The Importance of Punctuation

Who cares about punctuation and why should I?

We’ve observed National Punctuation Day in the United States for the last six years. A day to be celebrated among writers, yes? Well, maybe not. We’ve all read authors who seem to throw in commas every other word, who think a semi-colon is a new medical procedure to keep far away from, and who are strangers to quotation marks. Maybe you’re one of those lost in the sea of punctuation. Which do I use—a dash, a comma or maybe a full-blown colon? Ah, who can save me from this dilemma?

The good news is there are rules. And they can be fairly easy to learn and follow. Get a good reference book—or two—read the suggestions, and make notes on the pages. I recommend reading a grammar/punctuation book from cover to cover at least once. Using it to look up specific instances is one use of such a book, but reading the whole thing is a great way to learn rules you’ve never known. My favorite reference book is Anne Stilman’s Grammatically Correct: The Writer’s Essential Guide to punctuation, spelling, style, usage and grammar.

I know, some are thinking that this is not the grandest of topics.
And rules can be so limiting. But punctuation rules are as
necessary to good writing as are an outstanding plot and
memorable characters. We write to communicate, whether
we share information or stir emotions or entertain.

Punctuation—proper punctuation—makes communication clear
and lessens ambiguity. And while we might want ambiguity in a character, we don’t want readers trying to guess what we mean.

The example I most love to use to promote proper punctuation has to do with commas. The phrases, “My husband Bob is a computer whiz” and “My husband, Bob, is a computer whiz” have different meetings. Both tell us that Bob is some kind of technical genius. But the first sentence also tells us that the narrator has a least two husbands and that the one named Bob is the techie. The other husbands probably have other talents. (Perhaps hiding from Bob is one of them.)

In the same vein, all the following are correct. But the meanings vary.

My friend Ellie is pregnant. (I have lots of friends and the one named Ellie is expecting.)

My friend, Ellie, is pregnant. (I have only one friend and she is pregnant.)

My best friend, Ellie, is pregnant. (I have only one best friend and guess what? She’s
pregnant!)

The rule here is to set off with commas the name if it’s the only one of its kind—spouses get commas.

Picky, yes. Inconsequential, no. We do need to pay attention to the rules. But yes, we can flout them. To make a point. To draw attention. To scandalize. But improper punctuation is just as bad as using the wrong word—impolitic and impolite don’t carry the same meaning. Commas and dashes don’t carry the same weight.

Many of your readers (readers include agents and acquisition editors) will read punctuation in the same way they read words. Punctuation marks mean something to them. If the signals aren’t clear, they’ll struggle to make sense of your meaning. Our goal as writers is to tell a story, stir emotions, entertain. You don’t want to confuse or frustrate your readers with incorrect punctuation when with attention paid to punctuation, you can instead keep your readers focused on your story rather than its underpinnings.

Improper punctuation is as bad as using the wrong word.