Punctuation Skills

Or my lack thereof. Prickly little buggers they are, commas and apostrophes and such!

I need to work on my punctuation skills. How am I going to teach YOU skills if I don’t even know them myself? I guess Schoolhouse Rock wasn’t sinking in as strongly as I thought it was. Yeah I still sing “Lolly, Lolly, Lolly get your adverbs here.” But see that <--- my punctuation stinks in a big way!

Interjections show excitement or emotion,
they're generally SET apart from a sentence by an exclamation point,
or by a comma when the feelings not as strong.

I’ve been called on my lousy punctuation skills to the point of it digging in me and possibly scarring me for life. I’m a writer, I NEED punctuation skills! Reminds me of a facebook post from a Writing page:

“Let’s eat Grandma!”

“Let’s eat, Grandma!”

Do you see how important that comma is? Well gosh-a-rooney! Am I really THAT bad?

I didn’t think I was until it was pointed out many years ago on a Poetry site that I, and I quote, ‘Basterdized punctuation’. I even wrote a poem with the same title since I did feel a little slighted and I was new to this infernal world of spiders. (worldwide web?)

I slaughter punctuation! Not intentionally mind you but I do. I overuse comma’s, misplace apostrophes, and I love the exclamation point! I barely use them now because I feel someone is going to laugh at my lack of skill in using them. So, I’m going to learn! See that?

This was my first page in trying to understand punctuation. Punctuation

Hey what can I say, I clicked the first one that came up.

I see an error and wonder how accurate the site is:

A set of commas is a means of separating items in a list.	The details required are name, date of birth,  address and telephone number.
Sometimes a comma is needed between the last two items to ensure clarity.	The details required are name, date of birth, address and telephone number.

Both the sentences are exactly the same, so what are they telling me? And I wonder why I slaughter punctuation, eh?

Another site I found was helpful, Skills You'll Need , but I’m still weeding my way through to see just where it is I need help the most. You know, it would be so much more helpful if someone pointed out just what I slaughtered instead of chuckling and saying, “Boy you fudged that up. Where did YOU learn grammar?” 

I guess laughing at my ineptness makes them feel that much more intelligent themselves. Another way of me, making people feel good. Glad I could make you smile.

As I work through my grammar skills, I’m also working on my writing. It seems something was lost that I need to rein in and recapture what has tried to get away. I make typos, I’m human, but if I cut up my punctuation to the extent you’re laughing at my ability, by all means, correct me.

Punctuation skills are not my strong point, WRITING is!

Getting My Point Across!

Grammar Slammer!

While I am on a blogging roll, I thought I’d add this to the mix, getting my point across.

When we speak to a person, we have the luxury of eye contact, arm gesturing, head bobbing, smirks, smiles or grins. In the writing world we don’t have that luxury to help us get the point across unless the board has emoticon smileys all over the place as you can express yourself through them. Sometimes people OVER use them which makes me think they’re on a caffeine high of some sort, or just over excited, sitting behind the keyboard itching for human contact.

In the written world of words, like a hand held, real live paper-filled book with words, how is one to get the emotion across to the reader? I’m going to say punctuation. Because we don’t have emoticons in the publishing world, are you going to get your point across to your reader without that smiley emoticon? I sure hope so.

You’re standing on your own two feet, smiley abandons you and all you have is your words. When we write, there is no gestures, or timbres of a voice that the reader can pick up, so we fully rely on proper punctuation.

First there is the missed period. Sure it can mean you’re pregnant but in your writing it could mean a total misunderstanding of your words. The period is going to tell your reader that your thought is complete, and that you’re going to string together another thought. If writers forget the period, they have a run-on long sentence, (a big no-no in the writing world) or that the writer has an incomplete thought.

Example:
Sally and Joe went out to eat humans are a funny species eating all the time they also went window- shopping down the avenue for clothes they enjoyed each others company.

Sally and Joe went out to eat. Humans are a funny species, eating all the time. They also went window-shopping down the avenue for clothes. They enjoyed each others company.

Did you know that the second-most familiar punctuation mark is the comma; it is also the most misused punctuation mark. It’s used to indicate a minor but necessary pause, and its proper use is simply invaluable to good writing. The omission or misuse can cause worlds of confusion to your reader.

John ate furiously grandma for dinner was so relaxed.

A world of confusion ensues.

John ate furiously. Grandma, for dinner, was so relaxed.

