The Comma ( , ) - Editing Tips

Basic Punctuation for Fiction Writers - The Comma ( , )

It is used in writing to indicate a pause between parts of a sentence or to separate the single things in a list. 

Usage

1. Also known as the Oxford comma, preceding the conjunction in a list of three or more items.

Example: Moira wrote an essay, two poems, and a short story. 

2. Dates. When the format of month, day, and year is used

Example: June 12, 1989 or August 06, 2020

3. A comma is used between the city and the state when writing an address.

Example: London, UK or Paris, France

4. Degrees or titles used with names (Exception: commas are not used around Jr. or Sr.)

Example: Prof. Laura Thomson, Ph.D. is our guest speaker tonight. 

5. The vocative comma is a punctuation mark used when the speaker is addressing a specific person or persons. When a speaker directly addresses an individual, that person's name must be offset by commas.

Example 1: Put down the gun, George. 

Example 2: Sam, what are you hiding from me?

Example 3: Get dressed, Viola, and let's go grab a bite. 

6. After introductory words and phrases or dependent clauses 

Example 1: When the sun comes out, we'll go on a picnic. 

Example 2: Luckily, Jon arrived just in time.  

Example 3: No, it tastes awful.  

Example 4: Grabbing his keys, he realized he left the stove on.

7. Between independent clauses (complete sentences) joined by a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so)

Example: Manuella wanted a lace cocktail dress, but she was broke. 

8. When each adjective alone can modify the noun and still make sense, separate the adjectives with a comma.

Example: She wore a long, tight dress that night. 

Hey guys, 

I'm gathering all these to self-edit my stories and I hope you'll find them useful as well. 

Let me know in the comments if anything is missing. 

Thank you so much for your time and have a nice day.

Take care. 

PS. Here are the links to my writing-related books for self-study purposes. These are the material I gathered when I started to get more and more into the craft of storytelling. Hope you'll find them useful.

Glossary of Writing Terms

Story Discovery

Simple Grammar and Punctuation

Commonly Confused Words