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Date Posted: 11:18:27 07/25/08 Fri GMT-5
Author: Lori
Author Host/IP: S0106001a70540c2c.cg.shawcable.net / 68.145.251.17
Subject: Re: Comma use advice
In reply to: DianeG 's message, "Re: Comma use advice" on 10:42:17 07/25/08 Fri GMT-5

Now, I'm afraid, you're going to think I'm a comma-hater, against commas, anti-comma. I'm not. And I was a little hesitant when I first started dropping them, but now that I'm used to not using them so much I know it's a change for the better.

Good luck to both of you! Persist!

And don't blame me if you get a rejected!

Cheers,

Lori

>Roger,
>I have had a similar quandry and I think Lori's advice
>is right. Use commas only when they are absolutely
>necessary to make sense of the sentence.
>
>One member of my critique group is a comma fanatic and
>always tells me to insert more of them for correct
>usage. It was only after I heard from Lori that I
>fully realized that being grammatically perfect could
>slow down the story a lot.
>
>p.s. Like you, I'm polishing a story and hope to send
>it out next week. I haven't sent anything out in a
>long time and am pleased that finally I can.
>
>Good luck to both of us.
>
>Diane
>
>>Thanks, Lori. This piece still needs a bit of
>>rewriting to get rid of some of the tellin' when I
>>should oughta be showin'.
>>
>>;)
>>
>>Roger
>>
>>
>>>Good on you, Roger, send it out!
>>>
>>>Personally, I would omit the comma. Using it isn't
>>>incorrect but you already have "and" which separates
>>>your clauses. I think the movement these days is to
>>>use as few commas as you can get away with. I was
>>>advised by an editor some years ago to do that and I
>>>think my stuff flows better as a result.
>>>
>>>Glad to hear you're sending stuff out. Oh, the joy,
>>eh?
>>>
>>>Cheers,
>>>
>>>Lori
>>>
>>>PS: I think Lynne Truss has a stick up her, er, back.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I am looking at a story, revising it to send out
>>>>(ahem!) and wonder if the following sentence needs a
>>>>comma (or for that matter if this sentence does...)
>:
>>>>
>>>>"Even the death of the youngest chick, and the
>>>>unceremonious dumping of the body by the mother
>>didn’t
>>>>dampen his enthusiasm for the birds."
>>>>
>>>>I reckon it's either, a) doesn't need a comma
>>>> b) does
>>>> c) needs a comma after
>>'mother,'
>>>>too
>>>>or d) doesn't matter
>>>>
>>>>I read Lynne Truss, and I don't want to be guilty of
>>a
>>>>yob's comma.

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