Major Punctuaction Error

50 Foot Ant · Jan 27, 2009

Where did I pick this up? I looked through my manuscripts, and it has been in there for years. Even when I went to college, and nobody noticed it.

"See, here it is." I told them.
"And again." I said.

I've been doing it for like 15 years, even though I went and got an associates degree and then a bachelor's, nobody ever even marked me down on it! Where did I pick that up? I did a lot of writing for a UK publisher, are the UK rules different? Do people just not notice it? Or has the rule of closing dialogue with a comma rather than a period been deprecated?

scarletpeaches · Jan 27, 2009

ZOMG!!! MAH EYES!!! TEH ERRORZ, IT BURNZ MAH EYES!!!!!1!!!one!

50 Foot Ant · Jan 27, 2009

Hey, where did you get that cool word tracker in the sig?

"I want one." He said.

ARRRRGGGGHHHHH! I ask my editor, what does she say?

"Yeah, hun, we just fix it for you."

Where did I pick that up? And why is it bothering me so badly?

scarletpeaches · Jan 27, 2009

You insert an image into your sig, using the following link:

http://picometer.writertopia.com/words=85345&target=100000

Of course, you adjust the word count and target accordingly.

alleycat · Jan 27, 2009

50 Foot Ant said:
Hey, where did you get that cool word tracker in the sig?

"I want one." He said.

You can always right click > properties and tell where a ticker comes from.

A lot of people here also use the ones from tickerfactory.

Bufty · Jan 27, 2009

Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. I hope they left all the periods you used intentionally. :Hug2:

50 Foot Ant · Jan 27, 2009

Thanks to both of you. You know, I know the right click thing, but I just couldn't think of it off the top of my head.

ComicBent · Jan 27, 2009

To answer ...

"See, here it is." I told them.
"And again." I said.

I have no idea why you started doing this.

However, I have to ask something. When you read dialogue in a published book, do you not notice that commas are used?

"See, here it is," I told them.
"And again," I said.

It is not a UK-derived practice.

Best ...

50 Foot Ant · Jan 27, 2009

I don't really notice it. I'm not sure where I picked it up, and I just took a look at some of my writing from almost 20 years ago, and I'm still doing it even back then. It must have been a habit I picked up in High School or something. I can't figure out where it came from, or how I got it.

I was reading a book this morning, and JUST NOW noticed the commas, I picked up couple other books, same thing. I went over to where one of my books was, picked it, and there were the commas.

But the original manuscript has periods.

Huh. My editors have all been fixing it, and I didn't even notice.

Weird, isn't it?

dpaterso · Jan 27, 2009

Nice of them to tell you!

But how did you not know before now?

Mysterious! That's what it is.

(Cross-posted with you.)

-Derek

50 Foot Ant · Jan 27, 2009

I have no clue how I didn't notice before. It's just so odd. Most punctuation and grammar I'm on spot with enough that it doesn't need too much work, but that's something major, and something I should have picked up on years ago.

My editor sent me an email telling me that it was just "one of those things that writers have" and that it wasn't a big deal, although she will keep an eye out for any backsliding on my part.

Guess I'm lucky to get an editor that figures most writers have little things they do, and that it's so minor it's worth dealing with.

The Rav · Jan 27, 2009

The teachers at your college must've thought you were being experimental or some junk.

Yeah, they should have at least mentioned it. Editors probably should have at least mentioned it, too, even if it wasn't a big deal for them to fix. Lots o' dropped balls on this one, eh?

50 Foot Ant · Jan 27, 2009

Yup, lots of people dropped the ball here.

Well, now to see how long it will take me to retrain myself and break that habit.

"I am not saying it wrong." He grumbled.
"Yes, you are," she told him.

Sargentodiaz · Jan 27, 2009

Stupid question - "Didn't they send you a proof copy before it went on sale?"
"Didn't you check it?" he asked.

(Snicker snocker)

qwerty · Jan 27, 2009

50 Foot Ant said:
I did a lot of writing for a UK publisher, are the UK rules different?

Nope. We put commas at the end of dialogue and before a speech tag too.

Mayntz · Jan 27, 2009

I noticed the same error in a manuscript I just finished editing, and I let the author know about the correct format. For some writers (though this wouldn't necessarily explain errors from 20 years ago), this could be due to overzealous grammar checkers with automatic correction settings.

sunandshadow · Jan 27, 2009

I really hate sentences of dialogue that end with a comma. It just feels wrong, a comma should go between clauses, not end one. I refuse to write them that way - if I get an editor that forcibly corrects them I rearrange the dialogue tags to go before the sentence, or in the middle, or make the tag a separate sentence.

Matera the Mad · Jan 27, 2009

"I really hate that kind of punctuaction." She screamed.

It's rife in fan-fiction. Hard to say which is more common, quotation speed-bumps or apo'strophlea's

Misuse of Word's spellupchucker can account for a lot of it.

Bufty · Jan 29, 2009

Using a period instead of a comma doesn't aid clarity.

In the example cited below, the use of a period separates the tag from the dialogue and makes the 'She screamed' a subsequent action, which may or may not be the intended meaning.

Matera the Mad said:
"I really hate that kind of punctuaction." She screamed.

It's rife in fan-fiction. Hard to say which is more common, quotation speed-bumps or apo'strophlea's

Misuse of Word's spellupchucker can account for a lot of it.

gothicangel · Jan 29, 2009

Using a full stop (as we say in the UK) is wrong. A full stop denotes the end of a clause; yet 'she said' is not a clause in itself. A semi-colon would be wrong also.

The comma is correct.

Major Punctuaction Error

50 Foot Ant

scarletpeaches

50 Foot Ant

scarletpeaches

alleycat

Still around

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

50 Foot Ant

ComicBent

50 Foot Ant

dpaterso

Also in our Discord and IRC chat channels

50 Foot Ant

The Rav

50 Foot Ant

Sargentodiaz

qwerty

exiled Brit

Mayntz

sunandshadow

Impractical Fantasy Animal

Matera the Mad

Bartender, gimme a Linux Mint

Bufty

Where have the last ten years gone?

gothicangel

Toughen up.