Grammar Overview for Novel Writers | iWriterly

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Let’s talk about grammar. What style guide should fiction authors use? When should you add a comma? What is a semicolon? What is the proper way to format punctuation for dialogue? In today’s video, Meg LaTorre of iWriterly will provide a grammar overview for novel writers.
Elements of Style by Strunk & White
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SOURCES REFERENCED IN THIS VIDEO:
Indiana University East: Commas (Six Basic Uses)
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The Balance Career: How to Punctuate Dialogue in Fiction Writing
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[@williamfrank8939]

I just wanted to say that I’m young like still in high school and my teachers have all said that I’m a great writer however since deciding I wanted to write a book I’ve realized that that means nothing. A lot of the things that you touch on in your videos I have never learned in school and I just wanted to say thank you because your videos have helped me a lot.

[@Dark_Mishra]

Taking English/writing classes in middle or high school is more for learning the basic English language, general writing and sentence structure. If/when you go to college, try taking a few advanced writing courses to learn the more technical aspects of writing, like professional formatting, conflicting lessons on if “said is dead” is actually true(it’s not), etc. In a college course, you’ll spend whole sessions examining the Chicago Manual Style and it’s rules. Don’t be surprised if you’re taught things that will make you have to completely re-edit your stories all over.

[@tomwhite5389]

Hi William. I am an old guy who just started writing again after my business career started winding down. I would like to offer something I learned over the years. People will make judgments on you and your abilities by the way you speak and write. When I say "write" I mean everything you write. Not only books, but reports, letters, emails, texts, and posts. We all need to re-read and edit our writing - especially the online kind - before clicking "send." (BTW your post could have used some commas.) I will never forget what I was told in my first salesmanship class. You never have a second chance to make a good first impression.

[@jaydingiesler5280]

Hi. I’m a serial comma user. Could we do, literally, an entire video on commas? PLEASE they’re everywhere 😂 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,💜

[@anjusibi8424]

Hahhaa same for me 😂😂

[@marchere_69]

Same 😂

[@matepesti8606]

Dude, you could've put a comma after "PLEASE". Live up to your legacy 😂

[@chromoglv7103]

I learnt lot today. I have a lot to edit too.

[@superslyshadow1915]

Ive been writing a novel to cope with my disabilitys. For me not for others. This bit of help has seen me change my targets. I didnt know there was help out there for grammar. Thankyou

[@suijin25]

As a psychologist, I format everything in APA style. It drives my writing group nuts.

[@ValeVin]

If you do more videos like these, it'd be fun to do one just on commas, especially weird comma usage and commas that have been inserted where they're not needed. I've found that if you pick up a '90s fantasy, the publisher didn't care enough to do a solid copy edit on the commas. Whereas if you pick up a Dan Brown novel, usually the commas are by the book. While I definitely get the whole "authors can break comma rules for effect" thing, I feel like a lot of young authors I come across aren't make a conscious decision, they just honestly have no idea how commas work so they throw in a lot of extras for fun.

[@jeremyheartriter2.063]

I think so too. They seem absolutely clueless about most punctuations and their usage.

[@habilidadedigital9281]

I'm a non-native speaker from Brazil and your tips are helping me a lot. I already started reading Elements of Style and it's been really useful.

[@T1mesAreHard]

You're first rule about commas is technically wrong. Commas are not used to separate independent clauses unless a coordinating conjunction is present (those being for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Without one, a semi-colon is used to join two independent clauses.

[@derekk6479]

As a writer, I learned style and grammer from just simplely reading. I can't stress that enough. The more you read, the more you familiarize with style and grammer.

[@kellyjohnson9524]

"grammAr".

[@derekk6479]

@@kellyjohnson9524 "I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way" Mark Twain

[@kellyjohnson9524]

@@derekk6479 I am sure Mark Twain would have matured to see the error in that rationale, especially with the level of ignorance running rampant today. Most intellectuals-myself included-recognize their own ignorance and evolve from it.

[@derekk6479]

@@kellyjohnson9524 I couldn’t agree with you more on the level of ignorance running rampant today, but we’re just talking about a word. How you spell a word has no bearing to your intellectual level. Some of the best authors - Scott Fitzgerald, Agatha Christie, and Jules Verne--were atrocious spellers. The storytelling itself is what matters, not how someone misspelled one word.

