Chapter 6 – The Practical Writer (Grammar & Punctuation)

If you are a follower of my blog, then you know about The Practical Writer, why I wrote it and what it’s about. If you are a new here, you can read about the details in the posts dated 1/1/17 and 1/31/17, including a listing of the chapters and their content. Below is a partial text from the chapter on grammar and punctuation. I wrote this chapter based on errors I have seen in novels I have read (and even a few errors I have made—no, I’m not without the occasional mishap myself!), and the many questions I received when I taught medical transcription. You would think my research and instruction would have been all about the medical language, but the majority of my time was spent on answering why that comma or why that semicolon.

Below are excerpts about use of italics and punctuation with dialogue. That is where I have seen the most errors. I once read a story that was actually pretty good, but there were very few pages that didn’t have something in italics, and to say that was distracting is putting it mildly, especially when they simply were not necessary. The Practical Writer is not about making your content better, but rather making the quality better. If you feel you need more help than what’s below, you can find both the print and e-versions here: > https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00U0KSQCO

  

ITALICS

Italics should be used when mentioning any type of title, such as a book title, a song, or a sign—anything that relates to a title. It can also be used if you want the reader to “hear” a word emphasized, such as in the following example.

“What do you mean you knew the answer all along?”

Just as with the exclamation point, you don’t want to overuse this feature, because then you’re going to create exaggerated drama, and it might even sound to the point of being silly or comical.

The third area to use italics is when the character is thinking but not talking out loud.

“I love you,” Kathy said after Jeff kissed her. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I just said that.  What was I thinking? Maybe if I turn and walk away quickly, he won’t notice. Yeah, that’s it. Then I’ll just never see him again.

Using the italics in the above example easily shows the reader what the character is thinking, but obviously she’s not saying any of that out loud. If you continue to use quotation marks, that’s going to read as if she is saying it out loud, which isn’t what you want in this type of situation.  

PUNCTUATION WITH DIALOGUE/QUOTATION MARKS

I saved this rule for last because it’s the error I see most often in books. When you include a dialogue tag with conversation, in most cases you would use the comma, not a period. Use of the period is the type of error that has occurred in many novels I have read in recent months. There are times when the period is appropriate, and that usually is going to be when there is no tag. Also remember that any punctuation mark goes inside the quotation mark. The only exception to that rule is the semicolon. It is placed outside the quotation mark. It would be rare that you would need a semicolon, and if you forget and place it inside, it certainly is not going to go against the quality of your work.  

Example #1:

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said with a quiver to her voice.

NOT

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She said with a quiver to her voice.

Example #2:

He replied, “I know you were at the bar last night.”

NOT

He replied. “I know you were at the bar last night.”

Example #3:

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She had a quiver to her voice as she paced around the room.

NOT

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she had a quiver to her voice as she paced around the room.

If you have a situation where your character has lengthy dialogue, it can help with ease in reading if the conversation is broken up into paragraphs. Since you probably would not need any dialogue tags throughout that part of the chat, keep in mind that the quotation marks are placed at the beginning of the dialogue and at the very end, not at the beginning of each paragraph.

Here’s an example taken from my third novel, A Life Time After Time.

“Mom, no one is going to know if we are married, engaged, or whatever. We aren’t going to go around announcing our marital status or lack of it. After Seth died, we realized you shouldn’t put things off, and this is something we both want to do. Andy and I are committed to each other, but we aren’t ready for marriage. I’m just getting started in my career, and he hasn’t found an audiology job yet. They are few and far between, especially since he’s only just graduated and doesn’t have any experience.

Please don’t be mad, Mom. Andy’s never been out West. We have the time and the money, so it’s something we want to do. We might never have this opportunity again, or least not for a long time. It’s a great time to go, too, because everyone is going to be heading East for the bicentennial. There won’t be the usual crowds that you normally have in July. Oh, I guess I should mention, we’re going the first two weeks of July.”

Note there is no quotation mark at the beginning of the second paragraph. Since the second paragraph is a continuation of the same dialogue and same character, no mark is necessary.

PS: You can also read chapter 12 in full from the post dated 1/26/18. Hope you find it helpful and practical! Thanks for stopping by and enjoy your day.