How To Make the Most of Punctuation

HOW TO USE PUNCTUATION

I love the saying, “There are five rules for writing fiction. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.” As aspiring writers, we all want to know the do’s and don’ts that the pros follow. Because if we don’t, if we send a poorly written manuscript to an agent or publisher, we might as well save the postage and send it straight to the shredder.

But if you’re like me, you HATE rules. You think rules are made to be broken. I don’t know about you, but many of the rules for grammar and punctuation seem arbitrary and make no sense whatsoever. I’m not recommending you go out and break every rule in the book just to prove you’re a nonconformist and nobody can tell you what to do. Most writers these days follow “the rules”, although there are some who don’t and manage to get away with it. But PUNCTUATION is one area where following the rules is the best policy.

While most people view punctuation as a necessary evil, you’d be better off framing it as an opportunity. PUNCTUATION IS AN OPPORTUNITY to to convey with the written word, the musicality of your own or your character’s voice. Writing with RHYTHM and style means varying the length of your sentences, as well as inserting pauses WITHIN your sentences. We do this with punctuation. So as strange as the notion sounds, with proper use, punctuation can impart personality and style.

IMPORTANT NOTE!!! NEVER FORGET!!! ALL PUNCTUATION IS NOT MANDATORY, but rather a function of style that allows you – the writer – to manage and control the rhythm of and flow of your writing. The musical feathers of your voice, the pauses, the inflection and emphasis on certain words can be lost to the reader if you don’t capture them through precise and proper punctuation.

We humans employ a wide range of non-verbal cues to signal meaning. Our facial expressions, changes in volume and pitch of our voice, hand gestures, all carry as much – if not more – meaning than the words themselves. So in order to preserve some of these cues in the written word, we have to resort to punctuation marks.

QUESTION MARKS AND EXCLAMATION POINTS – both denote the intonation you’d use when speaking. Repeat the following sentences out loud to yourself.
You’re leaving now.
You’re leaving now?
You’re leaving now!

You heard the difference.
You heard the difference?
You heard the difference!

If you read those sentences out loud, you should’ve been able to detect a distinct difference in the intonation of each word.

PAUSING FOR EFFECT- COMMAS, COLONS, SEMICOLONS, and DASHES
By separating words and phrases – using commas, colons, semicolons, and dashes – we create that most important
element of RHYTHM: the pause.

USING COLONS – If you read the preceding sentence out loud you’ll see the significance of the colon. The colon invites the reader to look ahead at what’s next, like an arrow pointing the way. The colon provides a pause slightly longer than the semicolon. It denotes anticipation and imparts a slightly punchy feel.
You see what he got: a bloody nose.
I asked for a raise: I got one.

USING SEMICOLONS- Knowing the function of punctuation is one thing; applying it is another. In the preceding sentence, the semicolon not only marks a pause, but it implies a link between the two sentences.
You do the cooking; I’ll do the eating.
Man proposes; God disposes.

You can also use a semicolon in place of a conjunction like for, or and.
Example:
Instead of – I never enjoyed life, for I was always working.
use – I never enjoyed life; I was always working.

Instead of – We had an awesome vacation and every day was a new adventure.
try- We had an awesome vacation; every day was a new adventure.

USING COMMAS- Commas are perhaps the most expressive – and optional – punctuation mark. While certain commas are required, many are, in fact, optional. Like the two I just used. Commas allow you, as the conductor of your own symphony, to direct and control the flow and rhythm of your sentences. Commas assist you in capturing the subtle pauses in your own speech, and therefore impart a bit or your own personality into your writing.

DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW- A dash denotes an abrupt interruption in your sentence. Dashes are – if used cautiously – a more striking way to divert the flow of a sentence than the ordinary comma.
Example – Some woods – like mesquite and hickory – are better than others for cooking.

They can be used as well to indicate a parenthetical statement or aside:
This book – and the other two I wrote – will hopefully one day be on the New York Times Bestseller List.

USING EXCLAMATION MARKS – When emphasis and enthusiasm are called for, then an exclamation point is what you need. Just be careful not to overuse them, and wherever possible, find other more creative ways to provide emphasis through your actual choice of words.

USING ELLIPSES – You can use ellipses to indicate something’s been omitted from a quote:
“Four score and seven years ago…”
Or, you can use them to suggest a troubled pause in a sentence:
“It’s just that…well, I was confused.”

USING PERIODS – Periods punctuate your thoughts. When you end a sentence with a period, you’ve created a pause for your reader. And that pause creates emphasis. You always want to use a mix of differing lengths of sentences. Shorter sentences create more emphasis.

No matter how good we think we are, or how much we think we know, our writing can always improve. We should always strive to avoid errors which undermine our credibility as writers. Because the minute a reader spots an error, you’ve lost that credibility. Basic competence in punctuation is not only crucial, it’s indispensable. All good writing leans heavily on rhythm, and rhythm in the written word can only be imparted with punctuation. Look at punctuation marks as you would marks on the grand staff in a piece of sheet music. There’s quarter rests, full stops, half rests, and so forth. And just as these symbols in music impart elegance, flourish, and style in a song, so too may punctuation marks – if used correctly – adorn your writing with elegance, flourish, and style.

Happy Writing!!

The best punctuation book, period.

This all-in-one reference is a quick and easy way for book, magazine, online, academic, and business writers to look up sticky punctuation questions for all styles including AP (Associated Press), MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association), and Chicago Manual of Style.