Today guest blogger Boyd Sutton is finishing up his series on punctuating with close quotes. The topic is "Closing Quotes with Question Marks and Exclamation Points." I like that he has obviously read my The Frugal Editor. (-: " If you didn't catch the first three installment, just scroll down.
By Boyd Sutton
Punctuating Close Quotes with Question Marks and Exclamation Points
How you punctuate your question marks and exclamation points depends on context. Both of these marks are inserted before the close quotation mark if they are part of the quotation (that is, if the quotation is a question or an exclamatory statement), but after the close quotation mark if the entire sentence is a question or exclamatory statement.
Wrong: He asked, “Why wait until tomorrow”?
Right: He asked, “Why wait until tomorrow?”
Wrong: She wailed, “Not again”!
Right: She wailed, Not again!”
But, when a statement inside quotes is only part of the sentence and the entire sentence is a question or exclamation, the marks come after the close quote—even if the quote itself might be a question or exclamation.
Wrong: Did she really say, “Can you ever forgive me?”
Right: Did she really say, “Can you ever forgive me”?
Wrong: How dare you call me “strumpet!”
Right: How dare you call me “strumpet”!
Summary
1.Commas and periods always come before close quotes. Always!
2. Colons and semicolons always come after close quotes. Always!
3/ Question Marks and exclamation points may come before of after close quotes, depending on context.
There are many, more esoteric, rules for punctuation. I’ll discuss those in future editions of this blog or in the print edition of the Wisconsin Writers Journal. The basics in the last couple of blogs on The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor blog are important and easy to remember and account for at least half of the errors I see in submissions. As an editor, I’m “easy”; I just fix them. But, get them wrong in a query letter, a book proposal, or a submission to a newspaper or magazine and you give an editor or agent an easy excuse to reject your manuscript. I think that's why Carolyn keeps talking about using zero tolerance editing before you these documents; they are your first contacts with the gatekeepers who can make or break your career.
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Boyd Sutton is producer and editor of the Wisconsin Writers’ Journal, a quarterly publication of the Wisconsin Regional Writers Association . His articles, essays, and short stories have appeared in newspapers and magazines. He is a freelance editor and has won many writing awards, including the Jade Ring, Wisconsin’s most prestigious writing award, for his essay, “Owning Your Own Time—Managing Your Retirement.” He may be reached at journal@wrwa.net. This article first appeared in the 2008 winter edition of the Wisconsin Writers’ Journal.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com, where writers will find lists and other helps on the Resources for Writers page. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at her Sharing with Writers blog.
Gremlins out there are determined to keep your work from being published, your book from being promoted. They are resolved to embarrass you before the gatekeepers who can turn the key of success for you. Whether you are a new or experienced author, you need the multi award-winning "The Frugal Editor." It won USA Book News Award, Reader Views Literary Award, and was a finalist in the New Generations Award.
Showing posts with label exclamation points. Show all posts
Showing posts with label exclamation points. Show all posts
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Saturday, October 4, 2008
All-Caps, Exclamation Points and Feeding the Writer's Soul
This blog is not only about editing but a about a little of the other things we writers experience when we're in the process. So be patient. I'll get to CAPS and a little on exclamation point, too! (-:
My husband and I just returned from an amazing Transatlantic cruise that--once across the grand pond of water--stopped in New York and Fort Lauderdale. It was a long cruise and we elected to get off the ship in New York and fly home immediately.
When we got to New York we pulled into the port in Brooklyn. Across from us was Battery Park and that incomparable skyline (the best of any in the world!). New York was dressed in her best, that rare September morning look. Crisp air. Blue sky. Cool breeze off the East River. The smell of ocean salt. The tinny sounds of a city awaking. NEW YORK, NEW YORK!!! Ahhh.
But our plane left at 11:30 so we had to take a taxi to La Guardia airport. I have always added a day to business trips. I might use that day to visit the Dayton Art Museum after working the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop or spend it exploring Nashville's quaint downtown after the Southern Book Fair. So I know that it works. I guess I just needed a reminder. So New York dressed itself in it's Chanel best so I wouldn't forget again.
