Punctuation
The people around me have always looked down on punctuation. Like many, they think it’s some “stupid rule” about grammar that they need to memorize for “no reason”. That’s not the case and it doesn’t help to view it like that. As if somebody, long ago, invented the semicolon just to annoy us until the end of time.
Punctuation was invented for a purpose. To clearly mark the different elements of prose as efficiently as possible. With just one symbol in the right spot, your prose becomes much easier to read and parse.
I guess the most important question is to ask yourself: “Is my punctuation invisible?” As soon as a reader notices you have punctuation somewhere, it’s probably out of place or detracting from clarity. This question will also prevent you from overusing uncommon punctuation in an attempt to show off ;)
The true power of some of these punctuation elements will only be revealed in the next chapter on Sentence Structure, when I can give more examples of good and bad usage.
Periods
Periods (.) were invented for one purpose: to mark the end of a sentence.
Don’t use it for anything else.
Any word next to a period (either the end of the previous sentence, or the start of a new one) is emphasized. The period acts as a small period where the reader can think and breathe for a bit, and whatever is around it will have some time to resonate. Therefore, place strong and important words at the beginning or end of sentences.
In order to emphasize, one should place a word at the end.
Many writers are taught to use short sentences to increase the pace of their prose. This is, however, a bad idea. My explanation above shows that the period is a strong pause for the reader. This means that many short sentences contain a lot of pauses, actually destroying the pace of your prose.
To me, a series of short sentences feels like it’s “impatient” or “in haste”, more so than it feels fast or exciting.
He jumped. He nearly missed. The roof was slippery. He slid towards the chimney. A gun was fired. The bullet missed him. A hole appeared in the chimney. He climbed up and dove in.
Question and Exclamation Marks
Exclamation marks (!) should be used sparingly, for it is a lazy way of making a sentence more intense. If possible, show somebody’s emotion or intensity through the prose itself.
Question marks (?) should be used for actual questions. They can also be used to shorten sentences.
“Why would he do that?” (introspection) is shorter than “She thought about why he would do that”
Don’t use multiple after each other. ‘How did you do that????’ doesn’t help clarify that the person in question is very surprised—it just makes the writing look childish.
Comma
The comma (,) is the most natural way to create order in a sentence. It cuts a long sentence into manageable parts without interrupting the flow of the text.
Below are the four general situations in which a comma is used.
- To set off introductory elements. It can be omitted though if this introductory element is short.
- Falling down the tower, he thought about his life.
- To set off parenthetical elements. Those are sub clauses that can be omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.
- The janitor, who never learned how to drive a car, couldn’t find his keys.
- To connect two independent clauses.
- He had never thought about it, and he wasn’t going to do so this time.
- To separate elements in a series or list.
- He dropped the book, fled out of the building, and ran to his house.
Spliced Sentences
Perhaps the most common reason for “muddy prose” is the overuse of the comma. Writers connect two or three sentences, sometimes completely unrelated, with a comma. This leads to really long sentences without a clear point.
“The witch studied her foe, they looked badly prepared, and the sun set.”
These are three different actions just mixed together with a quick comma. Instead, you might try something like this.
“The witch studied her foe as the sun set. They looked badly prepared.”
Remember that the period gives the reader a nice pause, while the comma barely adds a pause. When editing, you’ll often be replacing commas with periods and splitting sentences into two. These are often called spliced sentences and discussed further in the next chapter about Sentence Structure.
Comma before And?
Another common question is whether to add a comma before “and”. My first stories did this all the time, which resulted in feedback that it was a bit jarring.
Why did I do it? Because the “rule” is “it depends”, which beginning writers usually can’t deal with.
- In short sentences, you can usually leave out the comma. (Though it’s technically allowed to keep it.)
- In longer sentences, you will often need the comma to ensure clarity. (The better choice is often to rewrite.)
“She grabbed her bag, and ran out the door.”
Sentences like these would slip into my first draft all the time. But that comma adds an extra pause to the sentence that does nothing but slow down the reader. Remember we don’t want interpunction that draws attention to itself!
It can simply be: “She grabbed her bag and ran out the door.”
He thought about roses and violets and a song started to play.
In this case, the double “and” adds confusion. At first read, you’d assume he was thinking about three things: roses, violets, and a song. Only once you finish the sentence do you realize that the song is part of a new sentence.
A comma can fix this: “He thought about roses and violets, and a song started to play.”
But in this case, I’d rewrite to lose the double “and”: “He thought about roses and violets. A song started to play.”
Quotation Marks
Reserve these (") for Dialogue or actual quotes.
Not much else to say about them.
