I must admit, I think I still am at a high school level when it comes to writing, but I really don't understand the English language despite it being the only language I can speak. So I thank you a lot for helping though! Because I get comma's in reference to stories/short stories confused all the time. With commas at the end of sentences, it may be because I read a lot of older fiction I haven't really seen it used when speaking. I can't name anything off the top of my head as I don't have my Kobo with me but I do know there's a book in my collection with sparesly uses commas and since every English class I've taken recently tells us to STOP USING COMMAS SO MUCH I just try not to. Even though I still do.
But I'll definitely check out the source you mentioned. Like I said before, most of the things I write tend to be essays and transitioning to fiction again is really hard. All of the things you say are really good in helping (Like descriptions... How I forgot about such things.) me get back on track. Don't see it as a bother because rarely these days do I see meaningful critique on stories when help is needed. For those of us coming back, it's very welcome :)
(And to be fair, My University only turned from a college to a Uni 2 years ago, so we're not like the huge classes I've seen described. My largest class is 40 and I can see when you attend a proper State University how my description is like a Community College.)
No worries, a lot of people get messed up with the commas. To the point that I feel disillusioned, sometimes.
I think when your courses are telling you to avoid commas, they mean commas related to sentence pauses and less about quotations. But you can avoid quotations with commas by having the character do some action before the dialogue or after the dialogue (though please don't make them do actions simply so you can avoid this as it becomes cumbersome.) A lot of times, too, books simply don't need to tell the reader who is speaking because their mastery in language allows the reader to determine who is speaking simply by their language. So you'll have a lot of:
"Can I have some?"
"No."
"Meanie."
No descriptions, no telling who was saying what, and they work well in certain situations like short, sarcastic remarks or speeding up the story's pace. It's mindblowing to think how actual classic writers do EVERYTHING they write intentionally thinking of tone, mood, pacing, sounds of words, etc.
Also, because I'm a grammar-Nazi, you made an error with "get comma's in reference to stories/short stories." No need for the apostrophe because it's not possessive. Should just be: "commas."
Anyway, good luck with writing, sorry if at any point I came off as harsh, and I wish you the best.
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Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-03 01:50 pm (UTC)(link)But I'll definitely check out the source you mentioned. Like I said before, most of the things I write tend to be essays and transitioning to fiction again is really hard. All of the things you say are really good in helping (Like descriptions... How I forgot about such things.) me get back on track. Don't see it as a bother because rarely these days do I see meaningful critique on stories when help is needed. For those of us coming back, it's very welcome :)
(And to be fair, My University only turned from a college to a Uni 2 years ago, so we're not like the huge classes I've seen described. My largest class is 40 and I can see when you attend a proper State University how my description is like a Community College.)
Re: A Major in English is the finest Degree [9/?]
(Anonymous) 2012-02-04 03:56 am (UTC)(link)I think when your courses are telling you to avoid commas, they mean commas related to sentence pauses and less about quotations. But you can avoid quotations with commas by having the character do some action before the dialogue or after the dialogue (though please don't make them do actions simply so you can avoid this as it becomes cumbersome.) A lot of times, too, books simply don't need to tell the reader who is speaking because their mastery in language allows the reader to determine who is speaking simply by their language. So you'll have a lot of:
"Can I have some?"
"No."
"Meanie."
No descriptions, no telling who was saying what, and they work well in certain situations like short, sarcastic remarks or speeding up the story's pace. It's mindblowing to think how actual classic writers do EVERYTHING they write intentionally thinking of tone, mood, pacing, sounds of words, etc.
Also, because I'm a grammar-Nazi, you made an error with "get comma's in reference to stories/short stories." No need for the apostrophe because it's not possessive. Should just be: "commas."
Anyway, good luck with writing, sorry if at any point I came off as harsh, and I wish you the best.