Hello everyone. I hope the day went marvelously well for you. This lecture has been long overdue, because of a rather tragic, slightly pathetic chain of events.
I am called Grayne or That Ryūsei Kid or Comet Brat, depending on your tastes and ability to pronounce Japanese. And I'm here to invade your minds and implant new ideas in your stream of consciousness. That is, I'm here to teach. On Punctuation.
Wikipedia defines Punctuation as the use of spacing, conventional signs and certain typographical devices as aids to the understanding and correct reading of handwritten and printed text whether read silently or aloud. In simple English, punctuation is the salt of a sentence. Incredibly underrated but absolutely vital.
Punctuation is the difference between this:
_"I love cooking eating human beings animals and my family"_
And this:
_"I love cooking, eating, human beings, animals and my family."_
You see how a few commas separates a philanthropist's hobbies from the diary of a cannibalistic sociopath?
As writers, we're generally aware of the more popular punctuation marks. The fullstops, the commas, question marks, exclamation marks etc. Then the not so popular ones like the colons, semicolons, quotation marks etc. And then there's the relatively unknown ones like these:
— « » ฯ
Each mark, at some point, contributes to whatever work you happen to be drawing out. The more skilled writers can actually use punctuation to manipulate their works, creating scenarios and adding effects where they otherwise could not. You don't have to completely understand each and Every. Single. Mark(it's recommended) but if you can achieve a basic understanding of the more common ones, it makes your story comprehensible and, depending on how you use it, exciting.
Before we move on, allow me to reiterate that there is no physical or technical difference between a period and a full stop. A full stop is a period and vice versa. It's just that in the USA, they call '.' a period as opposed to the UK where '.' is a full stop.
In a lot of stories where the punctuation is poor, we find either that there is no punctuation at all... or that the common marks are poorly applied. So allow me to give you a few things to watch out for and apply.
1. Leave no space before a punctuation mark. That is a cardinal rule. Whatever you use, leave no space before. The space comes after.
2. In the case of quotation marks(") vs inverted commas('), it's a matter of style. I usually use quotation marks when I write dialogue. It's not an absolute rule. What IS the absolute rule however, is that whichever one you use, be consistent with it. What is ANOTHER absolute rule is that you leave the corresponding comma, fullstop, exclamation or question mark BEFORE the end of your quoted speech. Case in point:
_"I don't like candy," swore Rebecca as she decapitated her rival._
As opposed to "I don't like candy" or "I don't like candy",
Which leads me to:
3... The semicolon. A severely underrated punctuation mark.
Have you ever wondered what to do when you're not sure whether to use a comma or a full stop?
Never fear for the Semicolon is here!
While the semicolon can be used to take the place of a comma when listing nouns like:
_The killers' names were Painite; Omoope; Hermit and Daria._
It is best used between 2 independent and closely related clauses. In simpler terms, when you're not sure if a comma will do but you don't want to use a full stop. For example:
_She said she preferred pulling out nails; I'm keener on flaying._
Understood? As with normal comma use, only capitalise the letter after a semicolon if it's appropriate.
Now here comes the major one for tonight.
Our primary subject matter: The Dashes!
- — – -
These are the Dashes. The most unsung of unsung heroes of punctuation. Hear their names and feel free to wince if you've never heard of them before.
1. The Hyphen "-": The most popular of its kin. The hyphen loves nothing more than to join 2 consenting words in holy matrimony, in a process not known as marriage but as hyphenation!
For example:
_"This is some spine-tingling stuff."_
_"Bose-Einstein condensate can freeze people."_
Please note that the Hyphen is ONLY meant to join 2 consenting words together.
2. The En dash "–": Slightly longer than the hyphen, the en dash is primarily for the purpose of joining 2 numbers together to form a range. Something like this:
_"Those of you in rows 1–12, come out with your feet in your hands!"_
_"Here lies Temi Adewale, 1998–2018."_
3. The Em dash "—": The longest and most unsung of all its family members, the Em dash holds a special place in the English language for its versatility and ability to get you out of a tight fix. You can use the Em dash as a parenthesis or as a colon:
_For example—_
_The Terrible Triplets—Timi, Temi, Teni—returned from their terrible travails with the tongues of their terrified victims._
You can also use the Em dash as a means of interrupting speech. I see a lot of us on Wattpad use hyphens for this purpose. An em dash is the best person for the job.
_"But he was the one—"_
_"I'm fully aware your husband cheated on you but stabbing him two hundred times and keeping his head in the freezer isn't the best course of action. I recommend a live lye shower next time. Or if you have the stomach for it, scaphism."_
If you're feeling up to aposiopesis, that is, when the speaker breaks speech due to emotional turmoil, an ellipse or an em dash will be perfect.
If your work requires a little letter omission, an em dash is perfect.
_"It's beyond doubt that H—— f——— the mayor's household."_
There are many, many uses for the em dash. So many that you'll likely wonder where it's been all your life. And that's where the problem lies. The tendency to repeatedly use the same marks. That's why there are so many different marks performing the same tasks, for variety. They vary in strength, depending on the scenario(a semicolon is stronger than a comma when pausing a sentence, a fullstop is stronger still) so use wisely.
Punctuation ought not to be boring. If you noticed from my examples, the art of punctuation is a delightful one. You're able to alter the perception and realities of your readers. It is great power. A power you must learn to control, young Padawan, if you ever hope to conquer the dark side of Wattpad and writing in general.
Thank you very much for coming to my talk. We'll see somewhere in the near future.
Lecture by @timibankole
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