Once upon a time, there was an author named Jill Williamson. Jill was a blogger on a website called goteenwriters.com. She had worked as an editor for a few years, then became an author and a writing teacher. As she read the manuscripts of many beginning writers, she couldn’t help but notice that many authors were making the same punctuation and formatting mistakes. This sparked an idea. She would write a series of posts on the Go Teen Writers blog and call them Punctuation 101. Through these posts she would teach those boring punctuation rules in the simplest way possible.
She did this. And the teen writers seemed to like the posts! Several of them commented or wrote her privately, asking her to put these posts in a book on the subject. That sounded daunting to Jill, but she filed away the idea.
The idea wouldn’t leave her alone. It stalked her for years, haunting her every step and jumping out when she least expected it. Finally she gave in.
“Okay!” she yelled. “I will write the book.”
The book turned out to be a lot more work than Jill could ever have imagined (and Jill is a professional daydreamer, so that’s a lot of surprise work right there). But she kept at it. Here and there she would open the manuscript and tackle another punctuation mark. Commas for the new year. Semicolons during spring break. All manner of dashes in the summer. Asterisks in the fall.
And then something extraordinary happened. Jill finished the book.
It almost seemed impossible. She had been working on the thing for (give or take) three years! Could she really have made it to the end?
Yes. Yes she did. And here is a video in which Jill talks about this adventure.
To celebrate the release of this little book I am giving away a signed print copy of Punctuation 101. Enter on the Rafflecopter form below and also
leave a comment telling me which punctuation mark you most dislike!
International entries are welcome, but international winners will receive an ebook instead of a print book. Thanks for understanding international friends!
This is so amazing! I feel like punctuation in formal writing gets talked about all the time, but punctuation in fiction is kind of left behind.
I don’t think there are any punctuation marks I particularly dislike; there are a few (ex: that semicolon) that I am a little TOO fond of and that’s when they cause me problems. I’m an admirer of pauses, I suppose… Ellipses, parentheses, em dashes, and semicolons are EVERYWHERE.
LOL! I think you need to have a T-shirt made, Jerah. “I’m an admirer of pauses” with a big comma in a hear on the front. 😉
My less favourite punctuation mark has to be the comma. I wasn’t taught how to use it properly (I may or may not been daydreaming while the teacher was teaching it to the rest of the class and I haven’t been able to catch up since) so I don’t know when to really use it.
Bwa ha. You may have been daydreaming… I love that. I was always daydreaming. Hee hee. I totally understand your comma conundrums. They can be very confusing.
Since english is my second language, when I’m writing my books I feel frustrated pretty much by all of the punctuation mark but most by the comma since it’s the one that appears most frequently.
I think it might be because I lack the more natural sense for them that I seem to have in my language. I hope that enough reading and studying will eventually help me overcome this problem.
You’re wise to do that, Anna. Reading fiction and studying it is probably the best teacher.
Congrats, Jill!
Thanks, Katie! 🙂
The comma! I am frequently accused of overuse! Lol!
It’s so easy to stick that little guy in there, isn’t it?
I’d say my least favourite punctuation mark is probably the em-dash, only because I tend to over-use it. (And congrats on publishing, Jill!)
Thanks, Emily!
I don’t like the em-dash, primarily because I don’t know how to properly use it. XP
Congratulations on finishing your book!
Thanks! 🙂
I don’t really know the difference between a dash and a hyphen and when to use them, so probably one of those!
Ooh, yes. Those are tricky!
Punctuation is a nightmare… My least favorite might be the period, of all things. Very simple to use, but I don’t like declaring thoughts done. I do, however, (thankfully) use them regularly. My favorites would be parenthesis and ellipses.
My least favorite punctuation mark is probably the comma, but only when it’s misused. I obsessed over grammar and punctuation in elementary and middle school, so it bugs me when commas pop up where they’re not needed and disrupt the flow of a sentence. Congratulations on the book!
I don’t really have a least favorite punctuation mark, per se, unless underscores count as punctuation marks (they just look weird, and I have yet to find a legitimate use for them). I like to use ’em all, though granted I have wrestled on a number of occasions with where to add a comma here or there. Those things can be a pain sometimes, mostly for stylistic reasons, although since I don’t remember any of my punctuation lessons (I had them, at least) it seems slightly odd that I don’t typically have trouble using punctuation. I never did learn how to “officially” use colons, semicolons, or em-dashes, though, so conceivably someone could call me out on that….
I can’t get quite to grips with the semi colon. It’s like I understand how to use it and I don’t have a problem reading it in other’s writing but I Don’t organically use them in my own writing like other punctuation. Usually my first drafts don’t have any! I have to make a conscious effort to put them in.
Thanks for this giveaway and good luck with your new book!
My least favorite punctuation mark has got to be quotation marks. Granted, they’re very useful in designating when people are speaking, but I always want to use the British method when placing other punctuation around it. This specifically comes up when I’m using air quotes, eg. The mission is “too dangerous”. vs. The mission is “too dangerous.” I want to follow the logic of the phrase instead of always having to put other punctuation inside of the quotation marks, like we do here in the US.
*throws hands in the air out of joy* That’s the British method? I knew that logical approach had to come from somewhere!! Thanks for identifying this, Sandy, I’m incredibly less frustrated with my frequent dialogue dilemmas now. (I guess this is what comes from being raised on Brian Jacques:)
Congratulations on publishing your book! I’m so excited that’s it’s finally out and I love your story about your journey creating it. As for my least favorite punctuation mark . . . probably the comma. There are so many rules when it comes to it, and I’m almost never sure when I need one and when I don’t.
My least favorite is the period *grins*, specifically when it should be an exclamation point! 😀
I have problems with the comma. I, put it, in there, over, and over, and over, again. ?
I’m not sure if this would be punctuation or not, but I also have trouble with when to start another paragraph.
I have trouble with the comma. I, use, it, over, and over, and over, again.;)
My least favorite punctuation mark is definitely the semi-colon, because no matter how many times I look up the rules, I can never figure out how to use it in my own writing! I can’t wait to see if your explanation is the one that works for me. Kudos and thanks for compiling a punctuation guide for us, condensed and trimmed down to relevant topics. It’s soooo hard to work on something writing related when a different book idea you actually care about is nipping at your heels!
The dash, or hyphen… is there a difference?
Yes! Briefly, em dashes show interruptions, and hyphens combine two words into one.
What a helpful resource!
I can’t currently think of a punctuation mark I hate, but I don’t completely understand when to use dashes.
Woohoo! Congrats on the book release! I’m marking this as “to-buy” for sure. 🙂
As for least favorite punctuation mark, maybe commas? I generally know what to do with them, but sometimes I get conflicting feedback from (knowledgeable) beta readers and second guess the rules!
My least favorite punctuation mark? The semi colon is the first one to pop into my head when I think “least favorite,” I don’t have any particular prejudice against semi colons but they confuse me immensely and I think that is the main cause of our conflict.
I strongly dislike the ellipses… I abuse them
The semicolon! Is it half a comma? Or, half a colon? Is it neither? Or, both? I’m so confused.
Just kidding. But, seriously, there does seem to be times when I could use a semicolon, but a colon works just as well. This scares me a bit since I’m probably dead wrong. So being the perfectionist that I am, I avoid them.
I hate semi colons. I’m never sure when to use them 😀
I’m not sure if I really have a “least favorite”. Perhaps the period, as surprising as it is, I always feel like I put them in the wrong places. My favorite has got to be the comma, but I seem to sprinkle them like grass seed too much.?For some reason I love the look of semicolons, but I have no idea how to use them! Lol