Comma Part 1

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! I'm sure you're all looking forward to the weekend, like I am. Welcome to the first of three posts on the comma. This little piece of punctuation gets its own three posts because there's a ton of information and I don't want to overwhelm you. If you use a comma every time you join two independent clauses with the word "and" you're in for a treat. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

I'm just gonna be frank with you here for a moment. If I'm reading a book and there's a comma every other line, I end up putting it down. A comma indicates a pause. My brain reads it as a pause and too many will have me banging my head on the desk before long. When you're writing, try to mix up your sentences a bit. Too many commas does not a good story make. As with all the posts on punctuation, we'll be following the rules outlined in The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition.

Commas

The primary use of this little piece of punctuation is to indicate a small break. Overuse will kill your story and make it difficult to read. You need a comma when there's a list, a direct address, or an introductory phrase. These are the three uses we'll be focusing on today. More uses of the comma will come later.

There are two ways to punctuate a list with commas. I'll give examples:
She debated with me over whether I should buy the green, white, or blue striped hat.
He went to the store for eggs, milk and bread.

In the first example, we've separated the items in the list with commas and used a comma before the conjunction. This is recommended by CMS. In the second example, we've omitted the last comma. Either way is correct as long as the style is used consistently. You may omit commas if every item is joined by a conjunction or if the last item is joined by an ampersand.

When using a direct address, commas go on either side of the name. Examples:
She looked up from her notebook. "Hey, Mom, what's for dinner tonight?"
As the speaker approached the podium, he could be heard talking to the attractive blonde. "You said your name was Myra? I have to say, Myra, I look forward to getting to know you."

Introductory phrases and words get commas unless the phrase is an introductory adverbial or participial phrase immediately preceding the verb it modifies. Words like: Oh (unless spoken), Ah, Well, Okay, Yes, and No get commas.

Examples:
Introductory phrases -
After looking through the book, she dropped her head into her hands.
Peeking out from behind his mother's skirts was the boy we'd been searching for.
Introductory words -
Yes, we can go to the park today.
Okay, I'll see what I can do about that.
No, we won't be donating to your charity this year.

Keep in mind that it's perfectly okay to use two independent clauses with a conjunction and omit the comma. As long as the two clauses aren't particularly long, leaving the comma out is a good idea. It changes up your writing and keeps the reader engaged in the words on the page.

We'll go into more with another comma post Monday.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

The Period

Happy Thursday, good people of the blogosphere! I know what you're all thinking: Oh, how can she come up with something about the period I don't know? Strap on in and find out after you grab your pens and notebooks so we can get to it!

Everyone learns what a period means when they begin learning to write. It's finality, the end, and appears on the backside of a sentence. When you forget a period, your sentences bleed together like zebra running from a hungry lion. Can you imagine a story devoid of periods?

Did you know there's more than one use for a period?

As with every post on punctuation I'm going to be doing, this one uses information from The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition.

Periods

While a period indicates you've come to the end of a declarative sentence, it can also be used to indicate something left out. Think about it. When you're abbreviating something, you put a period at the end. When you write, etc., there's a period on the end. Your period should always appear inside quotation marks (single or double), inside parentheses or brackets when they contain a complete sentence unless inside another complete sentence, and put three together to indicate a trailing off of speech (called an ellipsis).

Colons can replace periods when introducing an inline list or when something is being described.

When not to use a period:
At the end of a heading, subheading, running head, signatures, or addresses (to name a few). If your subhead is in line with the text, a period is necessary to separate the subhead from the text. Never in a vertical list. These lists should be preceded by an opening statement and a colon. Line items don't get periods.

Abbreviations
When using a period in an abbreviation, it always goes directly after the last letter and all other punctuation rules apply as though the abbreviation is a complete word.

But did you know you can also put periods on the end of incomplete sentences and it be okay? If you're writing in colloquial style (a style more similar to spoken language), it's perfectly acceptable. It's also okay to use before block quotations unless the quote is introduced by a word that indicates "this is because" or tells you to look out for what's next. In those cases, a colon is appropriate.

Maybe you already knew all this; maybe you didn't. Either way, I do hope you pay close attention to the periods in your life and how they affect you.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Dashing Dashes and How to Use Them

Happy Hump-Day, good people of the blogosphere! I bet you think you know all there is to know about dashes. Well, I'm here to tell you, you may not know as much as you think. This is a post you don't want to miss! So, grab those pens and notebooks and let's get going!

There are so many ways to use hyphens and dashes. This post is going by the rules outlined in The Chicago Manual of Style 15th Edition. First, I'm gonna show you what each one of the five looks like, then we'll go into how they're used.

Hyphens, en dashes, and em dashes are the most commonly used.

Hyphens

Hyphens are used to separate numbers or group numbers, in compound words, names, and for word division.

