Comma My Way

When we talk out loud we can change the pitch of our voices, pause to take a breath, smile and frown, grit our teeth, and anything else we need to do in order to make our meaning clear. When we are writing our words they lay there flat on the paper and no one can “hear” the emotion and inflection each word carries. Punctuation marks are used to help clarify meanings, demonstrate emotion, and insert pauses between thoughts.

Periods are used at the end of a sentence to indicate a complete statement/thought. Commas have multiple uses: they create pauses, they are used when listing three or more nouns, and they separate adjectives when the adjectives are interchangeable – a young, pretty girl or a pretty, young girl. Known as the Oxford Comma, some editors prefer to use a comma before the and in a sequential list to delineate the items such as Lunch was milk, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and cookies; if you use the Oxford Comma be sure to use it consistently in your work. Commas are also used to isolate a related thought within the sentence such as I’m not hungry, at least not now, so I don’t want to order anything. Question marks are used at the end of a query instead of a period. These are the most used punctuation marks.

There are a few rules regarding quotation marks. Use double quotation marks when you are quoting someone and single quotation marks when there is a title or quote within the statement. Periods, exclamation points, commas, and question marks go inside the ending quotation mark. Although some editors prefer not to, check with each one, it is acceptable to use quotation marks around book, movie, and song titles. Also use double quotation marks around unusual words or expressions, use single marks if the unusual word is inside a quote.

Three dots are called an ellipsis (…). Use an ellipsis to indicate missing words when the remaining words still offer the complete and relevant thought. Many writers will also use an ellipsis to indicate a hesitation or an unfinished thought. Semicolons (;) are used to indicate longer pauses than commas, or to separate lists which include commas such as New York, New York; Newark, New Jersey; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. A semicolon can also be used to attach two independent clauses when the first clause contains a comma and before words such as namely, however, therefore, that is, i.e., for example, e.g., for instance, etc. A colon (:) is often used before a list of items, but only if that list is not following a verb – You’ll need the following items: marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate squares, and long sticks to roast the marshmallows with.

Hyphens and dashes are often confused. Hyphens are the shorter of the two, connect two or more words, and are used without spaces. Dashes are longer and are used for emphasis or to separate a clause within a clause, and frequently have spaces before and after. He was driving a fourteen-year-old car. (hyphen) The soup was too hot — and very spicy — to eat as is. (dash) [The dash appears on the keyboard; however to type a dash you need to hold down the “alt” key and type 0151 on the NUMERICAL keyboard.]

There are some punctuation marks, though, that authors should use very infrequently. Show, don’t tell, your character’s emotions through actions and descriptions. The tops of his ears were beet red when he came into the room slamming the door behind him is infinitely more interesting to a reader than the simple words He was angry. And never use multiple exclamation points to imply anger or to emphasize a statement.

Writing Exercise:  Punctuate the following: (the punctuated copy is below)
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Writing Prompt:  List the first five people you can think of (you must know each one personally). Next to each person’s name put one punctuation mark that represents that individual’s personality (for instance, if someone is always angry you might use an exclamation point).

Challenge Assignment:  Using a popular tune, write a short jingle about the advantages of using correct punctuation.

Available on these devices: Kindle, Kindle Voyage, Kindle Paperwhite, Kindle Paperwhite (5th Generation), Kindle (5th Generation), Kindle Touch, Kindle Keyboard, Kindle DX, Kindle (2nd Generation), Kindle (1st Generation).
Kindle Blogs are auto-delivered wirelessly to your Kindle and updated throughout the day so you can stay current.
It's risk free - this Kindle Blog subscription starts with a 14-day free trial. You can cancel at any time during the free trial period. If you enjoy your subscription, do nothing and it will automatically continue at the regular price.