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Do you double space ? Read today's Throwback Thursday Writing 101 to find out why that's wrong...very, very wrong. If you double-space your books, maybe this Writing 101 tip will change your mind (and your spacing).

Every good book has dialogue in it, and that means you're going to have to use quotations. Are you using them right way...or do you just think you are?  Read this week's Throwback Thursday Writing 101 post to find out, and master quotation punctuation .

When you're writing a book, the simple period and comma aren't always enough. Sometimes, you have to start using somewhat fancier punctuation -- like colons, semicolons and ellipsis. Today's TBT Writing 101 will help you remember how to use them perfectly.  Perfect punctuation is important in every book, because (trust me) some reviewer is going to notice the first colon you put in the wrong place. Learn how to use colons and semicolons the right way, and you can do a lot more with your sentences. Read all about it in this throwback Writing 101 .

The dash is one of the most under-valued pieces of punctuation, and one of the most improperly-used. Learn to master the art of the dash, and you can avoid all your complicated punctuation problems. Ignore this lesson, and you'll find yourself mired in a morass of commas from which there is no escape. Dashing off Good Punctuation A dash functions as a super comma, and that's why all writers should love it. When you already have a lot of punctuation to deal with in a sentence, the dash can be employed to break up the sentence to make it readable (and grammatically correct) again. Learn how to use the dash, and it will be your friend.

I often write about the writing problems that I encounter, and this is one that just won't go away. I have so much trouble when it comes to apostrophes and time, I'll usually find a way to re-write the sentence instead. The rule is confusing, and it's one that you'll have to memorize in order to get right.  Punctuation Frustration You can wait for a package to come for months, and you can wait for a month of Sundays. You can even wait a week's time for that package to come to your door. But when you have two weeks' worth of waiting piled up, punctuation gets totally flipping confusing. Yes, I'm about to come up with some better examples of how to do it correctly. 

Commas are so confusing, I and just about every author who blogs about writing has tried to sort them out. I've written multiple posts about how to use commas, and when, and why not. But sometimes, you have to forget about all those rules. Some phrases are so special, they come with their own personal comma rules. Of course, you don't have to take my word for it...  Of Course You Need a Comma There I get hung up on little punctuation rules all the time. Of course, there's a lot of them to remember. But I found myself asking, several times, whether or not I was required to use a comma every time I use the phrase of course . It's confusing, because the phrase can be used in a multitude of ways. 

The word unless is a tricky one, but sounds so nice writers like to use it anyway. I was writing something the other day with unless , and had to stop. I stared at the screen. And I realized that I didn't know if you're always supposed to use a comma with unless or not. I had to find out. Now, I'm going to tell you.  Unless You Want to be Wrong Unless is often used as a subordinate clause, and don't worry. That's the most confusing thing you'll read in this post. To answer the question, no. You don't have to use unless with a comma all the time. But knowing when not to do it does get pretty tricky.

As an author, you're free to use words any way you want to paint pictures, evoke emotions and tell your story. But you're not free to use any symbols you want. It's time to find out about the ampersand, the percent sign and the other stuff you can't use. Symbols vs. Punctuation The ampersand, the percent sign and the slash actually are not punctuation. That's the first thing you've got to know and that's what you'll need to remember. These parts of the keyboard are actually symbols, not punctuation. And that's why you can't use them.

I tell you, readers, it's a problem. Commas aren't being used the right way...and as an author, you can't let it happen to you. Are you sure you know how to use commas and names -- the right way?  Comma, Comma, Come On!  Using commas gets confusing. Use too many and you've fouled up the sentence. Use too few and there's no natural pause to your narrative. Use them the wrong way, and I'm liable to come after you. 

To comma or not to comma. If you're writing a book, you're going to face this question maybe 100 times...if not more. With each line of dialogue you write comes an important question: am I supposed to end it with a comma or a period?  The End of the Sentence Punctuating dialogue is one of the most confusing tasks you'll face as an author. You're already introducing quotation marks into the mix, which is extra punctuation, and you can't ignore all the normal rules of the game, either. So every time you write a new line, it's a new challenge. 

I don't often wax poetic about the finer points of punctuation (or even, really, address them), because everywhere I look people are still using 's to pluralize words so I don't much see the point in it. However, the serial comma question keeps coming up again and again. So how are indie authors supposed to address it in their books?  Once, and for All Serial commas are the kind of thing that only writers would ever think about. Most people don't even notice whether or not they're using them. Are you...or do you only think you're using serial commas?  If you list specific items such as books , ereaders , and tablets, you might be using a serial comma. I just did, in fact. 

Language is an ever-changing entity. It lives and breathes. You can easily find the proof of it. Open up a novel written 100 years ago, something by Mark Twain for example, and now go open one that was published this year. You'll find extreme differences in the language used. But there are some grammar and punctuation rules that won't ever change, and never have changed...and yet somehow, people still manage to get it wrong.  There's No Apostrophe in Yours The rules of using 's are extremely clear. They're hard and fast. And they have not changed since the very first rules of language were invented. So why, why , do we keep getting it wrong? It's a riddle for the ages. But I am dedicated to repeating this rule, and pointing to it, until no one is making the mistake anymore. I'm going to make it very clear again: 's is not used to pluralize. It never makes anything plural, not ever . That's why all of the following examples are...