A little known use of the hyphen is in dialogue when referencing American Sign Language.

Examples of hyphen use:
Would you believe she wore a box-hat to the party?
Please call 1-800-888-8888 to find out more.
My book's ISBN is 978-1477489031.
My niece can sign A-P-P-L-I-C-A-T-I-O-N very quickly.

Going into names and compound words is best left for another day. It's a whole section in and of itself.

En dashes

It literally means "between" or "up to and including." It's used in dates or times or in place of a hyphen when one of the elements of a compound adjective is open. Some people would use a slash, but an en dash works as well. It can also be used to separate a college name from the city if there are more than two in the state with the same name. There are no spaces with en dashes unless indicating something is ongoing.

Examples of en dash use:
I went to Columbus for four years, 1995–1999, loving every minute of it.
My life has been long (1977– ) and I can't wait to have more fun. *Note the space after the en dash.
He went to the University of Tennessee–Chattanooga, not the University of Tennessee–Knoxville.
We went to Mexico as non–Spanish–speaking people.

Em dashes

This one is for setting off elements in novels. Some people use parentheses, commas, or colons to do this; but an em dash works as well. It will also separate a subject from a pronoun, indicates a break in speech when someone is cut off (unlike when someone trails off—those are indicated by an ellipsis), or replaces a comma. You can use them with other fun punctuation as well—like exclamation points!—as a tool to set off the phrase.

Examples of em dash use:
Should I—can I?—go to the party tonight?
"I was thinking we should—" I cut her off with a lift of my hand. "No. Probably not a good idea because she'll be there."
When the old man walked up—and he was walking really slowly—we showed him the way to his seat.

2-em & 3-em dashes

2-em dashes are used to represent something left out. The rule here is: If it replaces a part of a word, don't leave space on either side; but if it replaces a whole word, leave space. A 2-en dash is most commonly used to block out profanity. Oftentimes, these are shown by using four hyphens.

3-em dashes are used in bibliography to indicate this name is the same name as the one before, but it's a different title or work. These are shown by using six hyphens.

Examples:
2-em: She let loose with many words like —– and they blew my mind.
3-em: ——, Yassa. Jo Michaels: CreateSpace, 2012.

I hope this helps straighten some of the confusion out. I find these errors quite a bit when editing.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Writing Through It

Happy Tuesday, good people of the blogosphere! I hope you all had an awesome Memorial Day weekend. Having a Monday off is tough, but it did help me process some thoughts I've had concerning this blog. We'll be delving into punctuation this week and I wanted you all to have a head's up because, running in tandem, will be a contest for you to win some very cool prizes both here and over at INDIE Books Gone Wild. Today, I'm going to stress scheduling. Grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

If you're at at-home writer with kids, your summer just got difficult. I beg you to do some re-scheduling. Lighten your writing load for the summer. As long as you're writing every day (some of you, like me, are sans weekends because of family, anyway) you'll still have forward progress. Keep that.

As I suggested in the post over on ChaBooCha, schedule your day down to the hour. Here are a couple of the images from that post:

As you can see, I had a lot of writing time. That's going to be cut by half because of the summer. I've rearranged my own schedules to only write for three hours in the afternoon.

You really should go read the post and see how scheduling can help you maximize your writing output. If you're writing at the same time every day you shouldn't come upon writer's block. Just make sure the people around you know you're not to be disturbed while you're working. They can give you three hours a day; it won't kill them.

Don't let the summer overwhelm you. Keep doing what you can to retain your writerly brain and write through it.

Do you schedule like this? Why/why not?

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Cover Reveal - Chasing Memories by Tia Silverthorne Bach

Happy Friday, good people of the blogosphere! I'm very excited to bring you a cover reveal for a good friend of mine and an amazing author. I give you the cover of Chasing Memories by Tia Silverthorne Bach.

About Chasing Memories (Tala Prophecy, Book 1)

There isn’t another way; not now. The others are coming. I can’t let them have you…

Seventeen-year-old Reagan has a problem: She can’t remember what happened the night her brother was taken. Now, the dreams haunting her from the incident are becoming more intense by the day. All the while, the lines between what’s real and what’s a product of her paranormal-obsessed mind are becoming blurred.

Is she losing her mind or has she just stepped into a world she thought only existed in books?

Caught in a web of worried parents, competing boys, Wiccan relatives, protective amulets, and psychiatrist babble, Reagan must determine the truth before it’s too late.

Expected Publication Date: June 10, 2013

Add Chasing Memories on GoodReads.

Cover design by Jo Michaels.

About the Author

Tia Silverthorne Bach is an avid reader, sometimes runner, involved wife and mother, and rabid grammar hound in addition to being a multi-genre writer. Her three daughters were born in Chicago, San Diego, and Baltimore; and she feels fortunate to have called many places home. She's the award-winning co-author of Depression Cookies, a coming of age story written with her mother. Tia's office is wherever her laptop takes her and any place that's conducive to allowing a wild imagination like hers to flourish.