[@kellyjohnson9524]

@@derekk6479 Geuss we'll agree to disagree. I wouldn't want to be jarred out of a story over misspellings.

[@LadyNekoshema]

Bless you. I struggle with grammar, especially commas. I'm slowly piecing together how grammar works, but commas confuse me to no end.

[@MisterJang0]

You used commas perfectly in your comment.

[@nachoijp]

I speak spanish, and sometimes translated books follow the english rules, but OMG they're SO different! for instance, instead of quotation marks for dialogues we use m-dashes, and the rules are almost the opposite of what you explained here. It's really fun to see the differences, but it takes a lot of effort to read them.

[@ladyblut2612]

Thank you. This really informative.

[@tayo_95]

Thank you, again! The query critique was great, very useful!

[@KileyKeeling]

loved this! please do another part 💗

[@PHASES_STUDIO]

Thanks so much for all of this! I forgot a lot from school and haven't written anything in a few years.

[@christiancura7819]

I needed this video! Thanks, Meg. :D

[@safinan8008]

Thank u.. I’ve learnt somuch from ur videos. This video was very helpful!

[@miahjere101qleap]

Yes! This is the video I need right now! Thank you! More eclipses/mdash explanations?

[@PrijishaK]

Thank you ❤

[@chrissoto7187]

Finally a simple video!

[@TheRubyTuesday]

More of these please.

[@authormaryelizabeth]

I have to agree with the semi-colon thing. You just don’t really see it in fiction. When do see it...it’s slightly weird. Now for like non fiction or academic writing it’s totally normal to see it. I also would love to see more grammar videos...b/c personally this is the area where I suck at the most lol

[@sbcinema2363]

I always look at my favorite books as my grammar and style guides lol. Copy the best!

[@xChikyx]

video starts at 2:45

[@shreya_sinha.]

Thanks learnt a lot

[@chloelianna]

I wish I'd watched this earlier, I had a creative writing test today and we get marked down for grammar mistakes. And commas just so happen to be my mortal enemies. Oh well, I guess that's just how the cookie crumbles.

[@dannyjorde2677]

I noticed this quite a bit in the Harry Potter novels, since in the British edition the grammar and punctuation rules are very different from those of the American edition. And I always wondered which would be the correct one.

[@MsWaleska25]

I've been getting interested in writing stories recently, so I'm hoping one day I can get better at this

[@martasoltys9091]

A literary critique? That's a great prize.

[@kellyjohnson9524]

Good presentation.

[@davedaddy101]

Best wishes William.

[@williamhgould1583]

Excellent vid.

[@stephenlayland2889]

You have done excellent work to date. I take that to evidence that punctuation is the most difficult technical issue writers face. You deserve a do-over. Cormac McCarthy felt even more strongly about semi-colons; he called them "idiotic". An ellipse is a closed curve described by the equation, (x^2/a^2)+(y^2/b^2)=1. "Ellipsis" is the singular of the punctuation mark. "Ellipses", with a long "e" in the pluralization, is the plural. The plural of the closed curve is "ellipses" with a short "e" in the pluralization. That's "internal _mono_logue". Internal dialogue is a symptom of a mental disorder. Or a fantasy. The quoting rule you cited applies to monologue. In dialogue, each speaker's continuous statement receives an open quote at the initiation, and close quotes before intervening narrative (a tagline is narrative), open quote at the resumption and close quote at the termination. When one speaker's continuous statement is comprised of two or more paragraphs, each paragraph receives only an open quote (barring interventions) and only the last paragraph receives a close quote. I look forward to that do-over. Writing.Com/authors/runoffscribe

[@zch7345]

Thanks

[@safantamang996]

What do you mean 'I'm the best-selling author of blah blah which comes out on September 2020'? How did it become a bestseller before even releasing?

[@LillieLights]

Pre-orders?

[@kianalove95]

😭💀 you right tho she acting like she the superior in her book but let no speak on it

[@tyofflorida6695]

I concur with it all. 🙂

[@melmc3306]

How can a book have only had 17 editions if it’s been updated every 1-2 years since 1906?? 🤔

[@dex4463]

Its a scam to get people to keep buying it. Not like the English language changes every year.