- Make sure you use opening quotes at the start and closing quotes at the end.
- Make sure they match: don’t start dialogue with a single quote (
') and end with a double quote (").
Colon
A colon (:) announces a word, phrase or clause to come.
It is explanatory. The first part of the sentence introduces something. The second part (after the colon) expands on it further.
The wise man told me three things: to eat well, exercise and be happy.
It introduces “three things”, and after the colon it explains that.
Nobody dared enter the forest alone: a magic spider would kill you before you could blink.
It introduces the notion that nobody dares enter the forest. Why? It explains after the colon.
Few people know the truth about magic. Even fewer can wield it.
These two sentences can’t be connected with a colon. The second sentence doesn’t explain some notion from the first one.
Colons are uncommon in longer sentences.
Firstly, because you can’t put anything after the explanation. (Adding another colon or short sentence would be very confusing.)
Secondly, because then you’d just replace the colon with a period. Prose has the implicit contract with the reader that anything that’s unclear now will be explained later. Anything you introduce now will get more explanation later. As such, the colon is often not necessary. Just start a new sentence with the explanation.
Semicolon
The semicolon is compromise between the comma and the colon.
Its advantage? It can be used multiple times in a sentence (if you really want) and interrupts the text flow less.
Its disadvantage? It can only create a specific connection: two independent clauses. This means the clauses are related, but could be a sentence on their own.
As such, the semicolon can always be replaced by a period. Sometimes, it can be replaced by a comma or colon, if the conditions are right.
Why use it then? For variation and style points. To bring two sentences closer together than a period allows, or to prevent the repetitive structure of a sequence of really short sentences.
The world isn’t ending. It already did. => The world isn’t ending; it already did.
He never learned the true meaning of love. She never forgot the true meaning of friendship. => He never learned the true meaning of love; she never forgot the true meaning of friendship.
The car wasn’t built for dirt roads. The sky was blue like her eyes.
These sentences aren’t related, so no semicolon allowed.
The witch was angry, so angry.
The second sentence can’t stand on its own, so no semicolon allowed.
Parentheses, Brackets & Braces
These three symbols ((), [], and {}) are mostly for programming and science. In general, they shouldn’t appear in prose.
Reading this course, you might notice that I sometimes use parentheses. It’s my style and I think it can be valuable in non-fiction. In my fiction, though? Not a single one.
Parentheses communicate that something is of lesser importance or optional. It’s usually used for a small comment or remark.
He was a (quite unsuccessful) lawyer.
She was handsome. (And he tried to be.)
Even so, you must ask yourself the simple question: “If this detail is not important or optional … then why add it at all?”
If you find yourself placing things between parentheses, you can probably just cut those details entirely when you do the revision. If the text does have some value, just put it there without parentheses!
I’ve rarely read a book that employs them, and if they do, it stands out as odd and takes me out of the book.
Why? Because parentheses are a vertical line, while language flows horizontally. It’s a huge interruption. The reader bumps into a wall and has to change their mind-set to: “Oh, this belongs to the sentence, but isn’t really important.”
Dashes & Hyphens
These look similar, but are surely different.
Hyphens (-) are used for compound words, such as “mind-set” or “well-written”. In a book with justified text, they’re also used to signal a word is broken off and will continue on the next line.
Dashes (---) are longer and serve a purpose. They are similar to a comma, but with a more punchy or aggressive impact. You can use them to add sub clauses, comments or elaborations to another sentence.
He decided not to do it—he was after all only a child.
The man looked heartbroken—to me, anyways—and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.
I heavily prefer sticking the words directly against the dash. Some people leave a space around it, which is fine, but takes up more room while being harder to read.
Ampersands
An ampersand (&) should never be used in regular prose. Reserve it for titles, headlines or names. (See the headings of this article.) The symbol was specifically designed for that purpose. It makes titles shorter and makes them stand out as such.
He bought the book from Barnes & Nobles.
Ellipsis
Many beginning writers will connect parts of the story using multiple dots. I’ve lost count of how many internet comments I’ve read in which somebody connects all paragraphs with “…”
This is simply wrong and unreadable.
Multiple dots can be used to signal somebody wandering off, leaving a thought unfinished, pausing or slowing down. If so, however, prefer converting it into an “ellipsis” (...). That’s one specific symbol that looks like three dots. (Although this is more of a typography issue.)
“I … I don’t … I never meant to hurt anyone,” she whispered.
Want to support me?
Buy one of my projects. You get something nice, I get something nice.
Donate through a popular platform using the link below.
Simply giving feedback or spreading the word is also worth a lot.