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A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation
"Takes the straitjacket off punctuation…Lukeman's wit and insight make this an instant classic." —M. J. Rose
The first practical and accessible guide to the art of punctuation for creative writers. Punctuation reveals the haphazard commas, for example, reveal haphazard thinking; clear, lucid breaks reveal clear, lucid thinking. Punctuation can be used to teach the writer how to think and how to write. This short, practical book shows authors the benefits that can be reaped from mastering the art of style, sentence length, meaning, and economy of words. There are full-length chapters devoted to the period, the comma, the semicolon, the colon, quotation marks, the dash and parentheses, the paragraph and section break, and a cumulative chapter on integrating them all into "The Symphony of Punctuation." Filled with exercises and examples from literary masters (Why did Poe and Melville rely on the semicolon? Why did Hemingway embrace the period?), A Dash of Style is interactive, highly engaging, and a necessity for creative writers as well as for anyone looking to make punctuation their friend instead of their mysterious foe.
The first practical and accessible guide to the art of punctuation for creative writers. Punctuation reveals the haphazard commas, for example, reveal haphazard thinking; clear, lucid breaks reveal clear, lucid thinking. Punctuation can be used to teach the writer how to think and how to write. This short, practical book shows authors the benefits that can be reaped from mastering the art of style, sentence length, meaning, and economy of words. There are full-length chapters devoted to the period, the comma, the semicolon, the colon, quotation marks, the dash and parentheses, the paragraph and section break, and a cumulative chapter on integrating them all into "The Symphony of Punctuation." Filled with exercises and examples from literary masters (Why did Poe and Melville rely on the semicolon? Why did Hemingway embrace the period?), A Dash of Style is interactive, highly engaging, and a necessity for creative writers as well as for anyone looking to make punctuation their friend instead of their mysterious foe.
206 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2005
79 people are currently reading
1222 people want to read
About the author
Noah Lukeman
25 books115 followersIn addition to being an active literary agent, Noah Lukeman is also author of the best-selling The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying out of the Rejection Pile (Simon & Schuster, 1999), which was a selection of many of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers and is part of the curriculum in many universities. His The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life (St. Martins Press, 2002) was a National Bestseller, a BookSense 76 Selection, a Publishers Weekly Daily pick, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club, and a selection of many of Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers. His A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation (W.W. Norton, 2006 and Oxford University Press in the UK, 2007) was critically-acclaimed, a selection of the Writers Digest Book Club and the Forbes Book Club, was profiled on NPR, and is now part of the curriculum in over 50 universities and writing programs. His e-book How to Write a Great Query Letter, which he gives away for free as a way of giving back to the writing community, was the #1 Bestselling title on Amazon Shorts for many months. His most recent book geared to help aspiring authors is How to Land (and Keep) a Literary Agent. To help aspiring authors, he has also made available free chapters from all his books, which you can read by clicking here.
Noah has also worked as a collaborator, and is co-author, with Lieutenant General Michael “Rifle” Delong, USMC, Ret., of Inside Centcom (Regnery, 2005), a selection of the Military Book Club. His Op-Eds co-authored with General Delong appeared in the Sunday New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. He has contributed articles about the publishing industry and the craft of writing to several magazines, including Poets & Writers, Writers Digest, The Writer, the AWP Chronicle and the Writers Market, and has been anthologized in The Practical Writer (Viking, 2004).
Creatively, Noah is author of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II, (Pegasus Books, 2008) an original play written in blank verse, which aspires to pick up where Shakespeare’s Macbeth left off. Macbeth II was critically-acclaimed, and featured as recommended reading in New York Magazine’s 2008 “Fall Preview.” He has also written several screenplays, one of which, Brothers in Arms, was chosen as one of Hollywood’s 100 Best Scripts of the Year on the 2007 Black List and is currently in development at a major studio.
Noah Lukeman has been a guest speaker on the subjects of writing and publishing at numerous forums, including Harvard University, The Hotchkiss School, The Juilliard School, the Wallace Stegner writing program at Stanford University, the Writers Digest Panel at Book Expo America, the MFA at Northern Michigan University, the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s annual Boston conference, and Riker’s Island Penitentiary. He earned his B.A. with High Honors in English and Creative Writing from Brandeis University, cum laude.
