Beautiful Swirls; Writing Tips

NUGGET 10-Punctuations

Before proceeding, check this out;
I knocked on the door there was no reply I knocked again don't come back ever again she said in a fit of rage.

Did you notice anything wrong at all?

And then there's this;

I knocked on the door. There was no reply. I knocked again. "Don't you dare ever come back again!" she said in a fit of rage.

Noticed something now? Sure you did. Proper punctuation is part of what differentiates an award winning book from a sloppy work. As an author, it'd be wise to pay attention to punctuation marks.

Now, in case you're wondering when or when not to use a punctuation mark, here's a run down of common punctuation marks you'd most frequently need. (Illustrations are italicized, with punctuation marks in bold);

Full stop (period):Used at the end of a sentence that's not a question or an exclamation. Easy enough right?
Example; I sat alone.

Comma: To separate words in a list. Example; A bag full of clothes, make up, jewelry etc.

To separate clauses or phrases. Example; Despite the weather, Anna left the party, determined to go home.

Question mark: Used at the end of a direct question. Example; “Why did you leave him alone?”

Question marks could also be used alongside exclamation marks, usually to convey strong emotions. Example; “How could he be so callous?!” Ryan seethed.

Exclamation mark: Used at the end of a sentence expressing strong emotions—joy, shock, anger, fear, pain etc.

It's a really crucial punctuation mark if you ask me. Emotions can be passed from your characters to the reader by a single exclamation mark, how incredible is that!

And remember, grammatically speaking, only one exclamation mark is permissible—regardless of how much emotion a sentence packs.

Comparing between the two, "Sit down" and "Sit down!", The latter conveys more of a command than the former.

Dash (Hyphen): If you've read my work "52 Barn street", you'd notice that I'm in love with this particular punctuation mark.

Ideally, it is used instead of a semicolon or colon to express an afterthought. Example; Cinnamon rolls are delicious—an absolute delight.

Ellipsis: This indicates when words have been omitted. Usually, it's used when a character trails off or stutters. Example; "I could go but..." Anna trails off.
And...
"But... no... don't go away!"

Finally, I saved the best for the last;

Quotation mark : Used to enclose words in direct speech.
You would definitely deal with lots and lots your characters' direct speeches.

This should be the most popular and most important punctuation when writing. It is an essential, in fact, a must when writing.

Example; "I'll go get the door," she muttered.

Watch this; When the direct speech is followed by "she muttered" the comma is placed within quotation mark. And when "she muttered" comes first, the comma is outside the quotation mark i.e. She muttered, "I'll go get the door."

This isn't only applicable to the verb "mutter", but others like, say, whisper, yell... and the likes that express speech.

Then there's this:
She shook her head. "There's nothing we can do."

A full stop was used above. Reason for this is because there is no preceding verb expressing speech.

Take your time to digest this. Not to worry, it isn't as complicated as it seems!

And finally, there's only one last twist:
"That", said Amber, "is the least we can do."

Action point
Watch out for punctuation marks and their usage while reading your favorite novels.

Be sure to hit the comment section with your questions, comments or feedback!