Well, hello there! My, aren't you a brave little buttercup, daring to tread where I threaten to lecture you and bash proper grammar and writing skills and stuff into your head? Actually, I'm very glad you did. Not only because it further strokes my already inflated ego that you think I might have useful advice to give you, but also because...I'm in teachin' withdrawl, dangit! I need to lecture, and it'd be nice to have a live body at whom I can lecture, even if this isn't the most interactive of formats...

In any case, my plan here, for the moment, is just to offer some basic advice on writing fanfics and, yes, to expound at length on that wondrous topic known as...grammar! Yes, the Grammar Goddess is in control of this wing of the Asylum, and she's here to pound Grammar Wisdom into your little head, whether you like it or not.

So now's your chance! RUN AWAY! Or don't. If you write fanfic (or anything else), maybe you'll learn something here. So park your butt in a comfy chair, grab your caffeinated beverage of choice, and read on...

Beware of Ranting Grammar Goddesses
Note: This rant was originally directed at (and is still in places addressed to) the bevy of writers currently wreaking havoc in the Transformers MirrorVerse. But I think normal fanfic-writing mortals would do well to read this thing, too...
Oh, I know it's a boring subject. In fact, subjects don't come much duller than the subject of grammar. But I'm afraid the horrid truth of the matter is that if you're going to write, then you should make an effort to learn the rules of grammar. This is especially true if you're going to put the results of your creative efforts in a public forum (Like, say, the Internet) and you want to be taken seriously. I've endeavored to make this painful lesson at least faintly enjoyable. So here you will find a (not so) brief overview of the very basics of standard acceptable American English grammar, a run-down of some common grammatical mistakes and how to fix them, as well as more delirious ranting about why you should give a fig about any of this crap.

The GrammaRants™
Whereas the above rant tends to be lengthy and more general in nature, the following rants are (usually) shorter and more in-depth. Each is about a different commonly-abused grammatical issue or a different aspect of general good writing. More will be added when Nightwind reads more poorly-written fanfic, after which her alter-ego, the Grammar Goddess, usually feels a subsequent need to rant... :)

• Here a Comma, There a Comma, Everywhere a Freakin' Comma!
  I don't know what it is, but it seems to me that this poor innocent little punctuation mark gets the crap beat out of it, so to speak, by writers in general, not just by fanfic writers. This is my pitiful attempt to rectify that shameful situation. Commas everywhere, rejoice! :)
  
  

Look! Homework!
Ah, yes... What's a workshop without "work," eh? These are just some writing exercises that I found to be helpful to myself and/or to my students over the years. Do them or not, as you see fit. :)

• The Art of Narrative Imagery
  In one of the above rants (the one about writing fanfic), I drone on endlessly about using imagery in one's writing in order to enhance setting, mood, atmosphere, etc. This is a good exercise that helped me to develop the habit/knack for writing that stuff. Maybe it'll help you, too. Or not.