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Home » Writing Craft » Grammar

Grammar

The Power of Punctuation

By Bob Hostetleron February 24, 2022
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In his memoir, Education of a Wandering Man,­ Louis L’Amour repeats a charming story about two great actresses that reveals the power of punctuation:

Sarah Bernhardt . . . finally got a chance to see [Eleanora] Duse on the stage and, overcome with the greatness of the performance, wrote a very quick note to send backstage.  It said: “Sarah Bernhardt says Eleanora Duse is a great actress.” Busy changing costume for the next act, Eleanora Duse had no time to compose a reply, so she picked up a pen and added two commas to the note and returned it.  Now it read: “Sarah Bernhardt, says Eleanora Duse, is a great actress.”

Attention to detail is a habit every writer must acquire, for even the smallest element of our writing (such as punctuation) can drastically change—for better or worse—its clarity and quality. So, I thought I’d share just a few of the most common punctuation mistakes I see in work that writers submit to me as a literary agent:

  • Misplaced commas. Standards have changed over the years, and readers tend to like fewer commas these days. But fewer vs. more is seldom the issue; misplacement is. So, for example, I see many sentences, such as “The biggest things that drive me crazy, are misplaced commas.” That sentence shows that it’s possible to be right and wrong at the same time.
  • Overused exclamation points. I sometimes tell conferees and clients that they get one exclamation point in a book-length manuscript! More than that can be annoying! So, use your one exclamation point wisely!
  • Using emoticons. Unless you’re writing a text or a casual email, just say no to emoticons. 🤪 See how silly that looks?
  • En dashes and em dashes. A hyphen is an “en dash.” An “em dash,” such as I used in the paragraph above, is longer and is most often used to set off a phrase (as I did) or in dialogue to indicate an interruption. En dashes and em dashes are not interchangeable.
  • Wayward question marks. I often see a sentence such as the following:

I asked her, “Where do you think you are going.”

I ask you, where is the question mark? Sure, the writer may have intended the sentence to sound like an exclamation, but if that’s the case, I didn’t ask her, I told her. Get my drift.

  • It’s and its. This comes up again and again; but we’re writers, right? It’s simple to keep these two straight if you always read or hear “it’s” as “it is.” It’s never possessive; its is.

Now, I know there will be one or two smart alecks who point out a punctuation mistake in this post about punctuation. Go ahead, have at it!

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Category: Grammar

Fun Fridays – September 24, 2021

By Steve Laubeon September 24, 2021
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Today is National Punctuation Day! In celebration, take out a comma.

Or at least visit the official site: www.nationalpunctuationday.com.

Recently I walked into a church classroom to find a list of the 10 Commandments on the board. The first line read "No other God's."
Sigh.

If you want to read a fun book on grammar and punctuation I can recommend Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl's Quick …

Read moreFun Fridays – September 24, 2021
Category: Grammar, Language, SteveTag: Grammar, Language, punctuation

When Editorial Errors Matter

By Steve Laubeon September 20, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Writers make mistakes. It happens. Often an editor’s job is to be the safety net and catch those tidbits that find their way into an early draft of a manuscript for any number of reasons.

The simplicity of “cut & paste” has created more opportunity for error than ever before. I've seen half sentences left in their original place because the writer failed to cut and …

Read moreWhen Editorial Errors Matter
Category: Book Business, Craft, E-Books, Editing, Grammar, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Errors, Writing Craft

To Comma or Not to Comma?

By Steve Laubeon June 28, 2021
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by Steve Laube

I came across this entry in the Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynn Truss. The book is a classic on punctuation (although based on British English usage it is still a great book). Read the story below and then answer the questions in the comment section.
On his deathbed in April 1991, Graham Green corrected and signed a typed document which restricts access to his papers at …

Read moreTo Comma or Not to Comma?
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Grammar, Language, SteveTag: commas, Grammar, Language, punctuation

Ancient Wisdom from an Ancient Editor

By Steve Laubeon May 17, 2021
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by Steve Laube

I came across a remarkable section in a book written around 124 B.C. The editor of the book wrote the following preface to help the reader understand his methodology and purpose. It shows the concern a good editor has for the ultimate reader. His job was to abridge a massive five volume work into an abbreviated 16,00 word document. Can anyone tell me where this comes from and …

Read moreAncient Wisdom from an Ancient Editor
Category: Book Business, Craft, Editing, Grammar, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Wisdom, Writing Craft

A Cliché Simile Is a Bad Simile

By Bob Hostetleron February 24, 2021
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One of the many things I fairly harp on when I teach at writers conferences (full disclosure: I’m a fair harper) is the need to eliminate clichés from your writing. Seriously, they’re old hat.  One of the places clichés seem to creep in most often is in similes and metaphors. (Quick refresher: a simile is a figure of speech comparing two things, usually using “like” or “as,” while a metaphor is a …

Read moreA Cliché Simile Is a Bad Simile
Category: Craft, Creativity, Grammar

Oxymorons

By Steve Laubeon July 22, 2019
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Oxymorons can be fun. Two words that can have contradictory meaning are put together to create a new phrase. Or it can be expanded to mean two separate thoughts or ideas that are in direct conflict with each other but when combined create something new.

For example, if you've ever worked in a cubicle you can see the humor in the description "office space."

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Category: Creativity, Grammar, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, Grammar, Oxymorons, Writing Craft

Every Word Counts

By Steve Laubeon May 13, 2019
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The popularity of last week's post on the phrase counter set me on a journey to find something that would do the same sort of "counting" but instead focus on single word usage instead of phrases.

Use this link to the Word Counter web site and run your WIP (work in progress) within its walls.

Read moreEvery Word Counts
Category: Editing, Grammar, Writing CraftTag: Editing, words

Learning to Use Track Changes

By Bob Hostetleron January 23, 2019
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All of us have gaps in our knowledge. For example, there are a ton of words that I know how to spell and use accurately in writing (because I’ve read them often) but am unsure of the pronunciation. (I know, I know, I could look up the pronunciation, but how often am I going to use the word chimera in conversation, really?) One fairly common knowledge gap among writers, I’ve often been surprised to …

Read moreLearning to Use Track Changes
Category: Grammar, Technology, The Writing Life

A Writer’s Best Friend

By Bob Hostetleron January 31, 2018
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If I asked you what you considered to be a writer’s best friend, what would you say? Please don’t say “Wikipedia.” My clients would probably reply, “Bob Hostetler.” But that can’t be everyone’s answer. You might consider “a fine fountain pen” or “a blank page in a brand new journal” to be your best friend as a writer. Maybe the thesaurus is your best friend (ally, associate, buddy, companion, …

Read moreA Writer’s Best Friend
Category: Craft, Grammar, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Grammar, Writing Craft
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