A Dash of Poetic License
One of the goals of Fiction+ has been to encourage writers and editors to leave the stylebook behind whenever it gets in the way of creative expression.
“That hat!”: Punctuating How You Feel
When it comes to punctuation, there’s a difference between formal prose and creative writing.
Sure, You Got A’s in English—But Do You Know Where Commas Go?
A few months ago in a conference session, a group of novelists digressed into good-natured complaints about being copyedited. One writer drew a lot of laughs saying, “I mean, I got A’s in English! I know where the freaking commas go!”
Dot Dot Dot: A Closer Look at the Ellipsis
If you follow Chicago style, it’s a safe bet you know that a Chicago-style ellipsis consists of three spaced periods. You probably also know . . .
The Chicago Manual of Style Q&A for July
Q. Engineers think “CMOS” stands for “complementary metal-oxide semiconductor,” so how should we refer to The Chicago Manual of Style?
Q. Is it OK to hyphenate a hashtag at the end of a line?
Q. Is “student teacher” hyphenated?
Commas and Independent Clauses: A Creative Opening
A comma is normally placed before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, yet) that joins two independent subject-verb clauses—that is, clauses that could stand on their own as complete sentences. . . .
Chicago Style Workout 37: Editing and Proofreading Quiz No. 3
It’s time for another editing and proofreading quiz! Once again, we test your knowledge of some of the finer points of Chicago style.
“Can I Use Parentheses in Dialogue (or Not)?”
Parentheses can be used almost anywhere, but they are rarely seen in fictional dialogue or in quoted speech of any kind. The problem with parentheses in dialogue is that readers may not know exactly how to interpret them. . . .
Comma Splices and Run-On Sentences
Most writers and editors learn not to join (or splice) two independent clauses with a comma alone. . . .
“Smart” Apostrophes (CMOS 6.117)
There are two different kinds of apostrophes: smart and straight. To use them correctly, it helps to understand how they work. . . .