Guest Post by Jack Smith

In fiction what is “correct” is what works—what creates strong characters, drives the story, and creates the appropriate tone.  This applies to grammar and mechanics as well.  I’ll have to admit, I do tend to be a bit schoolmarmy about the conventions of grammar and mechanics, but I also recognize when it’s important to depart from the standard handbook.  A bullet train of comma splices might be desirable if you’re attempting to capture run-on thought.   No punctuation at all might also be.  When I’m editing my own work, as well as the work of others in my role as Fiction Editor for The Green Hills Literary Lantern, I tend to notice the following kinds of grammatical issues: subject-verb agreement, pronoun reference, misplaced modifiers, and, of course, matters of punctuation, which includes commas, semi-colons, colons, apostrophes, parenthesis—and more.

I’ll limit my comments here to commas.  According to strict handbook rules and conventions, where should you use commas?Continue reading