tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1447996151440578956.post4393969519359185326..comments2024-03-18T04:50:28.589-07:00Comments on Grace's Mosaic Moments: The Colon is Down but not Out!Gracehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04040441084648426091noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1447996151440578956.post-40575127786292715222018-02-25T14:18:16.092-08:002018-02-25T14:18:16.092-08:00Linda, I've probably mentioned dashes more tha...Linda, I've probably mentioned dashes more than once, but the primary date is June 16, 2011. Fragments I'm quite sure I only mentioned once, as they are so very much a part of modern fiction that I didn't feel they needed any more validation. Fragments - see May 16, 2011. Both are in the series, Nuts & Bolts.Gracehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04040441084648426091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1447996151440578956.post-79882841427522232162018-02-25T04:44:27.623-08:002018-02-25T04:44:27.623-08:00Thank you for standing up for punctuation, though ...Thank you for standing up for punctuation, though I confess my age when I add that your title made me think immediately of medical procedures.<br /><br />I use colons and semicolons all the time. I have no idea why a writer would want to discard useful tools just because they were taught in English class; commas and periods were taught there, too, and we still use those. I could eat most of my meals with just a spoon and a sharp knife, but forks are available, and very handy, so I use them.<br /><br />This post reminds me of two writing questions I'd love to hear you expound upon--or point me to where you've done so already. One is the use of the dash. If that was taught in school, I don't remember it. I like the dash and use it a lot (almost always an mdash, for what it's worth), but I usually feel as if I'm cheating somehow, using it indolently instead of figuring out the "proper" punctuation.<br /><br />The second is sentence fragments, which I see you are not afraid to employ. I was brought up to avoid them, though I know that used judiciously they can add power and flavor to the writing, and I confess there are plenty of times when their use just feels right to me. Are there rules about sentence fragments other than "don't use them?" Formal vs. informal writing, maybe?<br /><br />(There, by the way, is the secret to how I write. I remember little of what I was actually taught--and I <i>hated</i> writing in school--but was blessed with parents who spoke well and a childhood spent reading mountains of well-written books. That background rarely fails me when it comes to writing, though I'm hazy on the rules. I learned to read and spell without phonics, too; I do both very well, but it's something I more learned than was taught. Very handy for me, but harder when I want to explain to others.)Linda Wightman (SursumCorda)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05743407414054956783noreply@blogger.com