Noah has also worked as a collaborator, and is co-author, with Lieutenant General Michael “Rifle” Delong, USMC, Ret., of Inside Centcom (Regnery, 2005), a selection of the Military Book Club. His Op-Eds co-authored with General Delong appeared in the Sunday New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Dallas Morning News. He has contributed articles about the publishing industry and the craft of writing to several magazines, including Poets & Writers, Writers Digest, The Writer, the AWP Chronicle and the Writers Market, and has been anthologized in The Practical Writer (Viking, 2004).
Creatively, Noah is author of The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II, (Pegasus Books, 2008) an original play written in blank verse, which aspires to pick up where Shakespeare’s Macbeth left off. Macbeth II was critically-acclaimed, and featured as recommended reading in New York Magazine’s 2008 “Fall Preview.” He has also written several screenplays, one of which, Brothers in Arms, was chosen as one of Hollywood’s 100 Best Scripts of the Year on the 2007 Black List and is currently in development at a major studio.
Noah Lukeman has been a guest speaker on the subjects of writing and publishing at numerous forums, including Harvard University, The Hotchkiss School, The Juilliard School, the Wallace Stegner writing program at Stanford University, the Writers Digest Panel at Book Expo America, the MFA at Northern Michigan University, the National Society of Newspaper Columnist’s annual Boston conference, and Riker’s Island Penitentiary. He earned his B.A. with High Honors in English and Creative Writing from Brandeis University, cum laude.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
September 14, 2012
This book is unique. A book about punctuation, but it doesn't deal with grammar; this isn't a book about rules, but about creative choices, about how the use of commas, periods and semi-colon builds a narrative, how to use colons, dashes, parenthesis and quotation marks with flair, and why you should use punctuation such the question mark and the exclamation point with caution--a book for the fiction writer, not a grammarian. It even treats such subjects as the paragraph and section break in creative writing.
Just before this, I read and reviewed another book on fiction writing. In that other book, a lot of things eroded its credibility: jarring political bias, shameless self-promotion, frequent mistakes. But most of all, it just wasn't all that well-written. In looking to a book to improve writing, you're looking for someone who can speak with authority. In fiction writing it helps if they're either a successful well-known writer or if they're a gatekeeper. Lukeman, a top literary agent, qualifies. But more than that, the authority flows from his style and organization. The blurbs for once are true: Lukeman wrote a book about punctuation that's a page-turner, one written with "wit and insight."
I certainly learned a lot. I'm far too fond of the dash--I know it. But part of that might have been not so much that I used the dash too much, but that I didn't appreciate its close cousins the parenthesis and the colon and how they work differently. Lukeman gives frequent literary examples, for instance how Hemingway used the period differently than Faulkner, how Poe and Melville used the semi-colon, James Joyce the colon, E.M. Forster the dash. Each chapter deals with a punctuation mark or closely related marks, with their use, underuse, overuse, context, what your usage reveals about you and ends with exercises that help bring the lessons home and should be very useful in revision. A short, lucid book, and an essential tool in a fiction writer's kit.
Just before this, I read and reviewed another book on fiction writing. In that other book, a lot of things eroded its credibility: jarring political bias, shameless self-promotion, frequent mistakes. But most of all, it just wasn't all that well-written. In looking to a book to improve writing, you're looking for someone who can speak with authority. In fiction writing it helps if they're either a successful well-known writer or if they're a gatekeeper. Lukeman, a top literary agent, qualifies. But more than that, the authority flows from his style and organization. The blurbs for once are true: Lukeman wrote a book about punctuation that's a page-turner, one written with "wit and insight."
I certainly learned a lot. I'm far too fond of the dash--I know it. But part of that might have been not so much that I used the dash too much, but that I didn't appreciate its close cousins the parenthesis and the colon and how they work differently. Lukeman gives frequent literary examples, for instance how Hemingway used the period differently than Faulkner, how Poe and Melville used the semi-colon, James Joyce the colon, E.M. Forster the dash. Each chapter deals with a punctuation mark or closely related marks, with their use, underuse, overuse, context, what your usage reveals about you and ends with exercises that help bring the lessons home and should be very useful in revision. A short, lucid book, and an essential tool in a fiction writer's kit.
