A Guide to Creative Writing

Commas

1. Comma between the dialogue and the dialogue tag.

Dialogue tags - she said, he muttered, she murmured, she whispered, etc.

A dialogue and a dialogue tag is always separated by a comma.

Ex;
“I am tired,” she said.
Alex said, “I am tired.”

(A comma can be used when merging the dialogue tag and the action beat)

Here, ‘she said’ which is an dialogue tag, and ‘She sat on the bench’ which is an action are merged. Dialogue tags like said, murmured, etc., are always preceded/ succeeded by a comma.

“I am tired,” she said, sitting on the bench.
She sat on the bench and said, “I am tired.”

You can use commas on both sides of the dialogue tag only if the dialogue is continuous.

Ex;
“Go to the grocery store,” she said, “and buy some spinach and milk.”

Here comma is used after the dialogue tag ‘said’ only because there is an and after it, or it would have been,

“Got to the grocery store,” she said. “Buy me some spinach and milk.”

Common Confusion
A comma is not used when it’s just an action tag succeeding or preceding the dialogue

Ex;
Incorrect: “I am tired,” she sat on the bench.
Correct: “I am tired.” She sat on the bench.

Here, Action tag is 'She sat on the bench.'

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2. Comma when joining independent clauses.

The coordinating conjunctions, or the joining words are: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. (FANBOYS)

Note: These commas can be omitted only when the sentences are short.

Ex;
Let’s consider two independent clauses.

A)He is good at basketball.
B)He has applied for the team.

These sentences can be written independently, and hence they are independent clauses.

Now, when we join them with a joining word like so, and, yet etc., these joining words should always be preceded by a comma.

Incorrect: He is good at basketball and he has applied for the team.
Correct: He is good at basketball, and he has applied for the team.
Incorrect: He is good at basketball yet he wasn’t selected to play for the team.
Correct: He is good at basketball, yet he wasn’t selected to play for the team.

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3. Comma after the introductory word or phrase

Ex.
A) Quickly, he grabbed the kite.
B) Mumbling under his breath, he grabbed my collar.
C) After winning a medal in the Olympics, he was lauded by the president.

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4. Comma to separate different things. (Serial Comma)

Ex: I bought cookies, grapes, and bread.

A comma is used before the ‘and’ because, the reader might consider grapes and bread as one item. (Not when you consider these specific examples, but you get the gist) It’s not a compulsory comma, and exists only for clarity.

Someone laid down a perfect example for this...
Sentence 1: I love my parents, Beyonce, and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Sentence 2: I love my parents, Beyonce and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Even though we have been taught to write in the sentence 2 format, in cases like this, it would lead to confusion.
(What the f*** you mean Beyonce and Benedict are your parents?!)
So take a long look at the sentence, and decide if you need that extra comma or not.

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5. Comma before the additional word or phrase. (Non restrictive phrases)

Note: Can be omitted when the sentence is too short.

Ex: The teachers, clerks, and janitors attended the meeting in the principals office, which was held in the evening.

Here ‘held in the evening’ is the non essential information that wouldn’t make much difference if removed from the sentence. Hence it is preceded by a comma.

Or

John, who is lactose intolerant, avoided eating ice-cream.

Here ‘who is lactose intolerant’ is an additional word, and even without it, the sentence would read fine ‘John avoided eating ice-cream.’ So comma on either side of the non restrictive phrase.

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6. Comma after and before a direct address (Comma on either side of names)

Ex: “Callie, don’t tease your brother.”

Or

“If we don’t go now, Sheldon, the seats will be booked”

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7. Comma between adjectives of the same noun

Ex: She is a brave, courageous  woman.

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Can I break any of the rules?
Rarely, and only if you know all the above mentioned rules like the back of your hand. Some rules can be broken if the author wants a sentence to be read a particular way.

Ex:
Let's consider the dialogue

"I've missed you, brother."

According to the rules, there's a comma before brother.
But lets say the author wants the character to be seen as overly enthusiastic in that situation. Then the dialogue can be written as...

"I've missed you so much brother!"

(She is so delighted that the words come out in a rush. The author has shown that the character is very delighted to see her brother by omitting the comma and adding an exclamation !)

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