The second best person to learn proper punctuation from is one who has failed and learned from their mistakes. The first person, of course, is an expert. Luckily for you, this post has both.

Which one am I, you ask?

Expert? *Cue crickets.

Person who has failed and learned? *Raises hand frantically.

I still make mistakes & I always will. Certain things I never get right. It doesn’t help that different editors have different preferences. For example…

The em-dash.

Oh, how I love the em-dash. I use it—perhaps even overuse it at times—often in my writing. See what I did there? I had one editor tell me it should look like this: I love writing — it’s an obvious statement, I know — but sometimes I forget there are other things I should do.

Note the space before and after the em-dashes. My most recent editor—lovely woman, she is—prefers the method in this sentence.

Me? I don’t care either way. I just love the pause of an em-dash. Commas can be exhausting; tiresome to the eye. I used to be comma crazy before I discovered the beauty of an em-dash.

Yeah, but what about the Dos and Don’ts?

Oh, yeah, right. Well, at the risk of sounding like a pompous ass—oh, this is definitely a pompous ass statement—learn the rules of punctuation! Seriously, don’t assume you remember that shit from high school. You don’t. There are plenty of great books that walk you through the basics. You can easily find articles online. No excuses for terrible punctuation. Especially with programs like  ProWriting Aid, and even your basic Word tools.

How about that expert…

Don’t want to take my word for it? Fine. Read what a pro says about the lovely em-dash (spoiler: she agrees with me… or I agree with her?) Check out this great post from Quick and Dirty Tips HERE .

Here are a few more great resources to help you on your authorship journey. 

The Best Punctuation Book, Period.

On Writing

Eats, Shoots, and Leaves