I like this example:

When I’m eating people avoid me

People avoid me when I am eating. (sloppy eater)

Avoid me when I am eating people. (cannibal)

Do you see it? COMMA: people! Are you grasping all that punctuation can do for you? Sometimes in my writing even with the proper punctuation, I am totally misunderstood. Someone will say to me, “you sounded upset.” (angry, ungrateful, etc.) And I’m thinking, really? My words on a page have no sound, so how did you read that into my words.

I realized that not only with punctuation, misplaced words can lead the reader down a wrong assumption path.

Example:

He works long drawn out days. I have no car to rely on while he works. I’m in a sea of change and my routine is rocked. Minimum wage won’t pay the massive amount of bills.

That sounds bitter? Ungrateful? Pained?

REDO:

I’m so grateful for the long days of work. Minimum wage is better than nothing at all, in this day and age. If the Lord wants me to have an additional car, He’ll bless me with one. We’ll manage like we always do.

To the eye, certain words omitted means there is something the writer isn’t saying. But add a few words like: GRATEFUL, BETTER, ADDITIONAL, BLESS, MANAGE and the person might understand your true emotion.

Sure turns it around making the statement sound more upbeat, doesn’t it? Enjoy your writing, but most of all don’t miss those periods or comma usage, it could mean a difference in life or worse, death.


Book Bites:

Write Right by Jan Venolia

(I couldn’t resist)


Grammatically Correct by Anne Stillman

This weeks lesson ~ Dialogue

We’re onto lesson five (whew, I made it) and lesson five is dialogue. In the quiet hallways I no longer roam and assist, my classroom is the only haven that I’ll stay and lend my hand to the student. They have done so good this session and I am proud of the writers that I will leave behind in two weeks. They have all come a long way in these past five weeks.

This week we move on to dialogue. Now dialogue is tricky in that new writers think that a tag of he said/ she said in a lulling poetic voice, is what is needed after every person speaks. I have seen writers add so many tags that you’re left looking at all the tags to see who was speaking or what the conversation was to begin with.

Is that what you want? People trying to decipher the ‘who’ is speaking, or looking at your words fly by and rolling eyes at your inept writing skills? No, of course not. We want our reader to embrace our words, hug them like a comfy blankie! We want the people who might actually pay money to read our words to be left with a feeling of ahhh...not a feeling of nahhhh.

Some tips on writing dialogue, portions from Jenny Wiehardt:

1. Always use a comma between the dialogue and the tag line.
ex: “Mark could you come here for a second,” she bellowed in the empty room.

2. Periods go inside the quotation marks. And since I am in America, I give you the American English rules. Other punctuation like the semicolons, dashes, question marks and exclamation points -- goes outside unless it directly pertains to the material within the quotes.
ex: “I don't want any stupid cake," says the guy who goes to Europe and the Middle East. "Where's the champagne?" he says, and laughs.
In the next example, the question mark goes outside the quotation marks because it is not part of the material being quoted:
Did he say, "We should all go to the movies"?
Also note that the sentence ends with only one mark of punctuation: the question mark. In general, don't use double punctuation marks, but go with the stronger punctuation.
(Question marks and exclamation points are stronger than commas and periods.)
 

3. When a tag line interrupts a sentence, it should be set off by commas. Note that the first letter of the second half of the sentence is in lower case.
ex: “I hear footsteps,” she said, “they’re coming down the hallway now.”
Notice also, the continued piece begins in lower case.
 

4. To signal a quotation within a quotation, use single quotes:
This one stumps me a lot of the times in my writing,
ex: "Have you read ‘The Lord of the Rings’ yet?" he asked her.
 

5. For interior dialogue, italics are appropriate, just be consistent.
That means when the person is speaking to themselves.
ex. Janie thought, here we go again.
 

6. If a quotation spills out over more than one paragraph, don't use end quotes at the close of the first paragraph. Use them only when a character is done speaking.
***
Sometimes punctuation is everything in dialogue. I’ve seen where the author punctuates the one person speaking in a conversation, but then the author forgoes it when the second character is speaking. It’s a matter of preference and when the novel/story is published, the editor will surely help you decide on which to use.
 

I hope you’ve enjoyed the tips of the day. Now get writing and most of all...Write Right!

OOPS Factor

Job 19: 4 And be it indeed
that I have erred, mine error remaineth with myself.
***

Oops that was wrong. Did you ever have that happen to you? Have an oops moment in writing? Well allow me.

The oops factor is a term we writers use when we have a, dare I say, mistake? This is why I say oops because it just sounds so much better and comes off as being retrievable but we all know, an oops is non- refundable.