August 2, 2013
An excellent book on punctuation, including the use of paragraph, section, and chapter breaks. This book would be especially useful for writers who are just starting out. The book has a literary fiction bent, but the rules Lukeman espouses are useful for all writers. Note that this is not a "how to" book and is a bit light on examples; Lukeman assumes you have a decent grasp of grammar and mechanics and are instead looking for guidelines to turn that basic understanding into artful application.
April 21, 2022
So this was not what I was expecting. This particular punctuation book was written with a specific category of readers -- authors of fiction -- in mind, and I am not a member of that audience. I therefore skipped all the exercises at the end of each chapter, but I otherwise enjoyed reading.
What I learned about punctuation: there are rules, which are really more like suggestions that you had better follow even if they're hopelessly vague and begging to be broken.
I actually learned more about how punctuation shapes literature, which incidentally gives me more insight as a reader than as a writer of the English language. I'm paying a lot more attention to punctuation as I read now and it's kind of fascinating.
What I learned about punctuation: there are rules, which are really more like suggestions that you had better follow even if they're hopelessly vague and begging to be broken.
I actually learned more about how punctuation shapes literature, which incidentally gives me more insight as a reader than as a writer of the English language. I'm paying a lot more attention to punctuation as I read now and it's kind of fascinating.
December 13, 2021
I don’t know the exact date i read this but, even though i still have terrible punctuation after reading it, i have to say I weirdly enjoyed this book. (Its not a fiction book with a nonfiction book name, it literally about punctuation)
All I remember is that the narrator was so nice, like best friend nice, I want to be friends with him. Like reading a 100? 200? Page book about punctuation may sound boring but if the author/narrator just sounds like a fun human you somehow manage to finish it without realising it.
All I remember is that the narrator was so nice, like best friend nice, I want to be friends with him. Like reading a 100? 200? Page book about punctuation may sound boring but if the author/narrator just sounds like a fun human you somehow manage to finish it without realising it.
August 31, 2015
Short, but with some unique insights on the mess called punctuation. I especially liked his exploration of the subjectivity of punctuation use.
August 15, 2013
"In writing, punctuation plays the role of body language. It helps readers hear you the way you want to be heard." -Russell Baker
Aimed at creative writers (although useful for non-fiction, technical, and business), A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation is an excellent resource, one I highly recommend aspiring writers add to their bookshelves. This is not a manual; this is a guide to considering punctuation before throwing it into work without forethought, using it just because instead of using it as part of an individual style.
Lukeman tackles each punctuation mark in turn, devoting a chapter to each. Sounds boring, I know, but again, this isn't a manual or a grammar school book. Lukeman expects his reader to be more advanced than that; he expects you to already know what each mark is and what it's technically used for. As the title implies, this is a guide to style. And if you're a writer who's investigating tips for developing your own style, then you're most likely advanced enough that you already know punctuation marks and their technical usage. (If you don't, for God's sake start by learning the basics!) You don't need an English teacher assuming you're some kind of idiot, you need a guiding hand beyond the schoolbook definitions that will push you in the direction of better overall writing.
A Dash of Style provides exactly that: guidance towards developing and bettering your writing with the thoughtful use of punctuation. Lukeman emphasizes context: allowing the context to determine which marks to use and where to use them, when one choice would work but another would work better within the text, and when context would render certain ones inappropriate. He also covers things like paragraphs and section and chapter breaks, not technically punctuation but just as crucial to the flow of text. Again, he places much of the focus on context and writing for impact.
A note on the entirety: this is not a boring book. Many excellent grammar and/or style guides can be dry, acting as excellent cures for insomnia, but this isn't one of those. Noah Lukeman keeps the pace quick and to the point, and his writing is engaging. The vibrant text also refreshes, as it never insults the reader's intelligence. God bless him.
A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation is an excellent read and a must-have addition for any writer's collection. And if you read this, I also highly recommend another of his books, The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile. Now go! Read! And then write your little hearts out!
Aimed at creative writers (although useful for non-fiction, technical, and business), A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation is an excellent resource, one I highly recommend aspiring writers add to their bookshelves. This is not a manual; this is a guide to considering punctuation before throwing it into work without forethought, using it just because instead of using it as part of an individual style.
