Commas! There. I said it. I’m a comma addict. I love them. They’re beautiful little things that add pause and sense and order to sentences—if you know how to use them correctly. Apparently, my lack of education is appalling. You’re probably aware of this quote: "I have spent most of the day putting in a… Continue reading Might as well face it, I’m addicted to …
Tag: grammar
How do you punctuate after a terminal ellipsis?
We tackled this question with the em dash in the last post, so this time let’s turn our attention to the terminal ellipsis. Like many writers, I use an ellipsis at the end of a line of dialogue to indicate the character’s voice trails off. Since this leaves the sentence unfinished, it seemed logical to… Continue reading How do you punctuate after a terminal ellipsis?
How do you punctuate after a terminal em dash?
A particular use of punctuation jumped out at me as I read a recently published book. In general, I observe punctuation rules, so I’d like to know if the one used in this book follows an old rule, a new rule, or a house style. I question whether it’s a house style though--unless those change… Continue reading How do you punctuate after a terminal em dash?
Word usage. Is it a regional thing?
In case you’re new here, I’ll explain that I’m doing a final polish of a novel. I’m down to rewording a sentence or two and some other nitpicky stuff. One thing my editor marked in several places was an omission of a word. The pure typos I corrected immediately, but a few other sentences she… Continue reading Word usage. Is it a regional thing?
Sin and Syntax
In my last post, I mentioned that after a few months working on my first novel, I decided I needed to educate myself on writing. I started wondering which books I bought first and now I think it was Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose by Constance Hale. You can see from… Continue reading Sin and Syntax
Linda Cassidy Lewis 