[@Dark_Mishra]

Agreed. And like the medical field, most ‘changes’ are just them reverting back and forth between which rules are ‘correct’ this time around. 🙄 I own two editions from different decades and they both have several rules differing from even the more recent editions.

[@kellyjohnson9524]

Another note about ellipses; it may used to indicate a break in the continuation of a monologue or one character's dialogue, such that while the first character is speaking, a second character speaks at the same time or over the first character. This may be tricky, so it may be best to write out the complete dialogue of the first character and decide what part to replace with ellipses and where to interject a second character's dialogue. For example: Suzy, fanning herself, said, "The God awful humidity today makes wonder if I..." "You promised to help wash the car," said Todd. "...today because I want to wear my bikini, but I don't have my sunscreen." Based on the exchange between Suzy and Todd, one can surmise Suzy is saying "if I should help you today" while Todd spoke over this part of her dialogue. Just a FYI.

[@rickyn.1567]

Yay! Someone else who prefers em’s over semicolons! I probably could count on two hands the amount of semicolons I wrote in an 80k manuscript, although I also do em’s sparingly.

[@LariTanner]

I keep my S & W with me at all times! :)

[@ordazmin]

Hi, Thanks for all the info on this video. Question; Can you do a review of 1st, 2nd, and perhaps 3rd page of one of your viewers book by any chance?

[@katerinalongoria9750]

Can you do a video with tips and steps to take in order to become a best selling author before your book has released? 🙏🏼

[@adamantdane3896]

Great! Im working on a dark sci fi fantasy at the moment this helped alot!

[@gaintmoleperson4660]

Sounds cool what is it about of don't mind me asking

[@2BlackQQeyes]

Dear writing diva, I find your information valuable. Other than your book, could you please make a vid about books you recommend for pleasure reading? I ran through nevernight and was truly impressed by this work. Have you any others? Your fan, basil. BTW, I love Strunk and White! Very much love that book for writing process itself.

[@megantvenstrup7687]

How can you be a best-selling author of the Cyborg Tinkerer if it isn't out yet? O.o

[@sindieltaylor2147]

Pre-orders and stuff.

[@megantvenstrup7687]

So she is on an Amazon list as a bestseller? Makes sense; they've got access to pre-sale numbers.

[@sindieltaylor2147]

@@megantvenstrup7687 That's what happens for basically any debut author now. If you are a best-seller, you'll know before it's even out.

[@kevind814]

I was curious about that too. I started looking for her prior works that was based on but couldn't find anything. Would be interesting what number threshold makes one a bestseller.

[@iWriterly]

As was stated in the comments (thanks, guys!), you can be an amazon bestseller while on preorder. Other lists don’t count preorders until release week, but amazon counts them right away.

[@ryanratchford2530]

Thankyouuuu

[@tablighibayans]

6:45 8:30 9:31 10:10

[@tiagodagostini]

For the ones that have ever done technical papers, use LATEX, get the chicago guidelines Latex file and let the system APPLY the style to your text, perfectly and automatically.

[@mattstopa9436]

Best selling author of x which comes out in the future. That's an interesting one, not sure how that works, preorders I guess?

[@luffylucy7957]

Where to put the quotation mark for a huge chunk of dialogues or big dialogue wall?

[@NatalieLocke]

Thank you so much! I do have a question on possession. I what is the possessive form for someone when they’re name already ends in s. I.e. Travis Williams (first or last name pick for anyone that wants it)

[@iWriterly]

Add apostrophe s to any word to give it possession (even if the word ends in s). Ex: Travis’s bag.

[@wtk6069]

@@iWriterly This is correct today due to corruption in the language in the past decade or two, but any English teacher from before 30 years ago would've fainted if they saw that second "s". lol

[@NatalieLocke]

WT Keeton my exact though. I had TEACHERS tell me just to add an apostrophe.

[@SysterYster]

@@wtk6069 That's what I learned too! It should be Travis'. :P But nowadays Travis's would be acceptable too.

[@lizj5740]

@@wtk6069 Your statement is untrue, as I learned grammar and punctuation in the 1950s and 1960s, and we were definitely told to use 's. It's not corruption to use 's as the possessive on a proper noun that ends in s. It is corruption to omit it.

