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Practical Punctuation

Punctuation is the way we separate words into logical groups to convey the meaning we want.  We all learn about punctuation in grade school, and the use of proper punctuation is taught all the way through writing classes in college.  

There are several “rules” for when to use the various punctuation marks and for which punctuation to use.  Some make perfect sense and others…well, over time some have fallen out of favor.  As with any rules for writing, it’s OK to bend or break those rules as long as the reader can make sense of what you wrote.

It’s as easy to over-punctuate as it is to omit punctuation, and both can confuse a reader.  Here are my rules for how and when I use punctuation marks.  They’re not all technically correct, but they are a practical way of dividing words to make them say what I mean.

The period

The period is the first punctuation mark we learn about.  It is used to end a sentence and should be used when that sentence is complete with a subject, verb, and action.  While dialogue is an exception to this rule, a period should never be used unless the sentence is a complete sentence.  

It’s important to use periods to separate things for easier reading as well.  Nothing will turn off a reader faster than sentences that seem to go on forever.   


The comma

There are two main reasons to use a comma.  Probably the most practical is to give the reader a chance to breathe as if he or she was reading out loud.  It’s a lot like the period except it separates groups of words that relate to the same statement instead of separating words that relate to different statements.  Try reading these two sentences both out loud and silently, and see which is easier to read.

This –

It had been a long hot summer the hottest summer Mary could remember and a summer that because she had red hair caused her skin to turn a shocking boiled- lobster red instead of the beautiful tan she so desired.

Or this-

It had been a long hot summer, the hottest summer Mary could remember, and a summer that, because she had red hair, caused her skin to turn a shocking, boiled-lobster red instead of the beautiful tan she so desired.

The first sentence is so long if you read it out loud you have to stop somewhere and take a breath.  The comma just gives the reader the opportunity to naturally do that, and readers will take a breath at a comma even if reading silently.  I’ll bet you did too.

The second reason to use a comma is to separate a list of items or modifiers to a subject or verb, as in –

Mary was beautiful, vivacious, and intelligent, but reacted with shyness, embarrassment, and an inner feeling of warmth.  

The comma before the “and” of the last item in the list is optional.

I also use commas to separate text from dialogue, as in –

“I want you now”, she said as she opened her legs wide.

The comma makes it easier for the reader to know the character has stopped speaking.

The exclamation point

The rule here is to use the exclamation point rarely, singularly, and only to convey extreme emotion in dialogue.  If used multiple times after a sentence or in plain text, it loses it’s effectiveness.  

Statements like, “I love you!!!!!!”, can be difficult to read.  One exclamation point would have conveyed the emotion just as well as five, and would still indicate stronger emotion than a casually said, “I love you.”

An exclamation point should never be used in third person narrative unless the narrator is relating dialogue from a character.  That’s because a third person narrator only relates the facts and observations.  The exclamation point is a comment and a third person narrator can make no comments or interpretation of those facts and observations.

The semicolon

The semicolon was originally used to separate two related complete statements in one sentence, such as –

Never before had he known such a gorgeous woman;  never before had he hated a woman so much.

In my opinion, semicolons are a waste of time.  It’s easier to just write two complete sentences.  Two sentences are also easier for most people to read.

The colon

Other than to separate hours and minutes when writing time in numbers instead of text, i.e. 8:30, the colon is suppose to indicate that a list or explanation follows a complete sentence, as in –

There are many places to meet women: bars, church, coffee shops, and flea markets to name a few.

As with the semicolon, I rarely use the colon.  I think it’s easier and more readable to reword the sentence, as in –

To name a few, the places to meet women are bars, church, coffee shops, and flea markets.

The elipses and the em dash

The elipses and the em dash are techniques used to convey the emotions and interactions between characters without the need to describe those emotions and interactions in detail.  Both are often used incorrectly.

The elipses is a series of three periods in a row, like this (…).  They’re used to indicate a pause or a stop in speech because of a trailing thought, to continue the statement by another speaker, or to just pause as if the speaker is thinking.

“I thought he felt something for me, but I guess…”

“…and what you’re saying is he wasn’t worth my time anyway.”

“You mean you’d actually…I mean, really…well, I’d never have guessed.”


The em dash ( - ) is used to indicate a speaker has been interrupted for some reason.  If the interruption was by another speaker, the interrupting speaker’s words should immediately follow.

“I don’t care what you say, if you really thought - “

“I do think that.  It’s what I’ve been saying all along.”

The em dash can also be used to indicate the speaker has quickly changed his/her mind or train of thought with no pause as is the case with the elipses.

“I absolutely refuse.  If you think I’d ever – no wait, I would with you.”

The em dash can also be used as a substitute for a colon to identify a list or to denote that an explanation follows, just as I have done several times above.

It’s important to note here that the elipses and em dash do not belong in any text except for dialogue and the narrator’s statements in first person writing.   That’s because a third person narrator is just reporting facts while the narrator’s statements in first person are actually the narrator’s dialogue to the reader.

Quotation Marks

Quotation marks have one main use and that is to separate text from dialogue.  What quotation marks do is tell the reader someone is speaking as opposed to the narrator just telling the story to the reader.  If dialogue just runs into text, it becomes difficult to read.  Try out this sentence.

She was not going to stop.  I could tell that.  Hey, you’re going to run into me.  She didn’t stop until she hit my chest.

Did you have to read it a second time?  If a reader finds many sentences like this, they’ll just hit the back button and find another story.  If you write it like this the reader will understand on the first read.

She was not going to stop.  I could tell that.

“Hey, you’re going to run into me.”

She didn’t stop until she hit my chest.

Another use of quotation marks is to emphasize a word or words for some reason.  I often use quotation marks to initially identify slang or unusual words that will be used later on in the story such as …

That night, we had us some “horizontal refreshment”.  I didn’t know what that meant until the woman took off her clothes.

Using quotation marks like this tells the reader those words are “special”.  Preceding or following that use with an explanation tells the reader what they mean and clarifies any future uses of the slang.

This can present a problem if the “special words” are used inside the quotation marks defining dialogue.  The solution I use is to substitute the apostrophe for the quotation marks as in…

“Would you like some ‘horizontal refreshment’ tonight”, she asked as she unbuttoned her blouse.

Parentheses

We often use what are called “parenthetical” words or statements in writing.  These are words that serve to explain what came before as in –

Jill, a woman with very small breasts, wasn’t very happy with her bra size.

In this case, “a woman with very small breasts” is the parenthetical statement because it explains something about Jill.

Some writers think the parenthetical words have to be enclosed in parentheses, but technically, they do not.  Commas work just fine and are easier to read.  

Another use of parentheses I sometimes see is in a sentence that should stand on its own.  An example is this –

Emily was as horny as a toad. (She hadn’t had sex in over a month.)

This reads to me as if the narrator is attempting to make an “aside” comment to one person out of a group of listeners.  Since in a story there is only one reader, the reason Emily was horny should just stand on its own as a sentence.

Just forget that parentheses even exist and your readers will thank you.  Parentheses make reading more difficult in most cases, and are not actually required by any set of writing rules.  Not using them will also save you a few keystrokes.


How about you other writers out there?  Do you have any tricks or techniques I missed?  If so, tell us in the comments.