Using Commas Correctly
In my writing, I have noticed that I constantly overuse commas. I tend to write as I would speak, interjecting pauses as I do in speech. However, this doesn’t always work in writing. There are specific rules for using commas, and if you’re in doubt whether to use a comma, consider the following.
Are the clauses you plan to join together both independent? Then use a comma and add a conjunction between the two clauses.
Example:
Some of my friends are going to Europe this summer, but I am planning a trip to Mexico. I am not only planning a trip to Mexico, but I am also planning a trip to Egypt.
When the first clause of a sentence is dependent, you also need a comma.
Example:
Because I could not stop for death, he kindly stopped for me.
Are you creating a list of objects in your sentence? If so, use commas after every object. However, there is some discretion as to whether a comma should come before the last item in a list. It is best to ask your instructor what his or her preference is on this matter.
Example:
The manager met with her office staff, departmental heads, and technical advisers.
Commas are also necessary when writing a date or a location in a sentence, and must ALWAYS go after the year when writing a date, and the state when writing a geographic location.
Example:
Sherry Smith was born January 16, 1983, in Memphis, Tennessee 38118, and achieved national prominence on her 20th birthday.
She will hold a meeting at Collin County Community College on May 15, 2004, in Room G238 to discuss the role of technology in elementary schools.
Clarification of a subject is needed in sentences sometimes. When the information you give is helpful but not necessary, surround it with commas. If the information is crucial, do not use commas.
Example:
Collin Creek Mall, which was built in 1980, has enjoyed nearly two decades of prosperous growth. (Unnecessary)
The suburban mall that has enjoyed the most prosperous growth in Texas is Collin Creek. (Necessary)
Overall, the best way to determine whether you need a comma (when not listing items in a sentence) is to see if the information you are about to put in commas is necessary to the sentence. Can you take that part of the sentence out with it still making sense? If so, that removable clause belongs in commas. Switch the clauses or questionable parts of the sentence around. Does it still make sense? If so, once again use commas. The trick is to become familiar with the rules so that using them becomes a subconscious process. Once you learn the rules, you then have the option of breaking them, as many prominent authors tend to do. However, that is a whole different subject to tackle another time. Good luck!
Work Cited
A Brief, No-Nonsense Guide to Comma Usage. 21 March 2007. Collin County
Community College. 26 March 2007. http://iws.ccccd.edu/jmiller/A%20Brief_%20No-Nonsense%20Guide%20to%20Comma%20Usage.htm/
Monday, March 26, 2007
Friday, March 9, 2007
"How-To" Buddy Edit
Suggestions:
[1] Just added a comma…
[2] Maybe break this up too for more clarity.
[3] Replace with progress?
[4] Loses
[5] Remove this.
[6] Things
[7] Maybe add an “an” here.
[8] Add.
[9] Points
Overall, awesome paper. Each piece of advice you present are all things I think readers could honestly take to heart.
HOW TO WRITE FICTION
When I first began my fiction writing mentorship with Laura Carlson, she told me, “Learn all the rules, so that you can break them.” This was, and still is, extremely important advice, because writing fiction is an intimate process, and authors should therefore be allowed the freedom to explore their stories without the over-opposition of rules. However, when a good author breaks a rule or standard they do so consciously and with decided effect, not simply because they are unaware or don’t care. Keeping this in mind, [1] the following hints on how to write good fiction should be taken as guidelines that factor heavily into the writing process, but with understanding, guidelines that can be broken. [2]
1. One of the most famous and often over-drilled rules of writing fiction, is “Show, don’t tell!” While I was still in mentorship, this phrase was so often written across my work so as to appear in my dreams. Despite my rebelliousness against the “show don’t tell” rule however, any author, including myself, must understand the virtues it embodies.
Fiction readers want to be entertained. It is much more interesting to show them how your character is considered the runt of the football team, rather than to tell them in an expository tone. Writers who have done a lot of background research and planning for their stories need to be especially careful of this, as they tend to enter into long speeches about all the background information that the reader does not necessarily need to know, and certainly does not want to hear in authorial voice.
2. Write to a purpose. “Everything that happens in your story should result in something else happening.” It is very important to decide what you want to show or accomplish with a story, chapter, paragraph, or even sentence. As in all genres, everything should be progressing [3] the reader’s mind towards your goals, and the fulfillment of the plot.
