Top

Quotations
Articles and Essays
Audio
Blogs
Discouragement
Interviews
Literary Agents
Literary Journals
Magazines
Nobel Lectures
Organizations
Podcasts
Reference
Rules
Sui Generis
Twitter Feeds
AdviceToWriters Twitter Feed

Twitter Updates

    follow me on Twitter
    Loading..
    Loading..
    Video
    Books
    • Adventures in the Screen Trade
      Adventures in the Screen Trade
      by William Goldman
    • Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights
      Advice to Writers: A Compendium of Quotes, Anecdotes, and Writerly Wisdom from a Dazzling Array of Literary Lights
      by Jon Winokur
    • A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Seventh Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
      A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, Seventh Edition: Chicago Style for Students and Researchers (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
      by Kate L. Turabian
    • A Room of One's Own (Annotated)
      A Room of One's Own (Annotated)
      by Virginia Woolf
    • The Art of Fiction: Illustrated from Classic and Modern Texts
      The Art of Fiction: Illustrated from Classic and Modern Texts
      by David Lodge
    • The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
      The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers
      by John Gardner
    • The Art of the Novel (Perennial Classics)
      The Art of the Novel (Perennial Classics)
      by Milan Kundera
    • The Associated Press Stylebook 2009 (Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law)
      The Associated Press Stylebook 2009 (Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law)
      Basic Books
    • Aspects of the Novel
      Aspects of the Novel
      by E.M. Forster
    • BECOMING A WRITER
      BECOMING A WRITER
      by Dorothea Brande
    • Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
      Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life
      by Anne Lamott
    • Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas
      Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas
      Three Rivers Press
    • Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable: 2nd Edition
      Brewer's Dictionary of Modern Phrase & Fable: 2nd Edition
      by John Ayto, Ian Crofton
    • Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Seventeenth Edition
      Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Seventeenth Edition
      by John Ayto
    • The Careful Writer
      The Careful Writer
      by Theodore M. Bernstein
    • The Chicago Manual of Style
      The Chicago Manual of Style
      University Of Chicago Press
    • The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications
      The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications
      by Amy Einsohn
    • The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear
      The Courage to Write: How Writers Transcend Fear
      by Ralph Keyes
    • The Craft of Fiction
      The Craft of Fiction
      by Percy Lubbock
    • The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
      The Craft of Research, Third Edition (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)
      by Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams
    • Crafty TV Writing: Thinking Inside the Box
      Crafty TV Writing: Thinking Inside the Box
      by Alex Epstein
    • Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do
      Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do
      Grove Press
    • The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
      The Elements of Style, Fourth Edition
      by William Strunk Jr., E. B. White
    • Fiction Writer's Handbook
      Fiction Writer's Handbook
      by Hallie Burnett, Whit Burnett
    • Fiction Writer's Workshop
      Fiction Writer's Workshop
      by Josip Novakovich
    • Flaubert's Parrot
      Flaubert's Parrot
      by Julian Barnes
    • Follow the Story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction
      Follow the Story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction
      by James B. Stewart
    • The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers
      The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers
      by Betsy Lerner
    • For Writers Only
      For Writers Only
      by Sophy Burnham
    • William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays
      William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays
      by William Goldman
    • Fowler's Modern English Usage
      Fowler's Modern English Usage
      by the late R. W. Burchfield
    • The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard
      The Friendly Shakespeare: A Thoroughly Painless Guide to the Best of the Bard
      by Norrie Epstein
    • A Glossary of Literary Terms
      A Glossary of Literary Terms
      by M.H. Abrams, Geoffrey Harpham
    • Guide to Literary Agents [GT LITERARY AGENTS-2009]
      Guide to Literary Agents [GT LITERARY AGENTS-2009]
      by Chuck(Editor) Sambuchino
    • How Fiction Works
      How Fiction Works
      by James Wood
    • How to Get a Literary Agent
      How to Get a Literary Agent
      by Michael Larsen
    • How to Get Happily Published
      How to Get Happily Published
      by Judith Appelbaum
    • How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Genre Writing)
      How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy (Genre Writing)
      by Orson Scott Card
    • How To Write Short Stories: With Samples
      How To Write Short Stories: With Samples
      by Ring Lardner
    • If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
      If You Want to Write: A Book about Art, Independence and Spirit
      by Brenda Ueland
    • Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
      Inventing the Truth: The Art and Craft of Memoir
      by William Zinsser
    • Keep the Aspidistra Flying (Harvest Book)
      Keep the Aspidistra Flying (Harvest Book)
      by George Orwell
    • Lapsing Into a Comma : A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print--and How to Avoid Them
      Lapsing Into a Comma : A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print--and How to Avoid Them
      by Bill Walsh
    • Letters to a Young Poet: Translated and with a Foreword By Stephen Mitchell
      Letters to a Young Poet: Translated and with a Foreword By Stephen Mitchell
      by Ranier Maria Rilke
    • Making a Good Script Great
      Making a Good Script Great
      by Linda Seger
    • Making a Literary Life
      Making a Literary Life
      by Carolyn See
    • Metaphors We Live By
      Metaphors We Live By
      by George Lakoff, Mark Johnson
    • Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Movie Set
      Movie Speak: How to Talk Like You Belong on a Movie Set
      by Tony Bill
    • New Grub Street (Broadview Editions)
      New Grub Street (Broadview Editions)
      by George Gissing
    • Nonconformity
      Nonconformity
      by Nelson Algren
    • On Becoming a Novelist
      On Becoming a Novelist
      by John Gardner
    • One Writer's Beginnings (The William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization)
      One Writer's Beginnings (The William E. Massey Sr. Lectures in the History of American Civilization)
      by Eudora Welty
    • On Writing
      On Writing
      by Stephen King
    • On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
      On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
      by William Zinsser