Have you ever submitted a work and breathed that deep sigh of relief as you finally sent your work out and as months pass you think, “Hmmm, I still haven’t heard from them.” Then you pull the piece that you submitted out of the secret file that you have it hidden in, and take a second look at it.

OOPS! There it is, shining right in your face, a mistake glaring at you like an eyeball in the sky! It is plain as day so why didn’t you see it BEFORE you clicked that little submit button? Why? Because you were already excited about sending it out into the realm of the unknown and thought for sure it would bring you joy as it got the old accepted letter (one that you quickly print out and make a beautiful new wallpaper out of.)

Lesson learned. Before you ever submit, click submit, or send out your work, there is a checklist that you as a writer need to be aware of that will make the wait less tense filled and maybe a more pleasant outcome will result by doing the list!

1. Always check the guidelines. If it calls for 1200 words, don’t ever think that your writing is so special that the editors will overlook that one word extra that you added. In poetry markets they usually ask for 20-26 lines, don’t give them 30. It will get tossed in the trash. Also check the requirements for font and spacing. No editor wants fancy font! Remember that.

2. Always check for grammatical errors. This is important for submitting to magazines or workshops that you might be in. Putting your best work forward shows the reader that you have taken the time to know what it is that you are submitting. Editors are not going to fix your punctuation errors, nor is any writing group. Learn the concept.

3. Always check the correct spelling. If you are in Canada, then editors want the correct spelling, ie: labor/labour. But in America, they want the American spelling or else they will ask for the proper English spelling.

4. Don’t assume. Don’t assume that your work will be critiqued by a magazine editor. If she/he drops you a note saying fix this or that, then good for you! But they will NOT correct grammar, spelling issues for you, this should have been done before hitting the submit button!

5. ALWAYS and I mean always after writing, revising and preparing to submit, let it STAND for a day or two and come back with an eagle eye and read it. Read it OUT LOUD so you get the right sound to a sentence.

These are simple five tips that will aid you in the rechecking of your work before submitting. Don’t let the editors have to work for what they are reading. Give them something clean and professional and chances are you’ll get that acceptance letter sooner than expected.

Write Right Folks!

p.s. Thanks Raven :-)

Bad Manners in Writing

Are you a writer? Then act like one!

Here is a general list of bad manners in writing:
The number one thing that is a big turn off in writing is SPELLING ERRORS!
Spelling errors are not acceptable in the writing world. Maybe in an amateurish setting spelling errors are okay, but when you need to be perceived as a professional, you need to spell right. And no the chat room acronyms are not acceptable in the professional writing world. Not all readers are familiar with the lingo so please don’t assume that your peers or editors are either.

TWO: Over wording your sentences with long descriptive images and explanations.
ex: The tall, lengthy brown, uneven tree stood in the bellowing soft dappling sun rays.

Some claim the use of cumulative sentence structure, I call it laziness in bringing home a point that you intended. If you don’t know how to structure a cumulative sentence correctly, by all means, LEARN before using them. Big words, too much imagery is a big turn-off!

THREE: The passive use of structuring your sentences. Something as simple as WAS can be switched to IS, making your writing much tighter that the reader is in the moment. Pass up the passive, I say!

FOUR: Punctuation! If you’re not sure about it, then look at a grammatical site that will give you the right answer. Showing sloppy work is for the lazy. When you are a new writer, you want to show your BEST. So learn the correct punctuation. And this goes for the over use of ellipses too.
The punctuation should be INSIDE the double quotation marks. The single quotation mark is not proper (in our English grammar.) Learn grammar!

FIVE: The over-use of exclamation marks! I have the tendency to drag my exclamation marks out to bring home a point, but never in my story would I use more than one. If the reader doesn’t get that you mean to amplify your point, don’t add five more and think they’ll get the point then. The same thing for question marks, no editor wants to see five question marks glaring at their face. One will suffice.

SIX: The use of colons and semi colons should be used in their proper place. Remember use a colon when logging articles of facts. The semi colon is to add an additional thought to a sentence. It’s not that difficult to remember.

SEVEN: I have come to like parentheses. I use them to set my thoughts separate from the sentence. But in writing a story, the off setting of words in parentheses is merely a distraction. Try your best NOT to use them.
ex. She wandered down the lonely street (I would have never gone down that road) and found herself lost.

EIGHT: Modifiers are another turn-off. No I’m not saying not to use them, I’m saying use them properly. Modifiers are essential in making the reader live with you in the moment. When over-used you run the risk of losing your reader and having them toss the book aside. Learn when they are to be used.

