Drunk on Writing

I just had a thought. Well, I have many of them but I thought I would post this one. I was thinking about composition and the technicality of writing. Authors are like pianists: Some play by ear and some must learn each note and finger position. Authors either write naturally or must learn about language and writing in order to write.

Despite what kind of author you are I think it's important to learn about writing. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in how the story is playing out in our heads that we forget how to communicate it clearly into written word. Taking the time to educate ourselves about the styles of writing may make the difference between a well written story and a heaping pile of garbage.

A few minutes ago I dusted off my copy of Strunk and White's Elements of Style. I was required to purchase this book during my first year of university and like any typical student I barely touched it.

Today's post is brought to you by....

Commas!

Commas, commas, everywhere! These pesky grammatical creatures are easily overused and underused.

When using commas in a series of 3 or more words, use one after each term. For example: She preferred the yellow, orange, and red dress. Note the comma after orange yet none appears after red.

Commas are a great replacement for parenthetic expressions. This means that commas can be used to insert a separate yet related thought into a phrase. My brother, the paramedic, is getting married next week. A good rule if thumb is to imagine the sentence without the part between commas and determine if it still makes sense.

"noirness, this is all well and good, but when do I use a comma when it comes to conjunctions and introducing an independent clause?" Whew, I thought you'd never ask. When using conjunctions to connect dependent clauses with independent ones, place a comma before the conjunction. He noted the front door was open, but no one was home. She wished she was somewhere else, or dead. Slippy did not wish to leave the ocean, for fish cannot breath above the surface.

Use commas instead of periods. Sometimes two sentences can be combined into one fluid thought simply by using a comma. He was a wild one. He lived on the edge. VS He was a wild one, living on the edge.

And that's my crash course on commas. Here's your challenge - read through the post and see if you can find where I've misused or missed a comma. I've snuck some in there to test your astuteness.

Everyone's right!