Lukeman tackles each punctuation mark in turn, devoting a chapter to each. Sounds boring, I know, but again, this isn't a manual or a grammar school book. Lukeman expects his reader to be more advanced than that; he expects you to already know what each mark is and what it's technically used for. As the title implies, this is a guide to style. And if you're a writer who's investigating tips for developing your own style, then you're most likely advanced enough that you already know punctuation marks and their technical usage. (If you don't, for God's sake start by learning the basics!) You don't need an English teacher assuming you're some kind of idiot, you need a guiding hand beyond the schoolbook definitions that will push you in the direction of better overall writing.
A Dash of Style provides exactly that: guidance towards developing and bettering your writing with the thoughtful use of punctuation. Lukeman emphasizes context: allowing the context to determine which marks to use and where to use them, when one choice would work but another would work better within the text, and when context would render certain ones inappropriate. He also covers things like paragraphs and section and chapter breaks, not technically punctuation but just as crucial to the flow of text. Again, he places much of the focus on context and writing for impact.
A note on the entirety: this is not a boring book. Many excellent grammar and/or style guides can be dry, acting as excellent cures for insomnia, but this isn't one of those. Noah Lukeman keeps the pace quick and to the point, and his writing is engaging. The vibrant text also refreshes, as it never insults the reader's intelligence. God bless him.
A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation is an excellent read and a must-have addition for any writer's collection. And if you read this, I also highly recommend another of his books, The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile. Now go! Read! And then write your little hearts out!
February 12, 2019
I enjoyed both this one and 'The first fave pages' by Noah Lukeman and I can honestly say it has been an insightful reading. Punctuation has never been my strongest suit and this book made me realize I was focusing on the wrong thing. Definitely recommend.
March 17, 2024
This is silly, but looking at the picture of the author before or while reading makes this book read as far more intimidating and ostentatious than it probably actually is. I don’t know, I can just feel his judgment.
There’s no denying that he knows what he’s talking about, though. The advice is sound, clear, and well-written. There are plenty of examples throughout. It’s not usually too boring or exhausting as many books of this nature can be (it has its moments, though).
My complaint is that at the end of each chapter the author describes the type of writer who uses each punctuation mark and what it says about them, which is fine… but he basically only says the negative! Dude, I’m already insecure enough. Say something freaking good about me.
Also a stressful read because in many ways punctuation isn’t that deep—but in many more ways, it is. The author himself states wisely in the epilogue, “Breaking the rules only works when a writer has great respect for the rules he breaks.” I think that sums it up perfectly.
For me punctuation is mostly felt, and this is a great guide for feeling it better and learning how to experiment.
(G rating)
There’s no denying that he knows what he’s talking about, though. The advice is sound, clear, and well-written. There are plenty of examples throughout. It’s not usually too boring or exhausting as many books of this nature can be (it has its moments, though).
My complaint is that at the end of each chapter the author describes the type of writer who uses each punctuation mark and what it says about them, which is fine… but he basically only says the negative! Dude, I’m already insecure enough. Say something freaking good about me.
Also a stressful read because in many ways punctuation isn’t that deep—but in many more ways, it is. The author himself states wisely in the epilogue, “Breaking the rules only works when a writer has great respect for the rules he breaks.” I think that sums it up perfectly.
For me punctuation is mostly felt, and this is a great guide for feeling it better and learning how to experiment.
(G rating)
August 12, 2024
Life-changing. 10/10.
Maybe it's because I'm a writing nerd, maybe it's because I somehow missed basic grammar lessons, or maybe it's just because Lukeman is so good at what he does, but whatever the case: this book was a pure delight.
Reader beware: you might just find out you've been using semicolons + dashes + colons wrong your entire life.
Maybe it's because I'm a writing nerd, maybe it's because I somehow missed basic grammar lessons, or maybe it's just because Lukeman is so good at what he does, but whatever the case: this book was a pure delight.
Reader beware: you might just find out you've been using semicolons + dashes + colons wrong your entire life.
October 7, 2017
I learned some valuable tips in this book.
January 30, 2022
Some fantastic insight and advice, but Lukeman is a bit of a pretentious douche at times.
Want to read
November 7, 2022Thank you, Timmy Marsee, for the recommendation!
March 8, 2023
To be honest, I did not expect a book about punctuation to be such a nice read. It reads well amd fast and I was actually looking forward to it everyday.
It's not all good: The examples given are sometimes puerile and feel made up; no ond would actually write a sentence as written in the book; expecially when showing how the collon and semicollon and dash can be used to save on words, I couldn't help but think that a coma would be better
All in all an enjoyable read. I do plan on making use of everything I've learned.