Please visit her at her blog, on Facebook, on Twitter, GoodReads, and read more about her on INDIE Books Gone Wild.

I edited the book for Tia and I'll tell you, it's a delightful story that's going to leave you aching for more at the end. I do hope you'll check it out. You won't be sorry you did. Besides, check out that awesome cover design! You know you love to look at pretty things. Haha!

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

When the Muse Steps out of the Room

Well, it's Thursday yet again, good people of the blogosphere! Today we're gonna talk about the Muse and what to do when she steps away from your side to go tend another author, songwriter, or painter. Tips and tricks to tempt her back, if you will. So, grab your pens and notebooks and let's get going!

What do you do when you feel the Muse upon you? Do you hurry to your computer and quickly boot up and begin to write? What happens when you're at the store or at church when she pays you a visit? Do you rush home and leave your buggy or excuse yourself from the chapel to go to your car and write?

Of course not. We don't have lives like that, where we can drop any task and write when we need to.

But what about when your Muse has abandoned you and refuses to return? There are a couple of things you can do to help yourself in this situation.

• Write at the same time every day. Muses are busy, they don't have time to hang around with everyone on the planet. Seriously, when you write at the same time every day, your brain will get used to the creative cycle you put it on and you'll find words flowing more easily over the course of just a few weeks.
• Read a book. Books are a writer's fuel. We consume them because they engage our brains and make us think.
• Exercise. Believe it or not, exercise stimulates your brain. It gets your blood flowing and your neurons pumping.
• Read a good writing blog (like this one!). Sometimes, just reading about writing helps you out of your funk and allows you to put down new words.
• Take a walk or call a friend. Walking and having a seat on a bench, watching people, can be a huge booster to your brain. Sometimes, you'll find an interesting character that way. Talking to a friend and letting them vent will also give you book fodder. Maybe not exactly, but you can pull from life.

Before you know it, your Muse will be right there with you all the time.

Those are just a few suggestions. I'm sure if you do a Google search, you'll find many more.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

First Visions Second Sight Book One Sale

Happy Hump-day, good people of the blogosphere! WOOOOOWEEEE do I have a deal for you today. If you remember my post from a while back, I listed my favorite reads of 2012. In it were two books by author Heather Topham Wood. Well, it's been about a year since I read First Visions (where does the time go?) and, as a birthday present, Heather has put the book on sale for the week. This offer is good until May 26th. I never posted my review of the first book on my blog, so I'll give you that to go along with the links and information. HAPPY READING!

Title: First Visions Second Sight Book One
Genre: New Adult Paranormal
Author: Heather Topham Wood
Page count: 231 printed pages
Price: $0.99

Description from Amazon:
Two years ago, 21-year-old Kate Edwards became deathly ill and slipped into a coma. While unconscious, she crept into the mind of a missing boy and awoke with the knowledge of his location. Friends and family were skeptical and wary of her new ability to see into the minds of others. Their fears prompted Kate to keep her psychic powers a secret. Feeling alienated, she dropped out of college and spent most of her days holed up at her mother's home.

Now another child has been abducted. Police detective Jared Corbett seeks out Kate for her help in solving the case. Reluctantly, Kate agrees and they must work together to bring 8-year-old Cori Preston home to her family. Although attracted to one another, Jared has a girlfriend with ties to the abduction case and Kate is sarcastic and guarded since her coma. With visions she can't control and an uncontrollable attraction to the detective, she wonders if she can leave the past behind and finally stop hiding from the world. Otherwise, Cori may be lost forever.

My review (copied from Goodreads):
Rating is 4.5 stars but I round up.

I loved the protagonist, Kate, in First Visions. She is a typical girl who never really got the chance to grow up due to her extraordinary ability and the reclusive life she decided to lead after the media circus surrounding it. Her reactions to situations are perfectly human. There were parts that had me laughing out loud, worrying, and hoping that Kate and Jared ended up together somehow.

I adored the fact that Kate experienced change from page 1 to page 250. I felt like I could really identify with her (even though I'm not psychic). Those are qualities of a great story. I read this book over the course of a week and am looking forward to the next installment of the series.

The only issue I had, and this may be no big deal for most readers, was that pronouns were oftentimes used incorrectly and the book could use a proofreader for tiny errors here and there (as most could). These did not hinder the reading experience to a point that I wanted to drop the book in a puddle, but they did throw me off the story now and again. All in all, a very excellent read that I would highly recommend.

The Second Sight series:
First Visions (book 1): Amazon and Barnes & Noble
New Revelations (book 2): Amazon
Dark Premonitions (book 3): Amazon and read the review here on my blog.

Well, that's all for today, folks! Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo