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Editing, Punctuation, and Hair belonging to Elvis

October 14, 2015 By Talya Tate Boerner 5 Comments

Editing, Punctuation, and hair belonging to ElvisYesterday I worked farmer’s hours editing The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee. 5:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. That’s a long day with 117,822 words. I took a quick break for lunch at my desk, walked the dogs at least twice, and in the afternoon, I raked leaves for thirty minutes to clear my mind. This morning I’m giving a shout out to the editors who have worked on my book—a good editor is more than worth her weight in gold or good bourbon or homemade pizza or whatever deemed valuable. Editors find needle-in-haystack errors, as well as huge problems, like plot nonsense and timeline confusion.

One thing this process has taught me is that my knowledge of punctuation isn’t as strong as I thought. 

In the 1970s, hair belonging to The King would have been Elvis’ hair. In 2015  = Elvis’s hair. While that extra “s” makes me cringe, I defer to the experts and Chicago-style format.

Skill fades. Rules change.

I easily adapted to the new-ish “only one space after a period” rule. This changed because of readability and proportional font issues. Typewriter vs. computer. I get it. In general, I support the Oxford comma, yet there are times I prefer no comma at all because I want the reader to feel a sense of wide-spread panic. I call this option I-Didn’t-Go-To-Oxford creativity. Sometimes it’s a style preference. Sometimes it’s bad style. Knowing the difference is important. Thankfully editors are good at this sort of thing.

Oxford Comma Nerd Quirk
I’m not complaining about my day of editing. I am grateful for it. Pinching myself, even, because I’m one step closer to seeing my manuscript in book format. The day went by quickly, too, because I was completely immersed in Gracie Lee’s world, a world I adore, a world that often makes more sense to me than today’s world.

On a semi-related note, do you remember my literacy post in September—Reading is my Superpower? Today I’m making good on my promise to help teach English at the Ozark Literacy Council. I’ve been assigned a student from Mexico, and I’ll be meeting with her this afternoon for our first tutoring session. Wish us both luck. I don’t feel all that confident in my tutoring/teaching ability. Her goal is to speak better English and improve her job prospects in Northwest Arkansas. If I can play even a small part in helping her reach that goal, I’ll be thrilled. I hope we don’t have to review punctuation rules today.

Grace Grits and Gardening
Farm. Food. Garden. Life.

[tweetthis]Editing my manuscript + thinking of Elvis. #punctuation #grammar #creativewriting #AccidentalSalvation #oxfordcomma[/tweetthis]

Musical Pairing:
Johnny Nash, I Can See Clearly Now

Filed Under: Humor, Writing Tagged With: creative writing, Editing, fiction, publishing, Southern Yellow Pine Publishing, The Accidental Salvation of Gracie Lee

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Comments

  1. Colene says

    October 14, 2015 at 9:49 am

    Well, I certainly have a lot to learn about the ‘new’ way. I have always been confused as to where to put a comma, and now I am more confused. What? One space after a period? HELP! Your ‘student’ is very lucky to have you!

    Reply
  2. Dot says

    October 14, 2015 at 12:20 pm

    Well I didn’t know about Elvis’s hair but I love the Oxford comma and when I look back at things I wrote when the O.C. was out of fashion, I cringe.
    Punctuation should not change.

    Reply
  3. debby says

    October 14, 2015 at 3:53 pm

    Hi, my name is Debby, and I am an over user of commas.

    Reply
    • Talya Tate Boerner says

      October 14, 2015 at 5:55 pm

      Haha. Me too. Except when I’m not.

      Reply
  4. Dorothy Johnson says

    October 15, 2015 at 7:04 am

    I like those commas because they make reading easier and I’m one of those who wants to add them when they’re not there. But it’s true, style changes so we better keep up to par. Good info. Lucky student to have you as a tutor.

    Reply

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Hi! I'm Talya Tate Boerner. Writer, Reader, Arkansas Master Naturalist / Master Gardener, Author of

THE ACCIDENTAL SALVATION OF GRACIE LEE (2016)

GENE, EVERYWHERE: a life-changing visit from my father-in-law (2020)

BERNICE RUNS AWAY (Now Available!)

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