[@rowan7929]

Word usually points out if I missed a comma or need to put a semicolon. However, my editor points out that the latter isn't suitable, regardless what Word says. Thankfully, this happens very rarely in the 3 novels I have written so far. Interesting video nevertheless. Thanks.

[@pauln2661]

Trainwreck with an Oxford comma. :). This is my style. :)

[@lizj5740]

Here are some examples of apposition: John Smith, president of By-Lo Inc., was first employed in 1979. The president of By-Lo Inc., John Smith, was first employed in 1979. By-Low Inc. President John Smith was first employed in 1979. Note no commas in the third example.

[@reubenshupp8132]

Food for Thought-Hemmingway was at with commas.

[@Dark_Mishra]

Biggest issue you didn’t address about ellipses: Spaces around them or between each dot? The different Styles don’t agree on which is correct, so I don’t use spaces with them. Also, I don’t mind when the Oxford comma is used or not, but definitely use it when ‘and’ is used multiple times. Example: My shopping list has apples, bananas, macaroni and cheese, frozen peas and carrots, and chicken and rice. This list would be a pretty confusing run on sentence without them.

[@vegasrenie]

The one argument I have constantly with pro writing aid is commas in a different paragraph of a continuing dialogue. I had always learned that if the same person is talking, you do not close the paragraph. You continue in the next paragraph with new quotations, and then close at the end of the finishing paragraph. Pro Writing Aid seems to have issues with that, but I’m not going to change. Any comments?

[@tomlewis4748]

Here's what's really ironic: If you have two statements in a row in dialogue from a single speaker that comprise separate paragraphs, and you follow this advice (which actually should be an unbreakable rule) to not close the quote on the first line, ProWritingAid (there's a misnomer for you) has no idea what to make of that, and scolds you for doing it! I do agree with all of what is said here. If you veer from the 'rules' even a little bit (PWA hates when I say 'little bit', which is a ubiquitous term in narrative and dialogue, and NOT a felony) for academic writing, that's a felony. But for commas in fictional writing, I find it to be a lot more squishy than that. Why was the comma even invented? To reduce confusion. Full stop. It keeps a reader from running words together in sequential thoughts and trying to parse them incorrectly as a single thought. That is its only, single, documented purpose in life. And that's a darn good idea, isn't it. (PWA also hates statements that are rhetorical questions that are really just declarative, so would excoriate me for using a period there). But commas don't always reduce confusion, and are not then needed if there is no confusion. If you write a sentence that makes good sense without a comma and is easy to parse, screw the damned 'comma rule', bc in an instance like that, there never was any confusion in the first place. And if you use it like that, all it does is present a tiny little roadblock to pacing, and that's shooting one's self in the foot. Also, commas can be added where they are not really needed to reduce confusion, but may be needed to add weight to a word or an idea, or to indicate how a character expresses that thought and how they pause in their idiosyncratic speaking style, usually to do exactly that-add weight. You can also remove them where PWA thinks they should be to increase the pace of a statement or minimize the importance of a thought or idea when that seems like a good idea. If you've found your authorial voice, and if your characters have found their character's voices, sometimes the 'rules' just don't always apply anymore. Commas are used to reduce confusion, yes. But they are also tools to enhance pacing and flow, something only the artist can figure out on a case-by-case basis, and not something AI will ever be able to figure out, at least until it can read minds, which isn't expected anytime soon, or in this millennium. Bottom line, you honestly can't have certain rules for commas. Some, yes, they will stand pretty much all the time. But some depend specifically on the context, and since PWA can't read, can't understand context, and does nothing but pattern recognition (poorly) over a finite small number of sequential words, there is no way it can tell you whether certain commas should be there or not (yet it still tries to). In those case, only the writer can make an artistic, authorial decision.

[@apsararodrigo9338]

What style guide should you use for British English?

[@mariamkinen8036]

An autobiographie is what I wanna write

[@ereboklesathanatos7673]

I am writing a story with a biune character, at times they are as one character and at other times he is as two characters, because of grammatical limitations, wording is tricky, do you have any ideas?

[@Bennythesupersnooper]

In romance novels, are italics used often?

[@thesuperfluousone2537]

Semicolons seem so natural to me, I am sure I use them too often. Perhaps I speak in independent yet related clauses, like using multiple sentences to convey one thought?

[@siyaindagulag.]

The semi-colon; a tool for thought, not one for feeling. Ya feel me ?

