The Short Story
One of our fundamental principles of writing and editing:
Punctuation ought to clarify your intended meaning or emphasize your intended effect for the reader.
The Real(ist) Story
Punctuation isn’t a matter of pedantic nitpicking. It’s about principled nitpicking, dagnabbit. Without well-chosen and well-placed punctuation, you might as well be a stormtrooper shooting at alien teddy bears in the redwood forest. If vintage Star Wars isn’t your cup of blue milk, not to worry: a more apt comparison might be throwing arrows by hand or nocking a javelin to a hunting bow. In other words, poorly punctuated writing confuses your meaning, wastes the tools at your disposal, and frankly looks ridiculous—instead of accomplishing your actual aim.
Index
Below is a list of our current posts on editing for punctuation. (I temporarily removed a few in mid-November 2024, but I’m posting a revised or brand-new punctuation article at least once per month.) Each indexed topic links to an article with practical guidelines and tips.
How do commas separate the essential from the nonessential in a sentence?
Godspeed and happy rewriting!
(Art ©2016 by Clonefront. Duly licensed by Vaporous Realms Publishing LLC.)
Revised November 25, 2024.