The Serial Comma

Do you know what the serial comma (also known as the Oxford comma) is? Some people use it, some people are against it, and it's used less and less as time goes on.

I personally use it and think it should be used everywhere.

The serial comma is a comma placed before the final conjunction in a list of three or more items/phrases. For example: My favorite fruits are pineapple, strawberry, and watermelon. I used a comma before the final conjunction (and in that sentence) in the list of my favorite fruits.

The reason you want to use this comma is because it makes listing three or more items make more sense. If you write "The cheeses on the table are swiss, cheddar, gouda and parmesan," you could mean "The cheeses on the table are swiss, cheddar, with gouda and parmesan mixed together." It's better to have a comma after the second-to-last item listed.

And from what I know, it's grammatically correct.

So instead, you should write "The cheeses on the table are swiss, cheddar, gouda, and parmesan."

But note something. Do not use the serial comma when listing fewer than three items. Don't say, "This book is written in English, and Spanish." The comma doesn't work there. Stick with writing "English and Spanish."

Also, use the serial comma should be used in a list of phrases or sentences. My favorite fruit is pineapple, my second-favorite fruit is strawberries, and my third-favorite fruit is watermelon.

Make sense? If not, ask me about this in the comment form below.

Making Sense with Pronouns

When you're writing a novel, you want it to make sense. You want the readers to know what you mean. And one thing is pronoun usage and making sense with them.

"John and Clyde saw what was in Leo's house. He screamed."

Who screamed? Did John or Clyde scream at what was in Leo's house? Or was Leo there and did he scream?

Always make sure that when you're naming someone with a pronoun that the reader knows what's going on. "When Katy saw that everything was okay, she sighed with relief." This makes sense, because we're only talking about one person in the sentence. We can say "she" because we named Katy and no one else before we used "she." Also, don't write "When she saw that everything was okay, Katy sighed with relief." Now someone else saw that everything was okay, and Katy sighed with relief.

Now, if someone already knows that Katy is doing something, if she was mentioned just a few words ago, saying "When she saw that everything was okay, she sighed with relief" should easily make sense to the reader.

But with the John and Clyde sentence, we're talking about multiple people but only one person screams. And the exact single person who screamed isn't defined. If you mean that just John or Clyde (or possibly Leo) screamed, name the person. "John and Clyde saw what was in Leo's house. Clyde screamed." Or "John screamed."

If you're going to use a pronoun when talking about multiple people, only use it if more than one person is doing something. "John and Clyde saw what was in Leo's house. They screamed." This makes a lot more sense.

Hope this helps.

Similes and Metaphors: What And What NOT To Do

My favorite holiday Christmas was a week ago already. I miss it. But Happy New Year!

As you should know, a simile is used in a sentence as figure of speech comparing something with another. It's used chiefly in describing something. The tomato soup was as red as blood. And a metaphor is also figure of speech describing something, except that the word is applied to what it's describing, but is not literal. He was a tree. In other words, he was really tall.

But, as with all prose and poetry, there are many things you should and should not do when using similes and metaphors. Let's get on with it.

Use similes and metaphors sparingly. Don't use similes and metaphors every time you describe something. That makes bad writing.

Make sure that your similes and metaphors make sense. Obviously, you don't want to write, "The computer looked like a ceiling." How in the world would a computer look like a ceiling?

Do not name. Obviously. Similes and metaphors describe, not name. They are not literal. "Mars was like a planet." And it would be even worse if you wrote "Mars was a planet." That's not a metaphor anymore. That's telling you was Mars was (and still is.)

Do not go cheesy. Seriously. Don't go over the top. Don't say "Her face was as red as red construction paper." No over-exaggerating either. "The man was a skinny mountain." So the man was tall and thin? Why not stick with "The man was a tree."

I hope this helps. This is very important when writing your novels. I don't write poetry, but I can tell you that a lot of these tips apply to poetry. If you have any other tips, let me know in the comments.