Having come away from reading Cormac McCarthy, who believes in no punctuation except periods at the end of sentences, to Scott Smith, author of A Simple Plan, a great title by the way, who uses every punctuation known to man or woman including semicolons, I've decided that less is more.
I don't go as far as McCarthy, because the reader has to follow the book, but get rid of as many commas as you can. They slow the reader down and mitigate mood.
Never mitigate mood.
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Showing posts with label Punctuation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Punctuation. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
On Punctuation
In the vortex of revising my book one last time, I'm examining every word in every sentence, every quotation mark, comma, etc., worrying that I'm reading over obvious mistakes. I'm thinking a lot about punctuation.
Punctuation aids communication; the way one punctuates, or doesn't, affects the way people understand what you are saying, or don't.
There are strict rules about punctuation. Most writers obey them. Except Cormac McCarthy. I'm rereading No Country for Old Men (New York: Vintage Books, 2006).
On p. 57, he writes: Anything can be an instrument, Chigurh said.
Now, most writers, including me, would have written: "Anything can be an instrument," Chigurh said. But he is not most writers. Consistent with his general bias against punctuating anything, I'm surprised he didn't write: Anything can be an instrument Chigurh said.
On p. 55, he writes: I dont know. Folks dont generally bet on a coin toss. It's usually more like just settle somethin.
This is wonderful dialogue if you're into the flow of the scene, but why not follow the rules one place and another not? Punctuation is to communicate. Sometimes its hard to figure what it is that hes doin when its hard to understand whats going on.
Lesson: Unless you're Cormac McCarthy, which there's only one of, use correct punctuation and your readers will thank you for it by reading more of your books.
I want to help move people's careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?
To find out about my new literary connectorship, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
Read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
For my ideas on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.I
Punctuation aids communication; the way one punctuates, or doesn't, affects the way people understand what you are saying, or don't.
There are strict rules about punctuation. Most writers obey them. Except Cormac McCarthy. I'm rereading No Country for Old Men (New York: Vintage Books, 2006).
On p. 57, he writes: Anything can be an instrument, Chigurh said.
Now, most writers, including me, would have written: "Anything can be an instrument," Chigurh said. But he is not most writers. Consistent with his general bias against punctuating anything, I'm surprised he didn't write: Anything can be an instrument Chigurh said.
On p. 55, he writes: I dont know. Folks dont generally bet on a coin toss. It's usually more like just settle somethin.
This is wonderful dialogue if you're into the flow of the scene, but why not follow the rules one place and another not? Punctuation is to communicate. Sometimes its hard to figure what it is that hes doin when its hard to understand whats going on.
Lesson: Unless you're Cormac McCarthy, which there's only one of, use correct punctuation and your readers will thank you for it by reading more of your books.
I want to help move people's careers along. Is what I am saying helpful?
To find out about my new literary connectorship, contact me at 215 219 5825 or twb2@verizon.net.
Read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.
For my ideas on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.I
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