A Writer's Tools

When I was in school one of my worst areas in writing was punctuation and grammar. I had o idea what I was doing so I would toss out commas and semi colon's like they were toy at Christmas, wherever they landed they landed. I just knew they were supposed to be in there and had no idea where they should go or how I should even use them. When I decided to start writing that's actually where I started. I went like an exploring searching the Amazon for Eldorado. I knew there was secrets and information out there I had to be privy to in order to write successfully. I went back beyond basics and went straight to what the rules of grammar and punctuation were and started from there. What was a hyphen and a apostrophe? How do apply all of these tools of literature? So I learned a lot, and then once I sent my manuscript for Titan: The Midnight Hour I learned a whole lot more. When I look back I'm actually embarrassed by how little I still knew and had to learn. I'm surprised they had anything nice to say about it at all. I've always been good at creating a story line and structure and pacing, but putting those pieces dw with detail and texture has been something I've had to learn and develop. I'm not saying I'm great at it either. I'm just saying I've gotten a whole better since I started writing, and I am working at continualy getting better still.