DARN COMMAS!



comma


Comma usage confuses me. I was taught to put commas in places where nowadays they are no longer needed. Therefore, I continuously debate back and forth in my head whether to continue using them in certain situations. My “old school” teachings tend to win out—at least until my editor gets a hold of whatever I’m writing.


But we writers are under tremendous pressure whenever we write a blog post. Most of us do not have an editor looking over our shoulder telling us the correct punctuation, proper usage of words, etc. Honestly, sometimes it takes hours to write a few paragraphs! And when we finally do publicize a post, we’re still not sure we’ve punctuated or written it correctly. (I’m really speaking for myself, but I’m sure others feel the same way.)


Last night, after posting a blog entry, I was haunted by a specific comma I used and spent most of the overnight worrying about it. Should that comma have gone there? Maybe I should’ve restructured the sentence instead? Oh, no! I probably need to remove it before anyone notices what a screw up I can be!


I didn’t end up changing a thing, but self-doubt kept at me and kept me awake.


Today (notice the comma here), I Googled my dilemma and found different answers. Most said the comma was optional. I also found this link supporting my “old school” ways.


http://www2.ivcc.edu/rambo//eng1001/commas.htm


I feel better about it now, for the moment at least. No reader has commented on it yet, either, and I’m glad I’ve shared this with you.


So maybe I can sleep now?



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Published on May 09, 2013 17:05
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