NINE: I’m against the over-use of the word AND. I see alot of new writer’s building a paragraph with over twenty ANDS, connecting sentences. I say finish the doggone sentence, conclude it so the reader or editor isn’t dragged through the mire of cleaning up all of those AND’s, BUT’s and OR’s

TEN: SPELLING SPELLING SPELLING! Did I say this one already? Well it needs to be said again. There is no excuse for your lack of spelling skills if you’re going to be a writer. I don’t mean a typo here and there, I mean the inability to check for the correct spelling of there and their, want or went, hair and hare.

Proofread your work! Make it sparkle and shine like the noon day sun. Then and only then can you consider yourself...a serious writer.

Put some punch in your Punctuation

Punctuation
Would you believe that writer’s, although they can write, are lousy at punctuation? I mean no harm here but they seem to try too hard by placing commas in places where periods go, or semi-colons where commas should go and all it would take is a little extra effort on their part to do some homework. (yes, this late in life, and *I’m* not exempt))

The wrong punctuation can throw an entire piece of writing off balance. Let’s take a look.

incorrect: I need your love to be everything for me will, you be my knight, in shining armor today would be a good day for you to show your face.

correct: I need your love to be everything for me. Will you be my knight in shining armor? Today would be a good day for you to show your face.

Some writers miss the mark all the way around. I don’t know if they think that it reads better, punctuation isn’t necessary, or that someone else will fix it for them. Well let me tell you folks, punctuation IS necessary if you ever plan on becoming a published author. Sure there are times that typo’s happen, hey, it happens. But when you are deliberately too lazy to look at your work, spelling and punctuation, then maybe you need to think yourself a hobbyist writer and not one serious about a craft.

I know a lot of people depend on their MS Word for a spell check but it being a program and not human, the robotic nature will not pick up the differences in there and their. It will not discern by from buy or want from went. It will give you a red squiggly line for incorrect spellings and your eyes may be drawn to THAT. In the process you may miss an error and let it slip through your eyes. MS Word will not find punctuation errors either. YOU need to do the work to make it comprehensible and legible to the reader.

Why is it that you want to become a writer? Because you have a quaint story to tell? In my opinion, who doesn’t have a story to tell? Everyone basically, but can they find the time to learn the skills that it will take to get their story from a mere thought to the glowing blank paper/screen?

The best thing to do as a writer is to get in the habit of proofreading your work BEFORE you click that little word, SEND. Know the rules, know the proper etiquette and by all means STUDY what you don’t know.

Punctuation Promises

Have you ever left out a comma in the wrong place,

Ever use and exclamation mark wrong!

Punctuation promises to bring our writing to a new level when used properly. So often I see people trying to use colons where semi-colons should be; quotation marks when no one is speaking, and periods where comma’s should be and vice-versa.

I try and tell them (the writer) to bring your cleanest work to the table and don’t hand me a piece where I need to line critique your work to bits. I am no grammar queen by any means, but I do try and bring my full knowledge into anything I’m going to post and have others look at for me.

Granted even the best of us make mistakes and sometimes it takes someone else's eyes to see something that we missed. I’m not talking about minor faux pas, I’m talking, “Where did you go to school at?” kind of work.

Grammar is easy for some of us, harder on others as many people live in different countries and English is their second or third language. I have to say this though, if you’re going to write for American magazines then you will need to hone the craft of the English grammar and punctuation.

Why let someone else do your work for you?

I think I’ll save all my line-by-line critiques for when I become an editor (read between the words here; when I start getting PAID to line crit.). But on the plus side, it has definitely been a learning experience. I have Writer’s Village University to thank for that.

Why am I telling all of you, my readers, this? Because I want you to tighten up your work! I want you to bring your best work forward. Do your homework on honing a skill, a craft, an art.

A semicolon is to join related independent clauses in a compound sentence.

Mary and Jody were on the team together; Jody was the better of the two players.

A colon may be used for many different things. Mainly listing items is a clue that you need a colon instead of a semicolon.

Mary and Jody were undecided which team to join: The Mavericks, The Beatles or the Birds.

Use question marks when ASKING a question. Exclamation marks when you want to add emphasis to a statement! A period when a statement ends.

I could go on and on with a grammar class here but for now, I’ll let you do your own homework and make use of the links to the left on grammar. They are there to help and assist you in becoming more educated in the field of writing.

So what are you waiting for?

Grammar Slammer

Grammar and Punctuation is the ROOT of your writing!

