In today’s Journal
* Quotes of the Day
* In the second item
* Topic: Punctuation for Writers
* Of Interest
* The Numbers
Quotes of the Day
“A word to the wise is not sufficient if it doesn’t make any sense.” James Thurber
“It starts with this: put your desk in the corner, and every time you sit down there to write, remind yourself why it isn’t in the middle of the room. Life isn’t a support system for art. It’s the other way around.” Stephen King
In the second item listed in “Of Interest” today, the writer wrote
11. Exclamation marks are for 11-year-olds!!!
12. Know grammar rules so when your break ’em you do so intentionally.
13. You’ll never learn how to properly use commas so don’t sweat it.
Anyone else see the problem here?
This kind of defeatist BS drives me insane.
Here’s the comment I left on the post, repeated here more or less as a topic:
Topic: Punctuation for Writers
Seriously? Exclamation marks are for 11 year olds and you’ll never learn how to properly use commas so don’t sweat it?
Okay, so why sweat grammar rules?
Or in the alternative, why not also learn the rules of puncutation so when you break ’em you do so intentionally (and to create an effect in the reader)? I mean, you ARE a writer, right? And punctation is another tool of your trade, right?
But let’s talk about those commas. Really, the 9 (or 19, I forget) pages of comma rules in HarBrace boil down to only five rules, and really only four since two of those are the reverse of each other. Here they are:
1. Never put a comma between a subject and its verb or a verb and its object. (Realize that a subject may have more than one verb and that a verb may have more than one object.)
2. When a subordinate clause introduces an independent clause, separate the two with a comma. (If you aren’t sure about clauses, Rule #2 is an example of itself, as is this explanation.)
3. Do not use a comma to separate the clauses when a subordinate clause follows an independent clause. (This rule, again, is an example of itself.)
4. Use a comma before the appropriate coordinating conjunction to join two related sentences. (The coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so. Remember the acronym FANBOYS.) By the way, you very seldom if ever need a comma after a coordinating conjunction. If you have any doubt at all, omit it.
5. Trite as it sounds, when you are in doubt about whether to use a comma anywhere, leave it out. Believe it or not, most comma problems arise from misuse of commas, not their omission.
My slim, no-fluff book Punctuation for Writers (Amazon link) was originally titled “The Rules as They Should Read” when I used it as a 16-page handout to teach grunt English comp in college.
Unlike Strunk & White, Punctuation for Writers doesn’t pretend to teach “style.” Style cannot be taught or learned. It is developed and realized over time, with practice.
In school at every level, we’re taught if you write this, use this bit of punctuation in this place. But we aren’t taught why. We’re just told to do it, to believe some great punctuation god has ordained it.
But Punctuation for Writers teaches writers how to wield punctuation as a useful tool to guide the reading of their work.
It teaches how and why readers actually react to punctuation as they read. And it teaches why punctuation has the effect it has on readers. Hence the title: Punctuation for WRITERS.
You can get a copy, paper or ebook, practically anywhere, even eBay. You’ll want the second edition.
Talk with you again soon.
Of Interest
See “50% off and 90-day free trial offers ending soon” at https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/. When you get there, scroll down.
See “How Web Content Writing Will Make You a Far Better Writer” at https://killzoneblog.com/2021/06/how-web-content-writing-will-make-you-a-far-better-writer.html.
See “Bipartisan House Bills Aim to Rein in Amazon & Other Big Tech Companies” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/bipartisan-house-bills-aim-to-rein-in-amazon-other-big-tech-companies/. Please see PG’s take.
The Numbers
The Journal…………………………………… 670 words
Writing of WCGN: Assignment: Brownsville (novel)
Day 10… 3491 words. Total words to date…… 27372
Day 11… 4318 words. Total words to date…… 31690
Day 12… 2224 words. Total words to date…… 33914
Total fiction words for June……… 43497
Total fiction words for the year………… 497986
Total nonfiction words for June… 11100
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 117330
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 615316
Calendar Year 2021 Novels to Date…………………… 9
Calendar Year 2021 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2021 Short Stories to Date… 3
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 62
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 217
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31
Disclaimer: In this blog, I provide advice on writing fiction. I advocate a technique called Writing Into the Dark. To be crystal clear, WITD is not “the only way” to write, nor will I ever say it is. However, as I am the only writer who advocates WITD both publicly and regularly, I will continue to do so, among myriad other topics.