Now, I promised you something on editing. During the at sea days on the Atlantic, I did some editing and was reminded that I want to remind you about using caps for emphasis. You know, like the caps I just used for NEW YORK! NEW YORK.
Try not to do it. What you can get away with on the Web is different from what people come to expect in a book. Besides, it's the lazy writer's way to yell or emphasize something. You can do better. Your dialogue can say it's yelling by the word selection. You character can show she is yelling when you give her certain body language. Whomever she is talking to can indicate she is yelling by his reaction to her in either his dialogue or his body language. There are all kinds of ways to achieve what you're after without resorting to caps.
I'm not saying, never-ever-ever use all caps to achieve something in your writing. I'm just saying, try to do without them. Give your writing skills a workout first. That way you grow as a writer and you'll also be confident that you didn't use all caps because you didn't know of another way (yes, I think about any other way is better!) to achieve the affect.
And about NEW YORK, NEW YORK! I could have used lots of exclamation points but they're just as bad. I wasn't writing dialogue so I couldn't use my dialogue skills. Sometimes--rarely--over-using formatting just seems the only way to let exuberance loose. But there still is a better way. I could have just expressed my enthusiasm. I could have said something like, "I just adore New York! Always have. Always will!"
Here's to New York! Here's to learning hard-won lessons! With a little luck, I won't ever again forget that one day at the Met may be worth more than a day returning e-mail. And then there's that thing about how easy it is to lapse back into the all-caps habit.
Technorati Tags:
dayton art museum, erma bombeck writers workshop, exclamation points, all caps, capital letters, southern festival of books, nashville, writer's soul
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com.
My husband and I just returned from an amazing Transatlantic cruise that--once across the grand pond of water--stopped in New York and Fort Lauderdale. It was a long cruise and we elected to get off the ship in New York and fly home immediately.
When we got to New York we pulled into the port in Brooklyn. Across from us was Battery Park and that incomparable skyline (the best of any in the world!). New York was dressed in her best, that rare September morning look. Crisp air. Blue sky. Cool breeze off the East River. The smell of ocean salt. The tinny sounds of a city awaking. NEW YORK, NEW YORK!!! Ahhh.
But our plane left at 11:30 so we had to take a taxi to La Guardia airport. I have always added a day to business trips. I might use that day to visit the Dayton Art Museum after working the Erma Bombeck Writers' Workshop or spend it exploring Nashville's quaint downtown after the Southern Book Fair. So I know that it works. I guess I just needed a reminder. So New York dressed itself in it's Chanel best so I wouldn't forget again.
Now, I promised you something on editing. During the at sea days on the Atlantic, I did some editing and was reminded that I want to remind you about using caps for emphasis. You know, like the caps I just used for NEW YORK! NEW YORK.
Try not to do it. What you can get away with on the Web is different from what people come to expect in a book. Besides, it's the lazy writer's way to yell or emphasize something. You can do better. Your dialogue can say it's yelling by the word selection. You character can show she is yelling when you give her certain body language. Whomever she is talking to can indicate she is yelling by his reaction to her in either his dialogue or his body language. There are all kinds of ways to achieve what you're after without resorting to caps.
I'm not saying, never-ever-ever use all caps to achieve something in your writing. I'm just saying, try to do without them. Give your writing skills a workout first. That way you grow as a writer and you'll also be confident that you didn't use all caps because you didn't know of another way (yes, I think about any other way is better!) to achieve the affect.
And about NEW YORK, NEW YORK! I could have used lots of exclamation points but they're just as bad. I wasn't writing dialogue so I couldn't use my dialogue skills. Sometimes--rarely--over-using formatting just seems the only way to let exuberance loose. But there still is a better way. I could have just expressed my enthusiasm. I could have said something like, "I just adore New York! Always have. Always will!"
Here's to New York! Here's to learning hard-won lessons! With a little luck, I won't ever again forget that one day at the Met may be worth more than a day returning e-mail. And then there's that thing about how easy it is to lapse back into the all-caps habit.
