Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wicked Good Prose by Constance Hale | Writing Guide for Creative Writers & Authors | Perfect for Fiction Writing, Memoirs & Professional Communication

When I was doing my BFA in Creating Writing, multiple classes required this book. First, the introductory or "101" class used it to teach the fundamentals of grammar. This, more than Strunk and White, provides a clear, approachable guide to the basics, and not so basic elements of English Grammar. Unlike Strunk, this guide differentiates between when you need to be as terse as possible, and when you need to decorate your language a little, to give breathing room in the text. I would say, if you want an engaging guide to grammar, your best choices are this or The Deluxe Transitive Vampire by Karen Elizabeth Gordon.The second class to require it was poetry, where the sections on how to make your words sing, how word choice drives more than meaning but also feeling were emphasized. The third class was in copyediting, where the focus was on the guidance on when, for sake of the work, to break the rules. I have not found any book that covers either of those topics nearly as well.Needless to say, I read, highlighted, dog-eared and generally abused this book so much, it fell apart before I graduated.Now I'm taking an online class with Writer's Village University, and sure enough this has come up as a required text. I am so glad it's available in both Kindle and Audible. Even after so many readings, I still find tidbits of gold in this text.If you're starting a writing program, you might as well pick this up. It's going to be assigned to you anyway. If you're interested in becoming a writer, this is generally recommended as an essential text for mastering the craft.If English is your second language, and you really want to understand the odd rules, like why you can say "the tall blonde woman", not "the blonde tall woman", this is an excellent guide to all of those odd idiosyncrasies.