Punctuation is very important. It makes writing much easier to read. It can also change the meaning of your sentence.
The most famous example is "Saving Grandma". If you say "Let's eat Grandma" then it sounds like you're a cannibal and you're going to eat your grandmother. However, a single comma can change the meaning of the sentence. "Let's eat, Grandma" means your eating with your grandmother.
Here's another example. A girl writes a letter to her boyfriend.
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I desire for you. I have no feelings at all when we're apart. I can be forever happy -- will you let me be yours?
Gloria
Very sweet, isn't it? However, all the punctuation in that letter was wrong. This is what she meant to say.
Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I desire. For you, I have no feelings at all. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?
Yours,
Gloria
Not so sweet anymore, is it? If you go back and look at the two letters you'll see that the only difference is punctuation, all the words are the same. That's why punctuation is so important. It can completely change the meaning of your story.
YOU ARE READING
Ten Ways to Improve Your Story Writing
AléatoireI don't know how many stories I have come across that have had a really good plot but have been nearly impossible to read. This book is a list of ten different things that can improve your writing. Most of them have to do with grammar.