[@kingdamager7370]

What's funny is I use three different programs, not counting word. I run every paragraph through them and they don't all agree an What's correct or not. They agree on about eighty percent, but when I correct a line with one, another might tell me to change it, often to the I had written it originally.

[@LuddyFish_]

Semicolons are definitely weird. They're something in between a comma and period. I use them, but very rarely. I mostly use semicolons when I really want to force two separate sentences together, as I might want to emphasis that the two sentences are pretty much on the same ride. As an example, "I wanted to go outside today; but COVID-19 said no." It's not the best example but you get the idea.

[@oliveramarcoangelo1133]

Arcadelife so semicolons are just substitutes for joining words?

[@kellyjohnson9524]

@@Arcadelife1 Excellent. 🙂

[@poha4749]

If you are on tight budget for book. Libgen is the way to go.

[@walteroakley9115]

Woo hoo... I haven't been this early in a while. On a topic I need to improve on no less. If you are looking for additional grammar topics how about: Differences between US, UK and Canadian grammar. How do you know if it is a "run-on sentence"? The problem with grammar in general is that at times it is so difficult to get a clear-cut simple definition. Every grammar "expert" has a different opinion on various topics and most of the time they conflict. Am I alone in thinking that?

[@SysterYster]

To spot long and run-on sentences, you could try the Hemingway app. Just google it. It's free and online. It'll mark any sentences that are long and hard to read (run on or complicated) in yellow or red depending on how bad it is. :P Often they can be split into two sentences. That said, it's not the solution to all your problems, it IS just a writing app and not a person. lol. But it helps. And it also spots passive voice, adverbs, hedging etc.

[@lizj5740]

That's why each publisher selects a style guide: to tell you which rules it wants you to follow. Some will just say "Use Chicago" (or another publicly available guide); others will have an in-house guide.

[@Thessalin]

Here are a couple more videos on do's and don't's. Don't: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g2qXmpxsgrucotk Do: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bnjZYXtjq7WiesU I hope those help!

[@wajn4785]

Damn it, writing style is different in UK. Need a basic grammar book.

[@manuict4916]

Hi i come from italy and I'm writing a book in english, it's available the book that you write the link?

[@catp3002]

Is it best to completely avoid passive voice and just use active? Or combine the two? I mainly use active but occasionally use passive to mix it up a bit? Should I not be doing this?

[@SysterYster]

You can mix. But be careful not to use too much passive. Passive voice can be great for telling a short section, for example, to explain quickly what happened in a time skip. Sometimes you might want that "distance" passive voice can give. But try to keep passive to a minimum in general. Especially if you're describing the MC's (or POV character's) actions.

[@catp3002]

@@SysterYster Excellent! Thank you! :)

[@dogjohnny559]

I hope pro writing aid is good, because i'm going to get it. I really don't know how to write well and i'm quite embarrassed about it. I got a very high English grade but I still don't know anything about grammar and punctuation. How the hell do I use a semicolon? Could someone tell me where I could go about learning about subects such as independent clauses? How do I learn about the different types of word functions, terms like "subject" I dont know what they are/

[@anahideloya5526]

Wait so when we use a comma inside a quotation mark. And outside before the quotation. Does it mean that the person is still continuing? For example in the text: "That is," Bastain said, "Only if you want to kiss me."

[@Jay-ws2ie]

Can you end a character's dialogue with both a question mark and exclamation point? Like, "Who the hell are you?!" he said. Or better to do just one or the other?

[@matonano]

From what I’ve seen in commercial fiction and heard from professional authors, it should be an either or. If you’re just using said rather than a stronger tag line, the exclamation point may be better for emphasis. If your tag already includes something like cried, bellowed, wailed, shouted, or demanded, I’d stick with the question mark in this instance to avoid redundancy and give clarity that it was both questioning and firm/loud.

[@MisterJang0]

Does internal dialogue not require quotation marks?

[@codythedoggo7671]

No, you just italicize it

[@jeremyheartriter2.063]

I don't have a perfect grammar but it bothers me a great deal whenever I see grammatical errors.

[@yatharthsinghchauhan9161]

I am already doing all of it right. What that means?😅 P.S I like your tattoo😊

[@oliveramarcoangelo1133]

When a tagline interrupts a sentence, can a period be used? Like: “She probably just works at multiple places” I told them “Let’s just not look at her.”

