When the Know-It-All Gets Edited

Ha!

I AM A KNOW-IT-ALL when it comes to punctuation usage. I’ve read Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style many times, and I check the Chicago Manual of Style as if it’s the weather.

So I’m the person who, editing the writing of others, says cheeky things like, “Check comma usage.” Or, “Your weakness is commas. Familiarize yourself with how to use them.”

Then my own work gets edited. It is a lesson in being humble.

This past week I’ve received corrections and suggestions from three beta readers who are picking through Journey in Place, the book, page by page.

I want to talk about style.

1.

First, I’ve heard rumblings lately that we don’t need punctuation. What are important are the words, I read recently. Who cares whether a comma goes here or there? Down with punctuation!

In many areas I am a free thinker, but not in the area of punctuation. Knowing punctuation is like knowing the rules of the road. We have to pass a test before we get a driver’s license because knowing what “STOP” means is a good idea. It saves lives.

Knowing how to use a comma helps a reader understand what you’ve written. Eats, shoots and leaves?

So know that first: I love punctuation. I’m a stickler about it.

2.

It keeps changing. That is so dang annoying. Just when I think I have figured out commas, the rules change. A couple of decades ago we were in this era where the rule-makers wanted fewer commas. You could write:

So I, a comma minimalist, kept doing it like that.

But no. One of my editors pointed out that non-restrictive (sentence makes sense without them) introductory clauses get commas. The sentence should read:

I wrote this sentence in the book: During the past decade I’ve become intrigued by the reality that the climate crisis is transforming our places and also transforming our senses of place.

That would change to: During the past decade, I’ve become intrigued by the reality that the climate crisis is transforming our places and also transforming our senses of place.

The only difference is a comma after “decade.”

“Years ago I heard a person speak” changes to “Years ago, I heard a person speak.”

3.

South versus south. I remember a time when, although the rule did not make sense to me, we were told that South should be lowercase. Guess what? We are capitalizing U.S. regions again.

4.

In terms of compound words, look them up every time. Is it flat woods or flatwoods or flat-woods? Home ground? Sweet gums or sweetgums? Schoolkids?

Note here that auto-correct is not your friend. It separates sweetgums right when you turn your head for a minute.

5.

Earth is capitalized unless you’re talking about soil.

6.

“COVID-19” is an acronym that stands for COronaVIrus Disease 2019. Which do you write?

• “covid”

• “Covid”

• “COVID”

• “COVID-19”

7.

Which is correct, “internet” or “Internet?”

8.

Use “farther” if referring to a physical distance, “further” if referring simply to more.

9.

Foamflower is one word.

In “dark-blue” the hyphen is not necessary. Same with “bright-red.”

11.

Punctuation is flat-out different on the Internet. Most numbers are numbers, for example. Nobody would write out “fifty-five.” However, books still use the old Chicago Manual, and “55” will not do.

12.

Take this as a warning. Punctuation rules are not permanent. They have changed dramatically in my thirty years as a writer, and they will continue to change. Look things up.

13.

Or hire a really great editor.

Resources

• Chicago Manual of Style

• Eats, Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss

• The Copy Editor’s Handbook by by Amy Einsohn and Marilyn Schwartz (rec by Cyn Kitchen)

• The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. & enlarged by E.B. White (Gutenberg put up the original version.)

• Making a Point: The Persnickety Story of English Punctuation by David Crystal

(Y’all, case in point. When alphabetizing the list above, do I disregard “The” in titles. Is this list in alphabetical order by book title or not?)

If You See a Punctuation Mistake in This Post

Please pretend you didn’t.

This Father’s Day photo needs an exclamation point on the end of it! Or multiples!!!

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Only You Know This Secret

I’m one step closer to moving Rhizosphere over to my Substack Trackless Wild, where it will be a Section. I’m changing the name to “The Understory.” I’m tinkering with a logo and still working out the details of how the move will go. By next week I should have a plan. You will be the first to hear about it.