Are you, dear friend, frustrated with those pesky commas like me? Has one of your crit partners added or removed a bunch of commas, only for another person to switch half of them back again?
Well, dear friend, I’ve got the post for you. I’ve consulted The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Grammar and Style (idiot, that’s me!) and Noah Lukeman’s A Dash of Style to bring you the answers you seek. So grab your beverage of choice (mine being Diet Coke) and some chocolate (believe me, you’re going to need it), and let’s get started.
1. Use a comma after an introductory expression or before a concluding one. What’s an expression? Well, it can be a:
• Prepositional phrase:
Before I could react, Liam jammed his tall footballer body between me and Aaron, forcing Aaron off my towel.
• Participial phrase:
Dressed in swim trunks, he was looking at me with unsettled eyes, his mouth set in a bleak line.
• Dependent clause:
Contrary to Alejandra’s hints, dating was definitely not part of my plans for the summer.
2. Use a comma to set off words and expressions that otherwise interrupt the sentence.
Ryan suspected it was at the very least sprained, and reminded me, once again, to have it checked out by a physician.
3. When your character is talking to someone, and they use the individual’s name, separate the name from the rest of the words in the sentence with a comma.
“Calleigh, you did mention it, didn't you?”
4. Words that give additional info about the noun should be separated by a comma.
The Evil Trio plus one, all wearing bikini tops, miniskirts, and doused in an overly sweet perfume, approached us on their way to the mall entrance, and not so subtly checked Aaron out.
5. Commas are used to separate words in a series. That’s an easy one, right?
I could feel everyone watching me, waiting, analyzing my hesitation.
6. Do you have a clause that can be deleted without changing the sentence’s meaning? Then separate it from the rest of the sentence with our friend the comma. If you delete the clause and the meaning of the sentence changes, then please skip on those commas.
Only Erik was wearing eye makeup, but unlike Taylor, who had a ring through his lower lip and a ring and stud above his right eyebrow, Erik had no facial piercings.
7. Is your sentence complex? Commas will help keep it from being confusing. Confuse the agent or editor, and it’s rejection ville for you, my friend. Remember to use commas before coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor, for, so, and yet).
8. In dialogue, use a comma to separate ‘said’ from a gerund or when describing the voice. Also, study the punctuation in these two dialogue. I’ve seen some wacky uses of the comma and period when a writer has written dialogue with a tag.
“You know, I really am a good listener,” he said, unfolding himself to his full height, “if you just give me the chance.”
“Well, I’ll keep that I’m mind next time I experience an urge to attend confession,” I said, my tone still terse.
Yes, the comma is a beautiful thing. What? You don’t believe me yet? Well, here’s some wonderful things it can do for you. Thanks, Mr. Lukeman, for enlightening us.
1. The comma can link short sentences together to form a longer one. This enables variation in your sentence lengths. Pretty cool, huh?
2. It helps your reader from getting confused. We’ve all read those sentences in the works we critted or beta read in which you’re left scratching your head, unsure what the writer really meant.
Read these two sentences out loud:
When I woke up my pillow was damp from tears.
When I woke up, my pillow was damp from tears.
3. It allows your reader a chance to breathe (even if she’s reading it in her head). This is why reading your manuscript out loud is a great idea. Did you write a long sentence that leaves you gasping for air? Time to add some commas. However, if your character is suffering from out of control thoughts, skipping on the commas is a perfect way of showing this.
Standing under the steamy stream of water, I scrubbed my skin raw, desperate to remove the stench of his aftershave and everything else about him off me.
Standing under the steamy stream of water I scrubbed my skin raw desperate to remove the stench of his aftershave and everything else about him off me.
4. A comma shows the passage of time. I love this one.
Kevin poured some orange paint into the pan, and handed it to Shaelyn.
This sentence pauses for a moment while Kevin pours the paint into the container, and then resumes again once he’s ready to hand it to Shaelyn.
5. The brilliant comma allows you to cut out words. Of course, if you’re writing a 250,000-word epic fantasy, you might want to avoid this use of the comma.
I whirled round in time to see a man emerge from the trees, his features obscured in the shadows.
Without the comma, the sentence would be rewritten like this:
I whirled round in time to see a man emerge from the trees. His features were obscured in the shadows.
Now there one more thing I want to add. Unlike the other forms of punctuation—you know, the period, colon, semi-colon, etc—the comma is a flexible friend (apparently he took gymnastics as a kid). Which means you have a lots of options as to how to use it stylistically (at least according to Mr. Lukeman). And what does that mean? Well, like everything else in publishing . . . it’s all very subjective. Grrr!