Punctuation

Week of January 20, 2013—Syntax Needn’t Be Taxing

Thursday, January 24— Punctuation

In addition to end punctuation, there’s lots of internal punctuation which can add

sentence variety to your writing, add voice, affect pacing, help add details, and

more. Again today, I’ll use examples from The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr.

Morris Lessmore to demonstrate the use of each of the internal punctuation marks that

I'm highlighting.

Comma Before and After a Sentence Interrupter

Rather than looking down, as had become his habit, Morris Lessmore looked up.

Note how you can remove the “interrupter” between the commas and have a

complete sentence. What’s in between the commas adds additional details.

Comma after a Sentence Opener

Drifting through the sky above him, Morris saw a lovely lady.

Note how the the portion of the sentence after the comma could stand on its own.

The “opener” adds details.

Comma before a Sentence Closer

The flying lady knew Morris simply needed a good story, so she sent him her

favorite.

Note that the first part of the sentence could stand on its own, independently. The

portion after the comma adds details.

Italics to Add Emphasis

Morris wondered if his book could fly.

Quotation Marks to Set Off Words

The book led him to an extraordinary building where many

books apparently “nested.”

Commas in a Series

Morris found great satisfaction in caring for the books, gently fixing those with fragile bindings, and unfolding the dog-eared pages of others.

Ellipses as a Transition

The days passed.

So did the months.

And then years.

And years . . .

. . . and Morris Lessmore became

stooped and crinkly.

Dash to Add Details

. . . till everything Morris knew was scattered—

even the words of his book.

Note how the dash causes a pause in your reading, then the additional details tell

you more about the first phrase.

Now I’m not going to tell you that the my examples are the only ways you can

use internal punctuation to impact the syntax of your writing, but I will tell you that if

you master these eight strategies, you’ll have a great writing toolbox at your disposal.