It's not all good: The examples given are sometimes puerile and feel made up; no ond would actually write a sentence as written in the book; expecially when showing how the collon and semicollon and dash can be used to save on words, I couldn't help but think that a coma would be better
All in all an enjoyable read. I do plan on making use of everything I've learned.
April 13, 2018
This wasn't exactly what I thought it would be, but once I committed to it, I felt like I should go ahead and finish it. It's a quick read.
My tentatively positive first impression quickly slid into "meh" before disintegrating into thoughts of "this time could be spent doing something more interesting, such as sorting rubber bands by color."
Obviously, I'm not the audience. That's probably the first problem. The second disconnect is that, while I believe the English language is fluid (and that fluidity extends to punctuation), I'm not in favor of non-standard punctuation in the name of "style." As the author points out, there are authors who have brilliantly twisted the rules of punctuation to suit their needs--pages of text without a single period, books without a single comma, etc. -- but, as the author also points out (over and over and over again), not everyone is Neville, Hemingway, or Barrett-Browning. (Thank goodness for that.) Probably the third disconnect with me was that I thought the sections on "what it says about you if you use too much/too little of X punctuation" was simplistic and had a barbed, nasty tone to it. I was reminded of a former teacher who used to make snide remarks about students' papers in front of the class. #NotHelpful.
On the plus side, the sample paragraphs used prompted me to add Faulkner to my "to read" list.
My tentatively positive first impression quickly slid into "meh" before disintegrating into thoughts of "this time could be spent doing something more interesting, such as sorting rubber bands by color."
Obviously, I'm not the audience. That's probably the first problem. The second disconnect is that, while I believe the English language is fluid (and that fluidity extends to punctuation), I'm not in favor of non-standard punctuation in the name of "style." As the author points out, there are authors who have brilliantly twisted the rules of punctuation to suit their needs--pages of text without a single period, books without a single comma, etc. -- but, as the author also points out (over and over and over again), not everyone is Neville, Hemingway, or Barrett-Browning. (Thank goodness for that.) Probably the third disconnect with me was that I thought the sections on "what it says about you if you use too much/too little of X punctuation" was simplistic and had a barbed, nasty tone to it. I was reminded of a former teacher who used to make snide remarks about students' papers in front of the class. #NotHelpful.
On the plus side, the sample paragraphs used prompted me to add Faulkner to my "to read" list.
September 28, 2011
Noah Lukeman, A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation (Norton, 2006)
Noah Lukeman's three writing guides (The First Five Pages, The Plot Thickens, and this one) are wonderful little oases of good, old-fashioned common sense in a twisted thicket of how-to-write tomes. They are small, to the point, and quietly sure of themselves. They can be; the information contained therein is impeccable. If you haven't discovered Lukeman yet and you're an aspiring writer of any fictional stripe (and aren't we all?), hie thee to the bookstore, library, whatever and grab yourself a copy of The First Five Pages, about which I cannot say enough good things (though I tried when reviewing it a few years back). You can grab the other two in either order, I think.
This is a straight punctuation book; Lukeman starts with the most commonly-used punctuation marks, gives a quick overview of when they should (and shouldn't) be used, and then heads into more esoteric territory. All of it is good reads, even if you actually know most of this stuff heading into it. I did, and this still ended up being my favorite of the three; Lukeman is concise, witty, and a lot of fun without going over the top (as, say, Lynne Truss). ****
Noah Lukeman's three writing guides (The First Five Pages, The Plot Thickens, and this one) are wonderful little oases of good, old-fashioned common sense in a twisted thicket of how-to-write tomes. They are small, to the point, and quietly sure of themselves. They can be; the information contained therein is impeccable. If you haven't discovered Lukeman yet and you're an aspiring writer of any fictional stripe (and aren't we all?), hie thee to the bookstore, library, whatever and grab yourself a copy of The First Five Pages, about which I cannot say enough good things (though I tried when reviewing it a few years back). You can grab the other two in either order, I think.
