Intro: In my earlier post, How to be a screenwriter in 3 easy steps!, I point out that to become a competent screenwriter you need to master two important talents: writing and storycrafting. I do not believe they are the same thing. Anyone can learn to write effectively, but that alone won't turn them into an expert storyteller. On the other hand, poor writing skills will always sabotage the work of a good storyteller.
As a writer, you must have a compelling vision and you must commit it to words in a compelling manner. As a screenwriter, you need to write your story so that the words become transparent and all that remains is the experience of your story. Your chances of selling that screen story diminish just a little every time a reader of your screenplay gets jerked back to reality because of poor writing or misspelling.
I knew a writer who produced thousands of pages of manuscript. The problem was, he had a poor grasp of punctuation. A common mistake of his that turned up every few pages was a 'run-on sentence'. That happens when you place a comma where you really need a period, it's a common mistake. (And there's an example for you.) Part of the solution to this grammatical bad habit is to remember: one thought/idea per sentence. The rest of the solution is reading Linda's article about commas...
Reprinted with permission.
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Learn How to Use Commas Properly
by Linda Correli
This article features punctuation rules of comma usage, which are indispensable in the process of writing.
The comma is the most frequently used internal mark of punctuation. Of all the marks of punctuation, it has the widest variety of uses.
Using commas with dates, addresses, greetings, names, and large numbers
Commas are used with full dates (month, day, and year) but omitted with partial dates (month and year):
The comma is used before a conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) linking two independent clauses.
# When the series of sentences takes the form of a climax:
Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us and an author of the popular online tutorial for students "What Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days", available at http://www.Go2Essay.com. Visit Linda’s web log at http://custom-research-papers.blogspot.com. Source: http://www.articlesfactory.com
As a writer, you must have a compelling vision and you must commit it to words in a compelling manner. As a screenwriter, you need to write your story so that the words become transparent and all that remains is the experience of your story. Your chances of selling that screen story diminish just a little every time a reader of your screenplay gets jerked back to reality because of poor writing or misspelling.
I knew a writer who produced thousands of pages of manuscript. The problem was, he had a poor grasp of punctuation. A common mistake of his that turned up every few pages was a 'run-on sentence'. That happens when you place a comma where you really need a period, it's a common mistake. (And there's an example for you.) Part of the solution to this grammatical bad habit is to remember: one thought/idea per sentence. The rest of the solution is reading Linda's article about commas...
Reprinted with permission.
----------
Learn How to Use Commas Properly
by Linda Correli
This article features punctuation rules of comma usage, which are indispensable in the process of writing.
The comma is the most frequently used internal mark of punctuation. Of all the marks of punctuation, it has the widest variety of uses.
Using commas with dates, addresses, greetings, names, and large numbers
Commas are used with full dates (month, day, and year) but omitted with partial dates (month and year):
- Gas has been first used by the Germans on October 14, 1914, when they fired a prototype of modern tear gas from artillery near Pyres. – Paul Fussel
- In June 1985 Beth Henley was working on her fifth play.
- The atomic bomb was first dropped on 6 August 1945.
- Miami, Dade County, Florida
- Writing Lab, University of California, Riverside
- 15 Amsterdam Avenue
- 5625 Waverly Avenue, La Jolla, California 92037
- He shot himself twice, once in the chest and then in the head, in a police station in Washington, D.C., with the cops looking on. – Red Smith
- July 4, 1776, was the day the Declaration of Independence was signed.
- A few years ago, Mr. Taplow, I spoke to you about the possibility of a summer job.
- Dear Mary,
- Sincerely,
- Yours truly,
- Barbara Kane, M.D., delivered the commencement address.
- Sammy Davis Jr. started his singing career at age four.
- Lunt, George D.
- Antarctica is 5,400,000 square miles of ice-covered land.
The comma is used before a conjunction (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet) linking two independent clauses.
- Canadians watch America closely, but most Americans know little about Canada.
- We dickered and then we made a deal. – Red Smith
- I have seen the future and now I’m tired of it. – Gerald Nachman
- Genetically, we are nearly identical to mankind fifty thousand years ago; and some of us delight in the continuity represented by this, while others may be appalled. – Edward Hoagland
- “I plan to travel to England”, my friend said happily. “I want to visit Shakespeare’s birthplace.”
- Petra was absent on Friday; consequently, she missed the chemistry test.
# When the series of sentences takes the form of a climax:
- I came, I saw, I conquered.
- The leaves are turning to gold, squirrels are fattening, hunting time is near.
- It was more than an annoyance, it was a pang. – Winston S. Churchill
- To allow the Mahdi to enter Khartoum would not merely mean to return the whole of the Sudan to barbarism, it would be a menace to the safety of Egypt herself. – Lyton Strachey
Linda Correli is a staff writer of http://www.CustomResearchPapers.us and an author of the popular online tutorial for students "What Teachers Want: Master the Art of Essay Writing in 10 Days", available at http://www.Go2Essay.com. Visit Linda’s web log at http://custom-research-papers.blogspot.com. Source: http://www.articlesfactory.com
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