As a person who was bound and gagged by rules and regulations I am throwing my support behind Cecelia Watson. I agree that rules can be inhibiting and put a brake on creativity. And that writers punctuation records how they hear the beat of their own words. I’m currently reading Milkman by Anna Burns. Her style is unlike anything I have ever read before. She has broken all the rules and I think created a voice so unique as to be captivating. However, I think I am alone in my feelings because a lot in my book club find her exhausting! By the way, I showed my comment to my punctuation crazed husband and he said I should have a comma after “regulations”. And that I should start my sentence after the word creativity with the word “Also”. And the beat goes on............
I am also in Cecelia Watson’s camp!
I want to use semicolons more frequently - I am more of a dash person. One of my college professors, James Arthur, wrote a sort of haunting poem called “In Defense of the Semicolon.”
I am a dash person also! Because my punctuation is somewhat based on my ignorance of what is actually correct, I have immeasurable fun making it up as I go along. It IS about personal rhythm. Being a person who tends to be overly exuberant about life, I can get obnoxious with exclamation points - love them!!!
I would have given this article a 10; but I realize most people don’t care about punctuation. I enjoyed correcting my wife’s writing until she ran all of her sentences together! A lesson learned!
As a person who was bound and gagged by rules and regulations I am throwing my support behind Cecelia Watson. I agree that rules can be inhibiting and put a brake on creativity. And that writers punctuation records how they hear the beat of their own words. I’m currently reading Milkman by Anna Burns. Her style is unlike anything I have ever read before. She has broken all the rules and I think created a voice so unique as to be captivating. However, I think I am alone in my feelings because a lot in my book club find her exhausting! By the way, I showed my comment to my punctuation crazed husband and he said I should have a comma after “regulations”. And that I should start my sentence after the word creativity with the word “Also”. And the beat goes on............
I am also in Cecelia Watson’s camp! I want to use semicolons more frequently - I am more of a dash person. One of my college professors, James Arthur, wrote a sort of haunting poem called “In Defense of the Semicolon.”
I am a dash person also! Because my punctuation is somewhat based on my ignorance of what is actually correct, I have immeasurable fun making it up as I go along. It IS about personal rhythm. Being a person who tends to be overly exuberant about life, I can get obnoxious with exclamation points - love them!!!
I would have given this article a 10; but I realize most people don’t care about punctuation. I enjoyed correcting my wife’s writing until she ran all of her sentences together! A lesson learned!
Semicolons are still a mystery to me. Off to find Watson's Longreads interview.