This is a straight punctuation book; Lukeman starts with the most commonly-used punctuation marks, gives a quick overview of when they should (and shouldn't) be used, and then heads into more esoteric territory. All of it is good reads, even if you actually know most of this stuff heading into it. I did, and this still ended up being my favorite of the three; Lukeman is concise, witty, and a lot of fun without going over the top (as, say, Lynne Truss). ****
November 14, 2011
I love it when two writing books disagree on something. Such as, one book argues you should never use "quotes" around a single word to make it stand out, as if it were italicized. Then the next book states this is perfectly fine, as long as you don't abuse it. This is why, when I want to learning something new, I gather together a dozen or more books on the subject and read through them, taking notes, etc. You can't take any one person's opinion as fact on anything.
Overall, though, A Dash of Style was a pretty good book on punctuation. Not exactly what I was looking for; maybe a little too wordy in some places. If you are a beginner at writing or developing your craft, you would be aided by this book. It did help me clarify a few places where I struggle. But I wouldn't spend money on it. Find it in a library or online somewhere. I'm sure Amazon has it for a penny. I'm glad I got through this one, hopefully the next book will be better.
Overall, though, A Dash of Style was a pretty good book on punctuation. Not exactly what I was looking for; maybe a little too wordy in some places. If you are a beginner at writing or developing your craft, you would be aided by this book. It did help me clarify a few places where I struggle. But I wouldn't spend money on it. Find it in a library or online somewhere. I'm sure Amazon has it for a penny. I'm glad I got through this one, hopefully the next book will be better.
January 6, 2013
This book is for creative writers. This means writers of fiction, non-fiction, memoir, poetry, and screenplays,including anyone seeking to write well, for business, school or any other endeavor. This book offers punctuation as artistic expression. As a means of impacting the content in a most profound way. Punctuation can influence the reading experience, to craft a finer work. This book will teach you to become sensitive, enabling you to be a better writer. It is not about making you a better grammarian. This book teaches how punctuation reveals the writer, and ways to tap in to alter intention of a scene, and much more. Strengths in writing can be spotted by the method of punctuation. This book would be a wealth of wisdom to any library. I own a copy of this inspiring book.
February 23, 2019
This isn’t packed full of punctuation rules; it’s a guide for creative writers on how to use punctuation to better convey meaning. It is also a great tool for bloggers looking to improve their writing.
This isn’t about the rules. Lukeman even gives examples of famous novelists that break the rules to great effect. This is about understanding when punctuation can do so that it works for you. This book helped me to understand why I do what I do. For instance, I get parentheses happy on the blog, but never ever use them in my manuscript or short stories. It’s something I do without thinking about it. Now I know that parentheses create a comfortable informality. Knowing this helps me to be more conscious of what I do.
This isn’t about the rules. Lukeman even gives examples of famous novelists that break the rules to great effect. This is about understanding when punctuation can do so that it works for you. This book helped me to understand why I do what I do. For instance, I get parentheses happy on the blog, but never ever use them in my manuscript or short stories. It’s something I do without thinking about it. Now I know that parentheses create a comfortable informality. Knowing this helps me to be more conscious of what I do.
April 22, 2016
After reading this book, I have found myself paying attention to (and appreciating) punctuation more than ever before. I have also found myself playing with punctuation more in my own writing. I used to avoid most marks: commas, semi-colons, and colons were not part of my repertoire. Lukeman's analogies won me over.
"The comma is the speed bump of the punctuation world...
Both divider and connector, the comma is schizophrenic."
"If the period is the stop sign and the paragraph break is the stop light, then the section break is the town line."
"The comma is the speed bump of the punctuation world...
Both divider and connector, the comma is schizophrenic."
"If the period is the stop sign and the paragraph break is the stop light, then the section break is the town line."
July 7, 2018
In this short book on punctuation, Lukeman digs into the nitty-gritty of periods, commas, semi-colons, dashes, etc. His exposition of punctuation is certainly helpful in and of itself, but what I really love is the way he uses punctuation to close read great literature. With excerpts from authors like Nabokov, McCarthy, and Melville, Lukeman demonstrates how different types of punctuation subtly—and sometimes even drastically—affect a sentence, a paragraph, and even an entire chapter.
November 6, 2007
This is a great book for anyone who writes on the side or for a living. I never thought about punctuation before in my writing - I just relied on experience and intuition - but this book really breaks down the creative and functional uses of different punctuation. I will definitely reference this again.
January 23, 2011
A good reminder that punctuation is our friend in the midst of creative texts. Of course, the book seems aimed at an intro class and there was next to no discussion of poetry, but it was an interesting enough book to pick up from time to time over the course of a month. If I taught fiction-writing (or creative non-fiction), I'd totally assign this book.