The Internet has totally blurred, if not altogether obliterated, the lines of good punctuation. Now, people are using punctuation to make little faces at the end of the sentences. This is not the use for which punctuation was originally intended, and it's darn confusing. Maybe that's why it's so difficult to know when to use brackets in fiction writing. It's almost never okay for authors to do so...even when you're writing about what happens on the Internet.  Thou Shalt Not Use Brackets Brackets are not a parenthesis...they're the more twisted cousin. While parentheses have gently curving lines, brackets have hard edges. That's to remind you that they're used only in the most extreme of circumstances. In fiction, they're used almost ever. In other types of writing, brackets can be used for a handful of different reasons.  Math: In some complicated mathematical problems, brackets are used to show specific number groups or funct...

Ever told someone about a song you like, and they didn't recognize it, so you had to sing a few lines? Ever mention a great line you heard on that TV show you love? Ever told a friend what another friend said about them, word for word? Yeah, there are lots of reasons why you might need to use quotes within quotes when you're writing. Don't ignore the simple punctuation rules that dictate exactly how you're allowed to do it.  Double Punctuation, and Other Disasters Lots of things have to be enclosed in quotation marks when you're writing. Proper titles of magazine articles, exact quotes, clever nicknames, popular sayings -- you might use quotes around all that stuff. But if you're already using quotes because you're mentioning these things in dialogue, then you've got to use a form of double punctuation: quotes within quotes. It's really easy to get them wrong. It doesn't help that there's a lot of confusion surrounding proper q...

Double-spacing after a period.  Like this.  Is wrong.  But so many people have so many different opinions about double-spacing and single-spacing after punctuation, it's difficult to point to just one reason why it's wrong. I'm going to try anyway.   Single and Fabulous? The number of spaces that should be placed after a period is actually a hot point of contention among writers, editors and typographers. This is the kind of stuff that gets word nerds all kinds of hot and bothered, and I guess I'm no exception. I passionately believe that only one space should be used following any sentence, and the general school of typography agrees with me.  Typesetters are the people who actually put the words on the page. They're responsible for making everything fit together and using all the space they've got in an economical fashion. Since the early 20th century, it's been an industry standard in Europe and the Americas to use a single space, not a do...

There are so many words in the English language, the actual number can't even be provided. Some experts have tried to estimate, but there are new words being added all the time (and a ton of weird ones that people never really use). What I'm saying is, when you're writing about or writing with punctuation and letters, there's a word for that. There's a word for every itty bitty little piece of punctuation, for the extra add-ons in letters, for every wacky symbol you might find when you're reading. Dotting the Is  Everything has a name, even in punctuation. Knowing the proper words for things comes in pretty handy, especially if you've got a question about proper usage. Trying to use a search engine without knowing the right words is an exercise in frustration...and won't you sound learned and impressive if you know that the little dot over the i and j is properly called a tittle ? It's a fun little word, a lot more interesting than the...

Apostrophes are an essential element in punctuation, but so many authors get their placement confused -- or worse, leave them out entirely. A tiny little apostrophe can change the meaning of a sentence entirely, and when a wrong one appears it might just lead readers astray. Always be careful with your apostrophes, and learn how to use them well to make sure your words are getting the point across. Using Apostrophes, Let Me Count the Ways Apostrophes serve many extremely important functions in language; certain words could never even exist without them. To understand how to use apostrophes correctly, you've got to understand how, exactly, they're used. Missing letters In certain circumstances, apostrophes can be used to represent missing letters -- this is the case in absolutely every single contraction. Words like can't , don't , you're and all the rest rely upon apostrophes to exist. We get so used to seeing contractions, it's easy to forget wha...

Without quotations, you can't have dialogue. It seems simple enough -- every time a character speaks, just wrap quotation marks around every word they say. But where do the commas go? How should the periods be placed? There's nothing simple about using quotations in a story, because you've always got to add extra punctuation along with them. Are you doing it the right way? The US vs. The UK There are different styles of using quotation marks around the world, and therein lies the confusion. But on either side of the Atlantic, there are specific rules to follow -- and I love having specific rules to follow. Always embrace the rules of writing, because they're your friend.

No, it's not a typo -- parentheses is the plural of parenthesis. The first rule of using them is that there should always, always be two, but thanks to their natural shape it shouldn't be too hard to keep track of that. The rest of the rules of using parentheses may not be so easy to remember.   When Are They Used?   The parenthesis doesn't appear a whole lot in fiction writing, but it can be an effective tool when it's added rarely. In fiction, parentheses most often indicate an aside, or an extra bit of information, that the author is giving to the reader or reminding the reader about. In most all situations, parentheses won't appear inside dialogue. When they do appear in dialogue, parentheses usually denote something that has not been spoken aloud by the speaker; rather, they are used to express the speaker's thoughts or provide some extra information. Using parentheses inside dialogue is very rare, and shouldn't be added just for the heck of...

Seems a little silly, doesn't it? Using commas is as basic as learning the alphabet, and every writer has peppered them into their work at some point. But honestly, I'm not trying to waste your time. I'm trying to help, because in the vast majority of indie books I've read I have learned something: many indie writers don't know how to use commas correctly. You might think you've got a firm grasp on them, roll your eyes at today's lesson and move on to greener tip-giving pastures. I beg you not to do so, especially if you know that I've read your book in the past. Because chances are, you've already made more than one unforgivable error in your ebook. What Role Do Commas Play? If you're going to use commas, you ought to know what they represent. You can't just shake up a bag of commas and throw them into your work at will. They're used to create natural separation and pauses in the middle of sentences, and they're an important p...