Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

by Benjamin Dreyer

A good sentence, I find myself saying frequently, is one that the reader can follow from beginning to end, no matter how long it is, without having to double back in confusion because the writer misused or omitted a key piece of punctuation, chose a vague or misleading pronoun, or in some other way engaged in inadvertent misdirection.

IF WORDS ARE THE FLESH, MUSCLE, AND BONE OF PROSE, punctuation is the breath.

Fiction may be fictional, but a work of fiction won’t work if it isn’t logical and consistent.