The lowly comma might be one of the most frequently used (and misused) pieces of punctuation in the English language. It has so many uses that it can get confusing trying to keep straight how to use it and how not to.
One of the ways people often get into trouble with comma usage is in joining sentences. Varying your sentence length and complexity is a great way to control the pacing and flow of your writing.
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*Warning—I try to keep it academic and classy, but this article does, by necessity, contain adult language. Profanity, cussing, cursing, swearing, obscenity—whatever word you use to describe it, adult language has become prevalent in our daily lives, in everything from television to social media. Some people seem to drop the f-bomb every other word, while others are horrified by even the mildest terms.
When we write, we try to speak to and reflect the culture of our readers, and there’s no denying that such language is a part of that culture. So, how do we decide what’s appropriate to include in our writing? Fiction writing takes an incredible amount of creativity, for everything from world building in sci-fi to getting that heart-pounding chase scene just right in action-adventure. But the success of any story hinges on the characters.
They have to be believable and embody the role perfectly for readers to suspend disbelief and lose themselves in the story. And part of building the perfect character for a role is choosing the right name. You can probably find chapters, if not whole books, on naming your characters, but in the end it’s a personal decision for each author. Here are a few tips to consider, though, when naming the people who populate your stories. What should you never end a sentence with? And what shouldn’t you begin one with? If you want to truly succeed as a writer, you can’t use contractions, right?
According to many English teachers and grammars sticklers, I just broke about four rules in three sentences. You probably learned at least a few of these in school but then went about your merry way in life, breaking all of them. Here’s the thing, though. The “rules” about ending a sentence with a preposition, beginning one with a coordinating conjunction, splitting infinitives, and eliminating contractions aren’t actual rules. At best, they’re conventions. |
AuthorRebecca has a passion for helping you fill the world with great literature and making sure said literature doesn't get passed over for the lack of a little editing. Archives
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