The Writing Workshop

Good Grammer: How to Find and Fix Sentence Fragments and Run-On Sentences

The most common problem in sentence creation is when you're not actually writing a single sentence. Instead, you either end up with a half-sentence, called a sentence fragment, or multiple sentences in one, called a run-on sentence. When editing, the goal is to catch as many of these as possible, as they tend to can stick out like sore thumbs in otherwise great writing.

Sentence Fragments

Sentences need two things to be complete: a verb and a noun to take the verb's action, called a subject. A sentence fragment has only one or the other.

The main reason this occurs is that there are still other things in the sentence -  adjectives, adverbs, a verb that doesn't work with the noun that's present so that noun can't be the subject. When editing for sentence structures, you need to ask yourself, "Where is this sentence's subject and verb?". If they're there, you have a complete sentence.

We often speak in sentence fragments. When writing dialogue or when using a very close point of view to a character, you can often get away with using sentence fragments infrequently. However, when writing academic or more formal writing, sentence fragments never belong. The writing tip "Write like you speak" only goes so far.

Run-On Sentences

Run-on sentences occur when a writer is trying to cram too much thought or creativity inside a single sentence. The very best writers (we're talking Pulitizer-prize winners here) can create sentences that last for pages that really aren't run-on sentences. The normal person, though? They should be wary of any sentence that lasts over four typed lines.

When looking for run-on sentences, you're actually looking for a cousin of the sentence fragment. In a run-on, you have too much information without it being properly structured. In grammar, everything has a specific place to go and if you have multiple subjects or multiple active verbs, there needs to be some connecting words, like conjunctions (and, but, or). Without that connection, you have a run-on.

You can fix the run-on by breaking the sentence apart. In general, for most writing, it's better to be clean and precise. Even if you're not sure you have a run-on but you definitely have a very long sentence that seems to ramble on, you should probably just break the sentences down into smaller sentences, anyways. Just make sure you rearrange things so you don't end up with a sentence fragment by doing so. Smaller, more compact sentences tend to be easier to read.

Good Grammar: How to Properly Use Quotation Marks

Quotation marks seem to be one of those things that everybody assumes they know all the rules for. And then they go and write a whole book not using single quotations for quotes within quotes. I mean, crazy, right?

So let's break down the rules.

• Dialogue/Quotes

Quotation marks are must commonly associated with dialogue, which signifies the words character speak out loud in fiction. In nonfiction, we can copy another work, writing down exactly what the source says, and put it into our work by quoting. Standard dialogue looks like this:

Jill said, "I hate this place."

"I do, too," Rebecca said.

Notice the placement of the quotation marks and the commas. You need both for quoting and dialogue to be correct. Also notice that you need to put who is speaking next to the quoted material (same for nonfiction). We call these attributions.

The two most common problems in using quotation marks is that you forget to use one or the other marks (forgetting to show where the quotes starts or stops) or you get the punctation/paragraphing wrong. Here's a primer on dialogue.

• Air Quotes

Here's a fun fact: the idea of air quotes, where we add quotes to something to show that's not really what we're saying but only close to it or mocking it, is not formal English and shouldn't be used in places where formal English is being used. I also believe they're not part of the Chicago Manual of Style (which is what most book publishers use as their styleguide). Avoid them.

• Single Quotation Marks

If you have a quote within a quote (say, a character repeating what someone else says or you're quoting a source that is quoting a source, too), then you need to use single quotation marks. (On the keyboard, they're also apostrophes.) The reason being is that you can't have two sets of quotation marks within the same sentence, because then you can't tell where one quote begins and ends. Here's an example:

"So, James turned to me and said 'I never loved you anyways' and I was like 'please'," Sally said.

Notice how by using single quotation marks, you can tell what Sally is saying and what is coming from the previous conversation.

Writing Prompt: Shush. No Talking.

Normally, as an editor, I suggest that writers use every tool of their trade when crafting stories - especially the ones they're best at. But, as a writer, (if you've read any of my prompts), I always suggest pushing yourself. I, for one, never knew I was good at dialogue until someone told me. And then I didn't believe it until I kept getting the same compliment.

Write a story that does not use dialogue but does have mulitple characters.

How do you write a story without talking? When/where/why are the characters not speaking? You can either go for an experimental piece, where your characters just don't use traditional form dialogue, or perhaps a science fiction slant, where characters communicate in another way. Or, you can work with characters with disabilities.

It's all up to you, but the goal is to focus on the way people talk without talking.

Good Grammar: Dialect in Dialogue

Dialect, especially regional dialects, can be fun to write. Some writers, in fact, are amazing at using them - think Mark Twain's dialogue from Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn. But most of us? We really suck at it.

In comics, for instance, dialect was once used to show where a person was from. Chris Claremont, who made the X-Men the most popular comic franchise of the 80's and 90's, used dialect for the majority of his characters: southern belle Rogue said "y'all" a lot and clipped off the ends of her words, Cajun Gambit called people "mon ami" and "chere", and Russian Colossus frequently shouted "Bohzne moi!" for "Oh my God!". Since this made the majority of the X-Men stereotypes (which is amusingly ironic for the fact that the X-Men's main theme is that of fighting against prejudice), the characters now only bring out their native dialects on rare occasions.