[@kiterafrey]

In this case, it would be up to how your editor’s house handles finalizing tags when a period would’ve naturally fell where the tag starts. My house would likely have you adjust the type of tagging. So they’d ask you to place an action, so the period fits naturally. For example; “She probably just works at multiple place.” Jane Doe turned away, darting her eyes to the ground. “Let’s just not look at her.” Otherwise, we’d go with a comma after “them,” instead of a period. Some house may count this as a rare exception, but in general it is better to change quotations that would end with a period but are followed by a speaking tag to ending with an action tag so the period fits beautifully instead.

[@wtk6069]

Would just add a comma inside the quotation before "I", slap a period after "them", and let the second quote be a second sentence. That would be the most conventional answer.

[@oliveramarcoangelo1133]

Katherine Petersorf thanks for the reply, that really helped

[@oliveramarcoangelo1133]

WT Keeton thanks for the reply too. Pretty helpful actually

[@SysterYster]

You'd still need a comma after "places". Like so: "She probably just works at multiple places," I told them. "Let's just not look at her." You also need a period after "them" since the first and the last part of the dialogue is not one sentence divided by a tagline, but two separate sentences. If they are one sentence, you need commas everywhere. :P Like so: "She probably just works at multiple places," I told them, "let's just not look at her." And only lower case letters. But that looks weird to me. Because "Let's just not look at her" sounds more like its own sentence.

[@jamesenglebert9149]

I’m 20,000 words into my manuscript but I’m afraid my story isn’t exciting enough. Is this just doubts that come with being an rookie, or should I have a friend read the unfinished story?

[@benmcelwain5301]

I would say it depends on the size and implications of your inciting incident. While setup is important, hooking your audience is critical. I recommend having the hook within the span covered by the free sample offered by Amazon.

[@jamesenglebert9149]

Ben well it’s kind of a mystery you meet the Victim then he’s dead around the 2nd or third chapter

[@guillermozalles9303]

"and then i leaned in for a kiss", is an independant clause? "and then i", kinda leaves it in a dependant mode. No?

[@kevind814]

Wow, how did you grow your hair back so fast? ;-)

[@iWriterly]

Haha! I filmed this before I cut my hair off. Clearly, my haircut is giving away my batch filming strategy.😂

[@jcandye1]

Hi! I have both the Chicago Manual of Style and Strunk and White. I found it difficult going through the CMOS because it was overwhelming, and Strunk's was way easier for me to understand. I'm brand new with all this stuff and I came across many comments by people saying Strunk and White was incredibly outdated and wrong. Here's a video I recently watched on the topic: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKO1fH2oibWqj8k What would you say about something like this? I definitely prefer Strunk's version, but I was afraid to use something labeled as "wrong every time." Thank you for this video! I want to use Strunk's version but I guess I just need some sort of assurance that it's correct, and anything you all have to say about it would be helpful.

[@____uncompetative]

I never use semicolons.

[@UseWesInfo]

@7:25 you spelt fortnite wrong!

[@cyberpunkdarren]

Ain't nobody need no grammar

[@miracleyoung.5378]

Wattpad writers here like: maybe it's just me idk

[@sorgialfalan6512]

Personal opinion: I don't mind semi-colons in narrative fiction, as long as it is appropiate and used sparingly. I, however, have a little aversion for it in dialogues. It doesn't seem natural. Except when the authors deliberately used it for specific purpose. When the barbarian with limited vocabulary talked in semi-colons... it doesn't feel right for me.

[@disgruntledwookie369]

You said "let's talk about elipses" and then "an elipse is..." The word is "elipsis" and the plural is "elipses". An "elipse" is an oval.

[@jebediahsemporium1621]

Punctuation and grammar are not the same thing. By the way, that's not a grammar mistake on your part, but a diction error. Please learn to distinguish them. This would be grammar error. This would, be a punctuation error. This would be a diction fallacy. See the difference?

[@idesofmarch205]

Sigh... the Oxford Comma is totally redundant at best and a crutch for poor sentence structure at worst.

[@jacegallagher8589]

I do not care for semicolons. You will probably never see them in my writing.

[@sandyhausler5290]

You lost me when you supported the Oxford comma. Bad choice!