Deep Thoughts About Punctuation

You know writing may be your ideal profession when a book about punctuation is among your favorites.  The book Eats Shoots and Leaves is a popular classic on commas and such, and I highly recommend it.  But for many people, I realize, punctuation is nothing short of a necessary evil. 

Don't make the mistake of thinking the proper use of commas isn't a big deal on the Internet.  There are readers who can spot misplaced or just plain missing punctuation with ease, and it can take away from a website's credibility.

There have probably been countless analogies to illustrate how important punctuation is.  Stephen King compared it to tools in the writing toolbox in his volume On Writing. 

"Some grammarians have the analogy of stitching:  punctuation as the basting that holds the fabric of language in shape."  -- from Eats Shoots and Leaves by Lynne Truss

When I think about punctuation, I invariably think of my English court reporting instructor, Mrs. Reed.  She was like an Army  sergeant, drilling sentence structure, comma usage, and all things punctuation into our brains.  It really stuck, mostly because my fellow students and I came to understand the rules of punctuation and their various reasons via fear of the teacher's wrath.

But the punctuation I learned to use as a court reporter isn't the same "style guide" used for printed publications.

Newspaper and magazine editors usually ask writers to use the Associated Press Stylebook, and many publishers prefer the Chicago Manual of Style.  People in business often use the Gregg Reference Manual.

All web writers need to know some version of proper punctuation, not only to turn out professional work but also to make copy easier to read and understand.  If you doubt it, well, did you ever hear about the panda bear that eats, shoots, and leaves?

Say Something Already

How does a business rise to the top of millions of search engine results?  One answer is that their websites and blogs actually say something in a way that is very readable and informative.
 
Communicating effectively with written words is not a simple task.  An important aspect of producing great copy that begs to be read is:  editing (a.k.a. cutting out unnecessary words).
 
An unforgettable lesson I learned from reading prolific author Stephen King's book On Writing was to unmercifully cut out unnecessary words.  Most people who visit websites are there because they want to know something.  If they begin reading but find nothing helpful, they will quickly leave the site and try another. 

On the other hand, if they discover the very answers they are looking for plus a lot more helpful stuff, they will stay.  In fact, there is a good chance they will bookmark the page or even share the page with their friends on Facebook or Twitter.
 
A copywriter who produces good results for employers is no doubt good at making sure their copy cuts straight to the business of saying something helpful, informative, or interesting.
 
The way I work on writing assignments:

·    Begin by researching the topic and reading much more information than the word count needed for my copy.

·    Organize the information to be used in a way that makes good sense.

·    Use bullet points when appropriate and avoid large paragraphs—in other words, I strive to make the article seem easy and not cumbersome to read.

·    Edit and edit again.