Here's the rule I always go for when dealing with dialects in dialgoue: If you're good at working with a dialect, then use it. If not - or if you know you're just faking it - stick to a more standard English. When using a dialect, you're actually playing against your reader's willing suspension of disbelief, because if it sounds wrong to the reader, they're going to start thinking you don't know what you're talking about. In other words, a bad dialect can ruin a story.

When using a dialect, make sure you understand it's more about the rhythm of the language and diction than it is about funny punctuation. Mimicking a dialect in a good way is more about understanding the flow of how a group of people speak than using apostrophes to drop the "g" in "-ing". The end goal is that your characters sound real, and punctuation, in the end, is usually visually distracting and does not help your cause.

In the end, making a character sound real is more important than making them sound like they're from Boston, Paris, or the deep south.

Prompt: Great Movie Dialogue (in a Book)

Some of the best dialogue ever written hasn't appeared in books; it's appeared in movies. Luckily, writers are all about stealing each other's work, so in today's prompt, let's tear off a page of a screenplay and see where it gets us.

Write a story that uses a single line of dialogue from a movie as it's opening line.

If you need help finding dialogue, there's a whole selection of lists here, from AMC Filmsite. You can choose from great dialgoue, classic dialgoue, or lousy dialogue. Your choice.

And I personally like this prompt because my writing teachers always yelled at me for my tendency to start a story with dialogue. Apparently, you're not supposed to do that or something.

Whoops.

Prompt: Double Meanings

I love writing dialogue, especially dialogue that has multiple meanings. Usually, when someone speaks, there is more than one single way to interpret what's being said - this is why miscommunication happens so frequently.

In today's prompt, let's push our dialogue chops and create a story with multiple layers.

Write a story that is composed mostly of dialogue, if not completely. The dialogue should have multiple layers - what the characters appear to be saying at first is slowly revealed to be something completely different by the end of the story.

How good is your dialogue? How will you make it evident to the reader that what the characters are saying is not entirely what they mean?

Remember to push yourself - try for dialogue that could have 3 or 4 meanings to it!

Good Grammar: Dialogue

Sometimes, writers make stylistic choices. e e cummings and James Joyce are probably extreme examples, but you get the point. In the end, all that mattered was that people could get used to what they were doing, because it was consistent. It was still readable, because it followed some sort of pattern - however undefinable.

For some reason, a lot of the writers I've worked with can't figure out the basics of dialogue and how to punctuate it. And when questioned about it, they almost always go for the "stylistic choice" argument, when really, it's just because they're afraid to admit they have no idea how to do it correctly.

Well, good news! We're going to talk the basics of dialogue punctuation today.

Here's the easist example: Sally said, "John, tell the class your name."

OK, let's break it down. Sally said is the attribution. This is the part of dialogue where we put which character is talking. Generally speaking, we use the verb "said" to do this. Said, when the attribution is first, is followed by a comma, then the start of the quote. Notice the spacing here, too: no space after "said" and before the quote start, but a space before the first quotation mark.

Whatever the character is saying is surrounded by two sets of quotation marks, one to mark the beginning of the talking and one to mark the end. Notice that there can be punctuation, as normal, inside the quotation mark. In our example, the comma after "John" doesn't change just because it's inside the quotation marks.

At the end of the quote, since this is the end of our sentence, we put a period inside the quotation mark. This is an area of common mistakes, as sometimes people will put commas inside and periods outside.

Let's take a look at another example, if the attribution is after the quote: "John, tell the class your name," Sally said.

Notice that the parts of the sentence are the same, but the punctuation has changed. Inside the quotation marks, there is now a comma. This is a replacement for our original period, signifying the end of a complete sentence inside the quotation marks. Our period moves to the end of the sentence.

And once again, the punctuation inside the quotation is standard - the quotation marks don't change other grammar rules.

So what about question marks and exclamation marks, then?

Question Mark: Jake asked Molly, "Would you like to go out with me?"

Exclamation Point: "Run for your lives!" Elizabeth shouted.

These two work pretty much the same way and in a very similiar way to the period. Just like before, the sentence-ending punctuation of the question mark ends the sentence. There's no need to put another period after the quotation mark. Also, notice that I put "Molly" after the "said", even though Jake was speaking. That's fine, as long as you have that comma before the first quotation mark.

In the second example, we have our sentence-ending punctuation in the form of an exclamation mark. Here, we do need a period - but only after the entire sentence has been completed, so after our attribution.

Attributions don't have to always be given, as long as it is clear to the reader who is speaking.

For example: Darla wanted to say what she was feeling, so she walked up to the mike. "I hate you all."

It's fairly certain, especially if other characters haven't been mentioned recently, that Darla is the one saying, "I hate you all." Technically, there is no attribution here, and we use our punctuation to show that the quote itself is a complete sentence with a period at the end.

So, those are your dialogue basics, and should actually get you through about 75% of your dialogue needs. So no more saying that your lack of commas is a stylistic choice.