consult my library of reference books to gather research and usage advice into notes which I type directly into a word document. I actually colour code each paragraph so that I can easily move them around, while keeping them intact.
I organize my thoughts around the other experts' advice and decide what is most useful. Then I start to write, moving all the references to the bottom of the page. I do this because, every show people write in who disagree with my advice. I want to make sure the references are readily available to them.
Suite101: What, if any, impact does text-messaging/emailing have on language?
Mignon: Abbreviations are fine when chatting with a friend, but not fine in a research paper. I think some abbreviations may seep into common usage, but I don’t think people are going to write this way in official environments. Grammar is a lot like clothes or manners. You would never wear a suit to school, but you would wear it to a wedding.
Suite101: What would you change about the way grammar is taught?
Mignon: I wish people would be less judgemental about poor grammar and rather than blatantly pointing out errors, give them the skills to correct themselves. My job isn’t to make people feel bad about having the courage to ask questions.
Suite101: What is your favourite punctuation mark?
Mignon: The interobang (!?). It’s a combination of both the exclamation mark and the question mark. It looks like a p with dot at the bottom. It’s not universally accepted, but it is my favourite punctuation mark.
Learn how Mignon began her career as a podcaster/website director, language expert and author by reading part two of this interview or checking out this excerpt from Grammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing.
