Confessions of the Comma

Throughout the long process of this first round of revisions, I’ve learned a lot about myself as a writer. Unfortunately, one of those things is that I seem to have no idea how to properly use commas. Regular readers of this blog are already well aware of this, I’m sure. Consider the following example from my current WIP:

 

“For a long time, I was in such agony that I would rather have died, and I thought for sure that my own innovation was killing me, but eventually the pain subsided, and I was able to return to my work, but the pain I had endured had changed me.”

 

Truly horrible. I suppose it’s not correct to say that I know nothing of commas; clearly I know enough to recognize that it’s bad while reading it, yet not enough to not write this in the first place.

I do stuff like this all the time, so often that it only took me a minute of sifting through the manuscript to find this example. The reason why is something that I’ve been meaning to address for quite some time, and I think now is as good of a time as any.

Since I graduated high school, I have had almost no education in English grammar. I do have an engineering degree, which means I did complete some general education coursework in the humanities, but I wasn’t exactly an overachiever in those courses. The Maritime Academy didn’t place much importance on them, and even on the days I did show up, I put in a minimal amount of effort. The result being that I didn’t learn a whole lot of new things about grammar, and instead just coasted by on secondary education-level knowledge.

Am I at a disadvantage in my writing because of this? Many might think so. I do not. While it’s true that I might not be able to ace a grammar quiz, I at least know that a gerund isn’t something found in the produce aisle. As I’ve already said a few times on the blog, I won’t be writing the next great literary classic anytime soon. Naturally, much of my writing style has developed from my own experience (or lack thereof) with grammar, and I wouldn’t ask to change that just to be able to hold my own in conversation with the literature grad student at the coffee shop. That might mean that I put commas where they shouldn’t be because I tend to write the way I speak, but I can catch those mistakes during the editing process. Those I do let through contribute to my identity as a writer, for better or worse. I’m sure I’ll survive as long as I avoid eye contact with the guy in the tweed jacket two tables over.

 

Until next time,

-Sal