As much as I hate punctuation, it is an important part of the writing process. In workshops, people tend to become lazy in checking for grammatical errors or spelling errors, thinking that the reader knows that they are either typos or just minimal errors.

When you become so comfortable in one environment, you tend to overlook things. It isn’t consciously done, usually it is unconsciously done because you’re all snug and comfy with your writing friends.

I’m not saying I don’t make typos, everyone makes typos. But when you want people to take you seriously as a writer, the first thing you need to do is put your best word forward, check and re-check and give them a story on a silver platter.

I’m making errors in punctuation all of the time. So what can I do to remedy it? I am studying grammar like a child who first learns how to walk. The child is eager as he crawls over to the table, then he grabs the table and pulls himself up.

This is what writers need to do, they need to make mistakes in the crawling stages so they can learn to walk and become writers of a strong caliber. The crawling stages were in school! In GRADE school. In high school you mastered grammar and punctuation and walked through the graduation ceremony with your head held high knowing that you did your best in achieving your goal.

Sometimes as years pass and we lose sight of our grammar and punctuation skills we need a refresher course. This is not an embarrassing situation because the time lapse between high school and when you’ve decided to become a serious writer (maybe)has laid you up for a few years in between.

When joining a writer’s workshop, this would be the perfect time for your refresher course. You want to present to the world your work, bring it to the reading public like a professional and display it in the best light possible.

I see so many people ignoring rules and guidelines because this is "just a workshop" and it isn’t a "serious submission." I like to say, "WHAT?" This is your peer’s and they are the ones who are going to point out every wrong you’ve made in your story.

Even well published author’s need editors to "fix" their work, but they have followed all of the guidelines, sent in the EXACT word count, followed the directions to the tee, and this is why editor’s are accepting what they’ve sent. They’re willing to work with the writer, but they are NOT willing to rewrite, check for hundreds of spelling errors, and punctuation faux pas.

Usually the editor takes one glance sees the first and second, okay, THIRD error? And well, all your hard work gets tossed in the bin! The best advice I can give is to check your work before clicking that "post" or "submit" button.

Isn’t your work worth more than a trash bin? Shouldn’t you try your best for your peers BEFORE sending it off to an editor?

Rule of thumb: Check, re-check, (DO NOT DEPEND ON MS TO SPELL CHECK FOR YOU) remember WORD COUNT as a habit! And most importantly: DO YOUR HOMEWORK!

G,P,S

Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling

In a recent blog tour I had the pleasure of asking the author of The President’s Parasite, Jim Musgrave if there were any "secrets" that the newcomer to writing should know. "Learn your basics first, meaning grammar, punctuation and spelling." he offered.

And the second best kept secret, which I’m sure isn’t a secret to my fellow writing friends because I’ve said this over and over again, get a good manual of "technique". His suggestion? Telling Lies for Fun and Profit by Lawrence Block. Great advice!

I’ve given you blogs on Style, Theme, Ego, Inspiration, and even a blog titled Writer’s block. Today’s blog, I’d like to offer up to you the importance of Grammar, Punctuation and Spelling.

Many of us have learned our grammar techniques in grade school and more than likely we’ve become rusty over the years. Do you really remember was a present participle is? Did you ever think that later in life you would NEED to know?
The definition of the word grammar is interesting:
1.
a. The study of how words and their component parts combine to form sentences.
The study of structural relationships in language or in a language, sometimes including pronunciation, meaning, and linguistic history.
2.
The system of inflections, syntax, and word formation of a language.
The system of rules implicit in a language, viewed as a mechanism for generating all sentences possible in that language.
3.
a. A normative or prescriptive set of rules setting forth the current standard of usage for pedagogical or reference purposes.
b. Writing or speech judged with regard to such a set of rules.

This ties in the punctuation and spelling because we can not have one without the other. Notice how simple letters form words, we write our words and they are going to form sentences (hopefully logical ones.) We’ll need to add the proper punctuation and to finish it off we need to proofread what we’ve written to see if we have any typographical errors.

I know a lot of people depend on their MS Word for a spell check but it being a program and not human, the robotic nature will not pick up the differences in there and their. It will not discern by from buy. It will give you a red squiggly line for incorrect spellings and your eyes may be drawn to THAT. In the process you may miss an error and let it slip through your eyes. MS Word will not find errors in punctuation for you either. YOU need to do the work to make it comprehensible and legible to your reader.

The best thing to do as a writer is to get in the habit of proofreading your work BEFORE you click that little word, SEND. Know the rules, know the proper etiquette and by all means STUDY what you don’t know.