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I love words. I like to put words together to make complete sentences. I like putting sentences together to make a paragraph. It is a beautiful thing to be able to read and learn from each other. In my Journals I have written thus far I have been happiest as I was compiling them. I am able to shut the world out and relive a memory, a time, a place and in turn leave this memory for my children and grand children. It is a happiness like no other for me.
But I hate punctuation. And as sad as it may seem I have forgotten a lot of what I learned about correct punctuation in high school and in college.
With this thought in mind, I began to wonder who invented punctuation in the first place. Has it always been? When and who started it? In researching on the internet I found several places that I want to study. And perhaps if you are a little like me you will find this site helpful to you. I know I will nver be as good as Senior Writer, but any imporvement would make me feel better about my stories.
http://www.splashesfromtheriver.com/Punctuation_intro.htm
I will paste some of it here to give you sn idea of what I'm talking about.
The Basic Cozy Punctuation Course®
Introduction
History and Purpose of Punctuation Marks
Setting: Beach House
(11:37)
"Now, I'm sure you've wondered what all these dots, lines, and squiggles mean; and, if not what they mean, then at least how or when to use them correctly. Using correct punctuation can seem a bit daunting - even experts and publishers don't always agree - but don't worry because in this course I am presenting the most basic and cozy ways to use punctuation marks."
As Marie heads into the beach house to prepare for the day's learning adventures, she explains that the purpose of punctuation is clarity of meaning; and, that punctuation was invented to imitate the pauses and vocal inflections in speech. She demonstrates how difficult writing would be to interpret without punctuation marks. She says that punctuation marks are used in two ways: at the end of sentences, and within sentences; and, that it's the punctuation within sentences that most confuses people.
As she stows her fishing rod, library books, and blackberry bucket in the back of her vintage El Camino she says, "I've tried to simplify punctuation for you by equating punctuation marks to traffic signs. Think of punctuation marks as the traffic signs of writing. Just as traffic signs guide drivers, so punctuation marks guide readers and writers. As an added learning aid I will be sharing short poems about each punctuation mark. Now, I have a number of things to do today so let's hop into my trusty Camino and talk about punctuation as we go." As she buckles up she explains that at the end of each lesson she will refer the viewer to the workbook so they can complete the companion exercises, and check their work with the answer key. "Here we go!"
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