July 25, 2008
This book takes a refreshing spin on punctuation -- I think it freed me from my overly-strict 5th grade grammar teacher.
September 13, 2016
A total page-turner. Really.
June 19, 2009
I am finally comfortable using a variety of punctuation in my writing, and it was all from this book--how cool is that?
It just made punctuation interesting, an art instead of a bunch of rules.
It just made punctuation interesting, an art instead of a bunch of rules.
Read
December 28, 2012One of my top five authors on writing. Eye-opening guide on punctuation.
Read
August 31, 2016Thank you, Betsy. This book has reinvigorated my approach to punctuation. The tenth grade doesn't know it yet but they will owe you a big "thank you".
January 9, 2017
Este é um livro que serve principalmente aos escritores de ficção (notadamente os de contos e romances). Não traz informações sobre a pontuação em trabalhos acadêmicos e científicos, histórias em quadrinhos e crônicas, por exemplo; traz apenas uns cinco exemplos de pontuação em poemas. Em muitos trechos, ele traz uma perspectiva do mercado editorial a respeito de algumas práticas de pontuação mais comuns. O autor diz que a pontuação revela o escritor. Talvez este seja o ponto mais interessante do livro, em que se aborda as características de cada tipo de escritor (imaturo, ansioso, experiente, acadêmico etc.) relacionadas às práticas de pontuação; por exemplo: o escritor que faz muito uso do ponto final tende a ser mais dramático. Isso pode ser negativo ou positivo, dependendo de como o autor cria um estilo próprio. Nesse sentido, segundo Lukeman, o escritor deve tomar o cuidado para não cansar o leitor com um estilo muito exagerado, mas deve procurar o equilíbrio na pontuação.
Livro indispensável para escritores. É ótimo também para melhorar a redação de uma maneira geral e fornece uma base sólida para os leitores que desejam entender melhor o texto de cada autor.
Livro indispensável para escritores. É ótimo também para melhorar a redação de uma maneira geral e fornece uma base sólida para os leitores que desejam entender melhor o texto de cada autor.
July 20, 2022
I took my time on this one, for I've always felt that punctuation is a salient weakness of mine, especially in achieving various effects, such as evoking a peaceful morning at the beach or a snarling dog chasing me as I frantically try to pedal faster than he can run. Noah Lukeman covers them in detail, using lots of examples from the heavy-hitter we've all read: Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Mark Twain, among others. Their choices--whether using a long succession of commas or short sentences, each stopped by a period, for example -- were not haphazard or accidental. There was a design, all to keep us readers fully immersed in the writer's world.
At the end of each chapter are exercises to practice the topics just discussed (for overachievers, of course). I never took the time to do any of them, although I may have benefitted (duh!).
I read Lukeman's other book, The First Five Pages, years ago, and I remember how inspiring it was; this book is no different, though more technical, but inspiring nonetheless.
At the end of each chapter are exercises to practice the topics just discussed (for overachievers, of course). I never took the time to do any of them, although I may have benefitted (duh!).
I read Lukeman's other book, The First Five Pages, years ago, and I remember how inspiring it was; this book is no different, though more technical, but inspiring nonetheless.
April 16, 2025
8/10
Incredibly insightful. More than anything, this book gave me the confidence to correctly and artfully use punctuation. I am not the “misuser” that some of this manual is directed towards; instead things like the semicolon were foreign to me before beginning this reading, and now they are part of my growing punctuation arsenal.
In terms of the book’s content itself, its success in teaching is marked by its use of examples. Instead of employing his own, he shows and explains instead of just telling, to great effect.
Wonderfully educational book!
P.S. I skipped all the horoscope-ass sections where the author palm reads your personality based on how you write.
Incredibly insightful. More than anything, this book gave me the confidence to correctly and artfully use punctuation. I am not the “misuser” that some of this manual is directed towards; instead things like the semicolon were foreign to me before beginning this reading, and now they are part of my growing punctuation arsenal.
In terms of the book’s content itself, its success in teaching is marked by its use of examples. Instead of employing his own, he shows and explains instead of just telling, to great effect.
Wonderfully educational book!
P.S. I skipped all the horoscope-ass sections where the author palm reads your personality based on how you write.
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