EPISODE 109: ​Grammar as a Craft Choice with Patty McGee

Hosts Heather Cashman, Stephanie Bearce, and Nicki Jacobsmeyer welcome nationally recognized grammar expert Patty McGee, author of “Feedback That Moves Writers Forward” and “Not Your Granny’s Grammar,” to discuss grammar as a tool for clarity, intention, and voice rather than rigid rules. McGee explains why grammar feels scary due to shame-based schooling and “grammar police” culture, and emphasizes learning key sentence structures (simple, compound, complex, compound-complex) to shape rhythm and meaning. She advises that grammar focus during drafting depends on a writer’s fluency, highlights comma splices as a common issue, downplays strict comma-before-conjunction rules, and encourages intentional rule-breaking—especially in dialogue—based on audience and purpose. The group discusses distractions like repetitive punctuation errors, AI’s conflicting guidance, knowing oneself before critique, and trusting candid readers and copy editors, then closes with a lightning round on Oxford commas, fragments, adverbs, and starting sentences with conjunctions.00:00 Welcome to Way-Word00:32 Meet Patty McGee01:38 Why Grammar Feels Scary03:58 Rules vs Voice06:22 Four Sentence Types08:30 Drafting or Revising09:48 Comma Splices and Commas15:00 Grammar as Paintbrush16:38 Authors vs Copy Editors18:41 Grammar Distractions in Queries21:50 Where Rules Came From23:52 AI Grammar Anxiety25:00 Know the Basics26:00 Writing Voice Choices26:57 Audience and Genre Rules29:01 When to Let Go31:04 Lightning Round Grammar36:08 Professional vs Personal36:55 Where to Find Patty37:22 Final Thanks and Outro​Go to Patty McGee’s website here! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit waywordwriters.substack.com