PUNCTUATION
PITFALLS
Punctuation tips that annoy literate readers, and require a
copy-editor's attention throughout your manuscript:
- Dashes, when typing
on an ordinary keyboard (computer or typewriter), are made
by putting two hyphens (-) together-like this, with no space
before, between, or after. Some keyboards automatically
turn them into dashes, some type the hyphens separately.
A single hyphen with no space before or after-like this
is incorrect; so is a hyphen with space - like that.
- Periods and commas
are "too small to play outside by themselves." In American
English, they are always placed inside quotation marks:
"like this," or "like this."
Never:
"like this", or "like this".
- Use an apostrophe
in the word "it's," as a contraction for "it is." The possessive
"its" has no apostrophe.
- Never show emphasis
in dialogue by using more than one punctuation mark, like
this: "Are you kidding?!" When two forms of punctuation
are possible, use only the stronger of the two:
Do you mean like this?!
should be:
Do you mean like this!
because the exclamation point is stronger than the question.
Other example:
?, should be just ?
- Exclamation points
should be used sparingly in dialogue. If the dialogue and
its surrounding narrative are well-written, readers will
understand the overall tone after just one line ending in
an exclamation point. A good rule of thumb-no more than
three times in your entire book.
- When writing fiction,
never use parentheses. Relate any parenthetical information
through a natural flow of narrative instead.
- "A.M."
and "P.M." should be in small caps,
like this: "A.M.," "P.M.,"
never large caps or lower case.
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