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Showing posts with label punctuation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label punctuation. Show all posts

Friday, November 29, 2024

Write Smart! Basic Dialog



Dialog is created when characters are quoted word for word. Bill said, "I don't like squash." This is dialog. Bill told us that he doesn't like squash. That is not dialog.

#1- Dialog is always set off with quotation marks.

#2- Words that describe the speaking are called Dialog Tags. Examples are: said, exclaimed, replied, yelled, etc.

#3- Action tags are not dialog tags. This is ambiguous, and there is some overlap. In this lesson, I'll use clear examples. This is an action tag.
     Bill stood. "I don't like squash." He whirled and left the room.
     "Billy, I try so hard to make you happy." His mother turned her head and began to cry.
     Bill's father threw down his napkin. "Give me a break!"

#4- The quotation marks are always outside the punctuation. All the above examples are correct. This one is incorrect. "Sally lamented, "I just can't stand this family"!

#5- If someone who is speaking quotes someone else, use single quotes for the interior one. Examples: Bill returned to the dining room. "The problem is, Sally, we are not really a 'family.'" [Interesting note, books published in Great Britain use single quotes for standard dialog and double ones for interior.]

#6- Use a capital letter to begin a sentence, even after a dialog tag. Example: Mother said, "Oh, not now, Sally."

#7- Every time someone new begins speaking, make a new paragraph. See item 3 above.

#8- However, if one person continues a speech long enough that it needs to be broken up, leave the closing quotation marks off the first paragraph. Example:
     Sally said, "Don't you think I know that? After all, you were adopted, and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I didn't even love you when you were a baby.
     "And furthermore, you didn't like squash then, either. Mother made me try to feed it to you, and you always spit it back in my face."

There are other nuances to this issue, but this covers the basics.

Tuesday, November 19, 2024

Write Smart! Introductory Word Group



If a sentence begins with an introductory phrase/clause, place a comma after it. See what I did there?

Other examples:
A. Buried under the apple tree for years, the box decomposed.
A. During February, Michiganders rarely see the sun.
B. In fact, none of what Mr. Smith said was true.
C. Unlike December in Australia, Ontario's Christmas month was snowy.
D. The rain slowing to a drizzle at last, we were able to go for a walk."

A. The phrase may be an adverb clause telling when, how, or why.

B. The phrase may be transitional such as "in fact," or "for example."

C. The phrase may express contrast such as "Not surprisingly," or "Unlike..."

D. The phrase may be an absolute phrase such as "The clouds hovering all week"

Monday, November 18, 2024

Write Smart! No Comma Here

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If the second part of the sentence isn’t a sentence, don’t use a comma. Example: John ate the chili and burped loudly. (“and burped loudly” is not a sentence- it has no subject, so there is no comma before the “and.”)

Example: The dog and cat fought but made up. However, if you change that last example to The dog and cat fought, but they made up, it now needs a comma because you’ve added a subject (they) to the second part and made it into an independent clause, then joined them with "but" (a conjunction).

The second part is called a subordinate clause (it will not stand alone). Some examples are:
...and gave the dog a bone.
...for two days and an hour.
...but wasn't able to keep up.
...and found the restaurant on a side street.