Hello SErs! Harmony here 🙂 I hope this finds you all well. Today, I’d like to take a look at commas. For such a small punctuation mark, it has a big impact on how well or not our sentences read. Though we use commas a lot of the time, few of us understand them fully.

What is a comma? What does it do?

According to the Oxford English Dictionary: ‘A comma marks a slight break between different parts of a sentence. Used properly, commas make the meaning of sentences clear by grouping and separating words, phrases, and clauses.’

The different types of comma: Listing (Standard or Oxford), Introductory, Joining, Gapping, Bracketing, and other comma uses.

One thing that can make commas so confusing is that sometimes you have options, especially with the Listing and Gapping commas.

Because there is a lot to cover on this topic, I have split it…

Hello SErs! It’s Harmony again with part 2 on Commas and how to use them. If you missed Part 1, you can find it HERE. Last time, we looked at Listing (Standard or Oxford), Introductory, and Joining commas. Today, we cover the Gapping, Bracketing, and other comma uses.

The Gapping Comma

We use a gapping comma to show that we have left out one or more words when the missing words would simply repeat the words used earlier in the same sentence. See the following:

Some Norwegians wanted to base their national language on the speech of the capital city; others, on the speech of the rural countryside.

The gapping comma here shows that the words ‘wanted to base their national language’, which you might have repeated, have instead been omitted.

The following example contains both listing and gapping commas:

Italy is famous for her composers and musicians…

Hello, Story Empire Readers. Joan here today. For those who live in the United States, I hope you had a fun-filled July 4th celebration.

Today, I’m going to talk about continuing education. Doesn’t exactly sound like fun, but bear with me. My daytime job is in the field of healthcare. Nurses, physicians, lab techs, even coders must have a certain number of continuing education units in order to renew their licenses each year.

As writers, continuing education isn’t required, but I believe we should strive to become better with each article, short-story, or novel we pen. There are a number of ways we can do this, the first of which is “just write.” The more we write, the more the edit, the more we refine, the better our writing will become.

Another way is to read and follow blogs such as Story Empire (Wink, wink.) There are a number of…

by Chloe-Anne Ross

So I’m about to start writing a trilogy, something I’ve never done before. I’ve got everything I need for a good story: characters I want to follow and a story I want to follow through with. I’m thrilled to be writing it and also scared as all hell.

It is lucky for anyone who is, has or wants to do the same thing that there is a multitude of series out there. It is by reading them that I’ve discovered what to avoid and what I have to remember when getting those words down. So here they are!

Back in September, I published Emotional Beats: How to Easily Convert your Writing into Palpable Feelings. As promised, I will be posting the book on my blog. So, here is the next installment, continuing Part 3 of the book: Other Beats. This chapter deals with:

Houses and Scenery

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The best way to describe a house is to flick through an (online) architectural magazine. The second best is to read on.

• The walls were covered in rich, black wallpaper that exhibited a shimmering, barely perceptible pattern in the winking candlelight.
• Depression glass candleholders stood on the shelf.
• Along the far, short wall was a wide, polished, walnut, rectangular table.
• Their footsteps echoed on the travertine floors.
• All the paint chips he had been forced to stare at had driven him crazy.
• The interior was cuter still, with wooden floors polished to a warm honey-gold and exposed brick…

This is a guest post by the talented Veronica May, an experienced editor and blogger at A-Writer. She has written for multiple online publications, where she strives to share her knowledge and opinions. Her main focus is covering a variety of topics in the field of education.

Although her post focuses on writing in general, I found her excellent points equally valuable to bloggers and authors alike. Enjoy!

8 Uncommon Habits That Make You A More Professional Writer

We may all write the same content and even the same topic, but what separates us from others is the approach we use to convey that message. What makes a writer good at his work has a lot to do with how they express themselves and very little with what they are expressing. Most of the topics you are going to read about have been written. They are already out there. All…

This is a guest post by Lucy Benton. Lucy is a writing coach and editor who finds her passion in expressing own thoughts as a blogger, and currently works at Assignment Helper. She is constantly looking for the ways to improve her skills and expertise. If you’re interested in working with Lucy, you can find her on FaceBookand Twitter.

10 Essential Skills for Every Writer

The way you write says a lot about your development as an author. Any person who says that anyone can write a good story does not understand the process of writing as well as its essentials. Of course, many people have great ideas for writing but they cannot produce high-quality work because they lack essential writing skills.

Okay, you may think I’m throwing you for a loop here. However, listen to this: writing is so much more than creating. Experienced authors use a…

by Katie McCoach

As an author, your relationship with your editor, your book cover designer, your agent, and your publishing house are all extremely important to your success. I believe in good and bad energy—what you put out, you get back in return.

Day to day, I work my tail off to be my clients’ favorite editor. If I can be in their list of best editors they’ve ever worked with, my relationship with them, and other clients in turn, will be more fulfilling.