    • The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions (Oxford Paperback Reference)
      The Oxford Dictionary of Allusions (Oxford Paperback Reference)
      Oxford University Press, USA
    • On Writing Short Stories
      On Writing Short Stories
      Oxford University Press, USA
    • The Paris Review Interviews, I
      The Paris Review Interviews, I
      by The Paris Review
    • Poetic Meter and Poetic Form
      Poetic Meter and Poetic Form
      by Paul Fussell
    • Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.)
      Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them (P.S.)
      by Francine Prose
    • The Rhetoric of Fiction
      The Rhetoric of Fiction
      by Wayne C. Booth
    • Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
      Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Second Edition: How to Edit Yourself Into Print
      by Renni Browne, Dave King
    • Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, 16th Edition: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Self Publishing Manual)
      Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, 16th Edition: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Self Publishing Manual)
      by Dan Poynter
    • Simple & Direct
      Simple & Direct
      by Jacques Barzun
    • Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences
      Sister Bernadette's Barking Dog: The Quirky History and Lost Art of Diagramming Sentences
      by Kitty Burns Florey
    • The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
      The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative
      by Vivian Gornick
    • The Sound on the Page: Great Writers Talk about Style and Voice in Writing
      The Sound on the Page: Great Writers Talk about Style and Voice in Writing
      by Ben Yagoda
    • Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
      Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting
      by Robert Mckee
    • Successful Television Writing
      Successful Television Writing
      by Lee Goldberg, William Rabkin
    • The Summing Up
      The Summing Up
      by W. Somerset Maugham
    • Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories
      Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories
      by Peter Hanson, Paul Robert Herman
    • Talking About Detective Fiction
      Talking About Detective Fiction
      by P.D. James
    • Turning Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing Lifestories
      Turning Memories Into Memoirs: A Handbook for Writing Lifestories
      by Denis Ledoux
    • 13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
      13 Ways of Looking at the Novel
      by Jane Smiley
    • The War Against Cliche: Essays and Reviews 1971-2000
      The War Against Cliche: Essays and Reviews 1971-2000
      by Martin Amis
    • Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
      Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
      by Scott Mccloud
    • The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
      The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles
      by Steven Pressfield
    • What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
      What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers
      by Anne Bernays, Pamela Painter
    • Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews
      Women Writers at Work: The Paris Review Interviews
      Modern Library
    • The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to): Guide to the Legal and Business Practices of Writing for the Entertainment Industry
      The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to): Guide to the Legal and Business Practices of Writing for the Entertainment Industry
      by Brooke A. Wharton
    • The Writer on Her Work, Volume 1
      The Writer on Her Work, Volume 1
      by Janet Sternberg
    • The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition
      The Writers Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers, 3rd Edition
      by Christopher Vogler
    • The Writer's Legal Companion: The Complete Handbook For The Working Writer, Third Edition
      The Writer's Legal Companion: The Complete Handbook For The Working Writer, Third Edition
      by Brad Bunnin, Peter Beren
    • A Writer's Reality
      A Writer's Reality
      by Mario Vargas Llosa
    • A Writer's Time: Making the Time to Write
      A Writer's Time: Making the Time to Write
      by Kenneth Atchity
    • Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past
      Writing About Your Life: A Journey into the Past
      by William Zinsser
    • Writing for Your Life: Discovering the Story of Your Life's Journey
      Writing for Your Life: Discovering the Story of Your Life's Journey
      by Deena Metzger
    • Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
      Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within
      by Natalie Goldberg
    • Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular
      Writing in General and the Short Story in Particular
      by L. Rust Hills
    • Writing in Restaurants
      Writing in Restaurants
      by David Mamet
    • The Writing Life
      The Writing Life
      by Annie Dillard
    • The Writing Life: Writers On How They Think And Work
      The Writing Life: Writers On How They Think And Work
      by Marie Arana
    • The Writing of Fiction
      The Writing of Fiction
      by Edith Wharton
    • Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction and Other Dilemmas in the Writer's Life
      Writing Past Dark: Envy, Fear, Distraction and Other Dilemmas in the Writer's Life
      by Bonnie Friedman
    • Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, Second Edit
      Writing the Memoir: From Truth to Art, Second Edit
      by Judith Barrington
    • Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print
      Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print
      by Lawrence Block
    • You're a Genius All the Time: Belief and Technique for Modern Prose
      You're a Genius All the Time: Belief and Technique for Modern Prose
      by Regina Weinreich, Jack Kerouac
    • Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You
      Zen in the Art of Writing: Releasing the Creative Genius Within You
      by Ray Bradbury
    « A Writer Needs Three Things | Main | The Most Important Part of Storytelling »
    Thursday
    19Nov2009

    Don't Be Bullied By Punctuation

    When speaking aloud, you punctuate constantly—with body language. Your listener hears commas, dashes, question marks, exclamation points, quotation marks as you shout, whisper, pause, wave your arms, roll your eyes, wrinkle your brow. In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard. Careful use of those little marks emphasizes the sound of your distinctive voice and keeps the reader from becoming bored or confused. . . . [Punctuation] exists to serve you. Don’t be bullied into serving it.

    RUSSELL BAKER 

    Posted on DateThursday, November 19, 2009 at 08:03AM
    CommentPost a Comment Print ArticlePrint

    PrintView Printer Friendly Version

    EmailEmail Article to Friend

    Reader Comments

    There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.

    PostPost a New Comment

    Enter your information below to add a new comment.

    My response is on my own website »
    Author Email (optional):
    Author URL (optional):
    Post:
     
    Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>