So you might be wondering….have I taken up a new cause? Maybe I’ve decided to champion petite people everywhere? (Hey, I am one!) Or then again, “the little guy” is often used to refer to plain, ordinary people. You know, the ones who tend to get stepped on by the big shots of the world. We could certainly use defending against them, right?
But no, in this case I am bravely standing tall and taking a firm stance in defense of…
One of the tiniest entities in all of literature: the comma.
Yes, that’s right. The maligned, ignored, misused comma. It’s a simple bit of punctuation that, when placed just right, properly separates phrases and imbues our language with much of its nuances. And yet, for decades now writers have been warned off the comma with such claims as “they slow the reader down!” Really? When was the last time a comma hooked itself to your eyes and refused to let them move across the page?
But the real problem seems to be that a lot of writers have forgotten the proper use of the comma – or maybe they never learned. Besides being a writer, I’m also an editor, and in addition to that right now I”m judging contest entries. And I’m constantly seeing things like, <“Hi Mary.” He said.> Or <“Hi Mary,” he smiled and waved.> or <Mary, smiled and waved to her friends.> or <Smiling Mary waved to her friends.> In that last one, Smiling Mary would be her name, right? I could go on and on, but the point is that the placement of a comma affects the meaning of the sentence. It’s not random, and it’s not up to the whim of the writer.
Do I sound like I’m pet-peeving? Darn right I am. Or should that be: darn right, I am? But I spend more time moving commas around from wrong places to where they’re actually needed than I do focusing on story content. There are a lot of great writers on the horizon when it comes to theme, emotion, character interaction, etc., but if I had to make an estimate, I’d say a good 90% of new writers have little or no clue about punctuation.
C’mon, people, get a clue! (not: C’mon people get a clue).
Oh, and P.S., the comma, semi-colon, and colon are not interchangeable!
It is highly frustrating when you’re reading a work riddled with grammatical errors. Manuscripts must be proofed before being sent out, to contests or to editors. And yet why do some aspiring authors feel this doesn’t apply to them? Fortunately, I’ve never had a problem with commas. I get more stumped on when to hyphenate or not.
The sense I get is that 1) a lot of writers feel punctuation is optional, and 2) commas should be avoided at all costs, the fewer the better. While I understand not wanting to load down narrative with unnecessary commas, some ARE necessary!
Hear, hear! The misuse of punctuation drives me nuts. I have noticed this happening in a lot of eBooks I’ve read lately. I must say, however, that spelling errors are my biggest pet peeve. I saw a Facebook comment today that said, “I went threw it with . . . ” Really? The use of Facebook and email makes it easier to communicate, but sometimes I despair of the effect it seems to have on our use of language.
I’ll confess I am a terrible speller. 🙂 But I agree that Facebook and texting is speeding up the demise of English as we know it!
I’ll admit that I’m not the greatest when it comes to using commas. Fortunately, I’ve got a friend who proofs my books who is. She was an English major in college and has been a great help.
However, the one place that gets us both is the comma before ‘and’. When to use it or not.
Lindsay, the comma before and (as in listing three or more things – apples, oranges, and bananas) does cause some confusion. I remember years ago hearing that it was accepted usage in that case not to have the comma, so I stopped using it. But I’m seeing it again now and got back into the habit when I’d get copy edits back with commas inserted. The publisher I edit for also wants that comma. They say without it, “oranges and bananas” become one item.
The Oxford comma! I had no idea that comma before the ‘and’ had a name until the hullabaloo over it this summer. Love this blog post: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/06/30/137525211/going-going-and-gone-no-the-oxford-comma-is-safe-for-now.
Thank you, Marin! Awesome post! I had no idea either, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. The name certainly lends that tiny punctuation mark an air of authority not to be argued with.