Scrivener And Commas

When I first installed Scrivener for Windows I’d expected to do more writing in it than I have. I’ve got a smooth system with WriteMonkey to WordPress, so I guess I’ve not seen much reason to defect even for a month during the trial.
I here now giving it a shot again. I’ll play here all this upcoming week to expand my initial experience. I’m not convinced I need this much tool at this point in my writing.

I recall having already written this, but I pulled out my grammar textbook to see what the “most introductory phrases” set off by a comma are in English. I got hung up on participial phrases. A participle being a verb used as an adverb (running water, fallen log, etc). A phrase being more words than just the participle. Tonight’s exercise then…

Running through the desert, Bob wondered where his pants might be located.
Fallen, the trees no longer made sounds.
Jumping for joy, Karen ran to her husband.
Not seeing the tree root, Bob fell.
Realizing this were like shooting fish in a barrel, the writer considered halting his exercise.
Finding his calisthenic muse, the writer continued.
Wondering if Texas had scored a touchdown yet, he typed on.
Chuckling, he wondered if he should just go to bed instead.

Now, I think I set these off as ‘interrupters’ when I place them in the middle of a sentence.

Bob, running through the desert, wondered where his pants might be located.
The trees, fallen, no longer made sounds.
Karen, jumping for joy, ran to her husband.

Finding that rhythm displeasing, the writer stopped doing that.

Also, I’m supposed to set off appositives, definitive words which equate with the word they follow, with commas.
That seems, appears, to be obvious, clear, to most people.

Yawning, he placed the laptop on the coffee table and reached for the remote.

Comma On My Mind

  • I think today I’ll do some exercises, and I may seek new ones.
  • Hovering over the keyboard, his fingers contemplated their next move.
  • Clouds drenched us overnight and gray hangs overhead this morning, so I feel like writing about water.
  • Last night I told my wife I think writing well would mean writing full time, but I don’t think I will take on that challenge soon.
  • As it turns out, knowing where to put the commas isn’t all that hard.
  • My grammar for fiction writers book is in my desk drawer, yet I resist opening either util I can nail all the conjunctions.
  • I don’t think I will get them all from memory, plus I haven’t figured out how to use ‘nor’ at all.
  • I’m still shaky on the introductory phrase, for I often find I write longer ones than I think are allowed to be called introductory.
  • I’m not sure if questions constitute a full sentence, nor am I sure why I would think that were true.
  • Eesh, that nor one kills me.
  • I shouldn’t forget the comma before names. Right, Scott?

What other exercise can I dream up?

I read about SVO order, and I thought I might work on that more. I also read one author who recommended back loading sentences with your core thought. Either of those might make good exercises.

I’ll explore those later.

xxx words on day 586

Commas Again

Crap.

The clock strikes 10 in 5, and I just realized I wrote nothing today. Morning writing makes so much sense that not writing then is foolish, so I forget. Also, some days challenge me to get my butt in my seat.

Speaking of my butt let’s see what we can pull out of it.

I tell you what. Discovering if the above sentence needs a comma between butt and let’s will satisfy me for the day…

Based on my neo-nacent understanding of comma use with regards to introductory phrases and asides, I say the sentence needs a comma in that spot.

101 words on day 539