Dreamland Review Archive

MSC (T)

i. PUNCTUATION

#1: THE DASH

You use a hyphen in place of an em dash. Here's the quick rundown on which dashes should be used when.

The hyphen (-) is for hyphenated words only, such as long-term or father-in-law. The hyphen is just one press of the dash button.

The en dash (–) is the slightly larger dash that you're currently using. It is used only as formatting in chapter titles or things like that. It is not used in creative writing unless you're writing something science-based in dialogue. It is typed by typing a word, a space, a hyphen, then another space, then the next word. Programs like Word or Google Docs will then elongate it for you. Examples: The distillation went from 80 – 90 degrees.

The em dash (—) is the big kahuna of dashes and the one you should be using where you use the en dash. It is used to indicate interruption of dialogue, interruption of thoughts, or to add or clarify something in creative writing. It is typed by typing a word, NO SPACE, TWO hyphens, then NO SPACE, then the next word. Word or Google Docs will then elongate it for you. Be careful--Wattpad won't, hence why my dashes on here look like they do. But you should always be saving your story somewhere else, because otherwise, Wattpad may crash, you'll lose all your life's work, and then you'll become a villain.

#2: THE COMMA

DON'T RUN BECAUSE I SAID COMMAS. I promise, I can make commas less confusing. (If you're not scared of commas like I used to be, then ignore that.)

I have two comma rules to start you off with. They're going to seem like a lot, but I promise you, applying them will DRASTICALLY improve the flow of your story. I'd just like to mention that you currently use commas in a way that is much better than most Wattpad writers, but working out the problematic commas will take your story up a huge notch. 

To start, I just want to go over some definitions.

There are things called clauses. They are basically just parts of a sentence. A clause can be either of the following:

An independent clause is the part of a sentence that stands alone. Independent clauses contain a subject and verb. For example: 'I went to the store.'

A dependent clause is the part of a sentence that relies on the independent clause to make sense. Dependent clauses are often missing a subject or verb that is in the independent clause. For example: 'and bought bananas.'

RULE 1: When a dependent clause comes before an independent clause, a comma is used to separate them.

Example: With a lot of difficulties, I completed the hike.

Explanation: 'I completed the hike' is an independent sentence--it makes sense on its own. But 'with a lot of difficulties' doesn't really make sense on its own--it needs help from the independent clause to clarify what we are doing that we had difficulty with. We use a comma in this instance.

Example from your book (uncorrected): ...calling out to me, as I tried to think about the things I already had missed about home.

Example from your book (uncorrected): ...calling out to me as I tried to think about the things I already had missed about home.

RULE 2. When an independent clause comes before a dependent clause, NO comma is used.