tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post7096478101582887125..comments2024-03-27T01:07:03.944-04:00Comments on The Roses of Prose: A Scattering of Commas by Betsy AshtonAlison Hendersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12725250883303287946noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-49694798301780371312016-10-18T12:44:15.559-04:002016-10-18T12:44:15.559-04:00Ha, enjoyed the post! Commas can certainly be tric...Ha, enjoyed the post! Commas can certainly be tricky. Alicia Deanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12003539473772776004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-74973457789275708472016-10-18T06:27:35.907-04:002016-10-18T06:27:35.907-04:00Great post, Betsy! I am also a fairly strict gramm...Great post, Betsy! I am also a fairly strict grammarian (or grammar snob, as some call me). One time my younger son and I actually argued over the Oxford comma! I'm not a fan of colons or semicolons in fiction, although I find them perfectly acceptable (and valuable!) in nonfiction. So much comes down to style preferences (AP, Chicago style, etc.). I work at a newspaper, and readers frequently write and call with a "gotcha" comment about some grammar rule, and most of the time it's a matter of style--ours vs. theirs--which of course, they dispute). One time a reader went apoplectic when I used the words "reads" as synonymous with "reading material" or book -- e.g., new Halloween <b>reads</b> for the bookshelf. <i>"Reads is a verb! It's not a noun! What's wrong with you people!? How stupid are you?!!!!"</i> For commas, I think as long as you're consistent (and within the general realm of "normal"!), it's okay...unless you're writing a legal pleading or brief!! :-)Leah St. Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11004006100786260893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-10992049196050495462016-10-17T22:22:04.494-04:002016-10-17T22:22:04.494-04:00Loved the post and loved the comments. I've fi...Loved the post and loved the comments. I've finally gotten to know what I can get by with and what I can't with my current editor. I really do love her, but had a go round about commas in the beginning. If I feel really strongly that I don't need one, she might cave. Otherwise, I've adapted to what she wants...which are more than I'd use if left to my own. What the heck? Doesn't change my story!Brenda Whitesidehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04162555468154752820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-25496134177483895722016-10-17T17:53:41.423-04:002016-10-17T17:53:41.423-04:00Betsy, we'll have to have a private conversati...Betsy, we'll have to have a private conversation sometime about the use of colons (I'm a strict grammarian, I'm afraid), but for now, why not give your 'student' the old sentence, 'Let's eat Grandma.' Andrea Downinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11553961600937196102noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-62786331952928724072016-10-17T11:44:20.490-04:002016-10-17T11:44:20.490-04:00Great post, Betsy. Early in my writing career, a ...Great post, Betsy. Early in my writing career, a publisher who rejected my book said "Authors do not use semi-colons." I was astounded. I was a high school English teacher for 23 years. Come on! I love semi-colons (sorry Jannine). Lately, the colon is a favorite. I'm remembering to use the serial comma. Thank God, indie publishing allows us to use or bend rules. I am not a rule-mongerer, you need to understand...I LOVE e.e.cummings and his middle-finger to convention poetry. Ferlingetti and Kurt Vonnegut are rock stars. In fact, I learned that about 20% of my students came with brains like these rock stars (probably like your Pulizer Prize person). It's called Style B writing (linear is Style A). I honored this writing in my classroom...by absorbing/teaching the elements...and I learned how to use it myself. Hell, I'm a hybrid, using both A and B styles as a result. Bestsy, your mentee will go wild when he learns about Style B...up to you to decide-I'll tell you the author if you want me too. Thanks for the memories...I think I'll go use a labyrinthine sentence and make up a word, just to celebrate! :-)Rolynn Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09504770204968969467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-69724155194598538972016-10-17T11:33:15.107-04:002016-10-17T11:33:15.107-04:00Comma whore waving her hand here! Yes, my name is ...Comma whore waving her hand here! Yes, my name is Vonnie Davis and I am a commaholic. As I read a passage out loud, if I have to stop to take a breath, by golly, I'm slapping a comma in there. Alas, I'm getting better. I operate on the principle rules are meant to be broken from time to time to grab the reader's attention. However, to do that, one first needs to know the rules. Great post.Vonnie Davis ~ Romance Authorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07360480832587538895noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-28588976965211144862016-10-17T10:56:40.760-04:002016-10-17T10:56:40.760-04:00Hilarious post, in a straight and narrow, scary so...Hilarious post, in a straight and narrow, scary sort of way. Did I use those commas correctly, or not? Another English major who struggles with The Rules! Thanks for the lesson, and the smiles.Margo Hoornstrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00036077481652050799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-35034384205033190312016-10-17T10:41:06.770-04:002016-10-17T10:41:06.770-04:00My Monday morning chuckle. Thanks, Betsy. You'...My Monday morning chuckle. Thanks, Betsy. You'd think an English major would know grammar rules. Right? My two freelance editors (I love them both dearly) teach me something new with each manuscript. One editor is a comma fanatic. The other, a bit looser. I only use periods, question marks, quotation marks, and commas in my stories plus a rare (one in a book or less) exclamation mark. I was told way-back-when that using exclamation marks was the sign of a newbie. As long as they convey what I want them to, those silly little marks are handy tools.Diane Burtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03754105332297068271noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9023937099212820339.post-86625346304264895212016-10-17T10:24:33.405-04:002016-10-17T10:24:33.405-04:00I use commas (and other punctuation) the way I was...I use commas (and other punctuation) the way I was taught back in fourth grade. Which, I might add, is the way I would intuitively use them. All was right in my world through my first publisher and my self-pubbed books. No one complained. My commas were left alone. Then came my ex-agent and her comma rules. She made me take a ton of commas out. (I cringed but sucked it up and did it.) My books got picked up by a new publisher, and my editor added every one of them back in! The pub's style guides are exactly what I did before my agent made me ditch all my dang commas! I think all publishers have different rules, but I'm so thankful mine uses them the way I naturally punctuate. For those who are submitting to someone new, my only suggestion would be to be consistent. And for the record, I hate colons and semicolons, in or out of dialogue. I find a way to simplify the sentence. Just saying... Great post, Betsy!Jannine Gallanthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01047728297429025804noreply@blogger.com