Technorati Tags:
dayton art museum, erma bombeck writers workshop, exclamation points, all caps, capital letters, southern festival of books, nashville, writer's soul
-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits, consults and speaks on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0978515870. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com. She blogs on all things publishing (not just editing!) at www.sharingwithwriters.blogspot.com.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Writing Picture-Perfect Query Letters
So, last week we talked about "Five Editing Myths Waiting To Trip Up Your Campaign to Market Your Work." This week it's "Five Things to Avoid for a Pristine Query Letter." I posted last week's editing tip on this blog, too.
BTW, did I tell you all that The Frugal Editor won its second award. It is top publishing book for Reader Views Literary Award in addition to USA Book News' Best Book in the writing category. This article includes just a few of the things I gleaned from the chapters on editing query letters. Many of the ones in the book and this article I got from my interviews of many of our top agents . I was really pleased how many agents were willing to help me help you. (-:
Five Things to Avoid for a Pristine Query Letter
We are selling our work when we approach any gatekeeper, an editor, an agent, a contest judge. Here are five little things to avoid so you'll look like the professional you are.
Don't tell the gatekeeper you always wanted to write. You can think of something more pertinent to your cause (and something more original!) than that.
Don't use the verb "quote" when you want the noun "quotation." Some stylebooks will tell you that it's OK, but agents can be a picky lot. Use zero-tolerance grammar rules for your queries.
Don't pitch more than one book at time. You want to give that one your best shot.
Don't call your novel a "fictional novel." By definition, a novel is fiction.
Don't overdo exclamation marks, question marks, the use of sentence fragments. (Yes, fragments are acceptable when they're used for a good reason but limit them, please.)
Here's one last suggestion for fiction writers 'cause they're so often neglected when it comes to marketing. Avoid using italics for internal thought. Yes, it's being done more and more but it is often a crutch that fiction writers use to avoid writing great transitions and point-of-view; the best agents will recognize it as such.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits and consults on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success on Amazon. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
BTW, did I tell you all that The Frugal Editor won its second award. It is top publishing book for Reader Views Literary Award in addition to USA Book News' Best Book in the writing category. This article includes just a few of the things I gleaned from the chapters on editing query letters. Many of the ones in the book and this article I got from my interviews of many of our top agents . I was really pleased how many agents were willing to help me help you. (-:
Five Things to Avoid for a Pristine Query Letter
We are selling our work when we approach any gatekeeper, an editor, an agent, a contest judge. Here are five little things to avoid so you'll look like the professional you are.
Don't tell the gatekeeper you always wanted to write. You can think of something more pertinent to your cause (and something more original!) than that.
Don't use the verb "quote" when you want the noun "quotation." Some stylebooks will tell you that it's OK, but agents can be a picky lot. Use zero-tolerance grammar rules for your queries.
Don't pitch more than one book at time. You want to give that one your best shot.
Don't call your novel a "fictional novel." By definition, a novel is fiction.
Don't overdo exclamation marks, question marks, the use of sentence fragments. (Yes, fragments are acceptable when they're used for a good reason but limit them, please.)
Here's one last suggestion for fiction writers 'cause they're so often neglected when it comes to marketing. Avoid using italics for internal thought. Yes, it's being done more and more but it is often a crutch that fiction writers use to avoid writing great transitions and point-of-view; the best agents will recognize it as such.
-------
Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author THIS IS THE PLACE; HARKENING: A COLLECTION OF STORIES REMEMBERED; TRACINGS, a chapbook of poetry; and two how to books, THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER: HOW TO DO WHAT YOUR PUBLISHER WON'T; and THE FRUGAL EDITOR: PUT YOUR BEST BOOK FORWARD TO AVOID HUMILIATION AND ENSURE SUCCESS.
Her other blogs include TheNewBookReview.blogspot.com and AuthorsCoalition.blogspot.com, a blog that helps writers and publishers turn a ho-hum book fair booth into a sizzler.
-----
Carolyn Howard-Johnson edits and consults on issues of publishing. Find her The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success on Amazon. Learn more about her other authors' aids at www.howtodoitfrugally.com.
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