3. “An engaging story…usually balances characters or situations that are familiar to the reader with enough new information to pique curiosity…” Reader’s need to be able to relate on some level to the characters and the situations they face. It is important to expose the humanity of your main characters for this reason, if they are extraordinary in other ways. However, if a fictional piece is just a boring ordinary day not serving to further character development, the reader losses [4] interest. Keep in mind, [5] that many readers read as some form of escape or relaxation. They want to read and learn about things that have striking resemblances to their life and yet thing [6] that they have not and probably will never experience first hand.
4. “Become intimately acquainted with your characters.” Many serious authors practice this point to such [7] extreme as to appear almost crazy. Authors invest so much into their main characters that they feel they really do know the person as one might know his best friend. This, [8] of course, makes for very believable and interesting characters, and dramatically enhances the story. Be careful that your main character does not just become the eyes through which the reader is seeing the action. They want to know who he/she is, and why they are in these situations.
These are some of the major point [9] addressed by most writing instructors and coaches, and certainly do not guarantee great fiction, but can serve to spark some thought about your own piece. Remember that rules can and should be broken, but in order to do so skillfully, you must know the rules original purpose.
-Will McMullen
[1] Just added a comma…
[2] Maybe break this up too for more clarity.
[3] Replace with progress?
[4] Loses
[5] Remove this.
[6] Things
[7] Maybe add an “an” here.
[8] Add.
[9] Points
Overall, awesome paper. Each piece of advice you present are all things I think readers could honestly take to heart.
HOW TO WRITE FICTION
When I first began my fiction writing mentorship with Laura Carlson, she told me, “Learn all the rules, so that you can break them.” This was, and still is, extremely important advice, because writing fiction is an intimate process, and authors should therefore be allowed the freedom to explore their stories without the over-opposition of rules. However, when a good author breaks a rule or standard they do so consciously and with decided effect, not simply because they are unaware or don’t care. Keeping this in mind, [1] the following hints on how to write good fiction should be taken as guidelines that factor heavily into the writing process, but with understanding, guidelines that can be broken. [2]
1. One of the most famous and often over-drilled rules of writing fiction, is “Show, don’t tell!” While I was still in mentorship, this phrase was so often written across my work so as to appear in my dreams. Despite my rebelliousness against the “show don’t tell” rule however, any author, including myself, must understand the virtues it embodies.
Fiction readers want to be entertained. It is much more interesting to show them how your character is considered the runt of the football team, rather than to tell them in an expository tone. Writers who have done a lot of background research and planning for their stories need to be especially careful of this, as they tend to enter into long speeches about all the background information that the reader does not necessarily need to know, and certainly does not want to hear in authorial voice.
2. Write to a purpose. “Everything that happens in your story should result in something else happening.” It is very important to decide what you want to show or accomplish with a story, chapter, paragraph, or even sentence. As in all genres, everything should be progressing [3] the reader’s mind towards your goals, and the fulfillment of the plot.
3. “An engaging story…usually balances characters or situations that are familiar to the reader with enough new information to pique curiosity…” Reader’s need to be able to relate on some level to the characters and the situations they face. It is important to expose the humanity of your main characters for this reason, if they are extraordinary in other ways. However, if a fictional piece is just a boring ordinary day not serving to further character development, the reader losses [4] interest. Keep in mind, [5] that many readers read as some form of escape or relaxation. They want to read and learn about things that have striking resemblances to their life and yet thing [6] that they have not and probably will never experience first hand.
4. “Become intimately acquainted with your characters.” Many serious authors practice this point to such [7] extreme as to appear almost crazy. Authors invest so much into their main characters that they feel they really do know the person as one might know his best friend. This, [8] of course, makes for very believable and interesting characters, and dramatically enhances the story. Be careful that your main character does not just become the eyes through which the reader is seeing the action. They want to know who he/she is, and why they are in these situations.
These are some of the major point [9] addressed by most writing instructors and coaches, and certainly do not guarantee great fiction, but can serve to spark some thought about your own piece. Remember that rules can and should be broken, but in order to do so skillfully, you must know the rules original purpose.
-Will McMullen
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