The most common editing errors.

Let’s get to ‘em:

  • The vocative comma: “Where are you going, Greg?” - That comma is necessary. There’s no stylistic way around it. “I told you before, Billy, eating wet paint is my thing, not yours!” - Another example of the vocative comma in action.

  • Commas go with coordinating conjunctions when you’re linking two independent clauses. Example: I love to go to the park, but Jennifer prefers old, abandoned morgues. - The comma before “but” is a necessity. You can stylistically omit the comma if both clauses are very short, but independent clauses joined with coordinating conjunctions need a comma.

  • Dialogue tags. If it doesn’t make sound, it isn’t a tag. Example of the error: “I’d love to get ice cream with you on Sunday!” he smiled. - That’s wrong. Smiling makes no noise. The correct way: “I really didn’t think there would be so much blood!” he said with a smile. - That’s correct.

  • Em dashes. Firstly, when do you use them? The most common way—and I see it all the time—is when you’re using an interjection like I just did. How do you format them? No spaces on either side. And the alt code for an em dash is alt+0151. Don’t use an en dash (-) by mistake.

  • Quotes inside quotes. The proper way looks awful, but let’s learn it together, shall we? Example of correct form: “I can’t believe Jim told me to ‘go eat a wet shoe!’ “ - Notice the spacing at the end. Again, it looks awful, but that’s correct.

  • Title case. If you have a character called the Evil Doctor, the standard convention is to leave the article lowercase. It looks clean that way as well.

  • Multiple dialogue tags. The typical rule is that you can only use one tag per paragraph. So how can you have more than one line of dialogue in a paragraph (from the same speaker)? Here’s an example of correct use: “I don’t think we should bury her in the park,” Tim said, laughter in his voice. He looked around for another spot before an idea came to his mind. “Maybe we could just eat her corpse?” Everyone laughed. It was a good idea.

  • Apostrophes are not for plurals. This is an extremely basic (think 3rd grade) error that I see constantly. Here’s an example of it being done incorrectly: "How many D’s are painted on the sign’s?” Both of those are wrong. The plural of the letter D is simply Ds. It might not look great, but that’s correct. The plural of sign is signs. Keep in mind that apostrophes used for years and decades are very frequently done poorly as well. Here’s an example of it done incorrectly: “The 1990’s were my favorite years.” The apostrophe is wrong. But there are some circumstances when apostrophes on years actually work. Take a look: “The 1990’s singer Isaac Hanson is my neighbor.” That apostrophe is possessive, indicating that the singer belonged to the 90s.

  • Ellipses. There are two ways to format them. The first … has spaces on either side and is typically used to indicate an omitted word. The second method… which is more common, only has a space on the end.

  • Its vs. it’s. This one really isn’t hard. Use the apostrophe only when you intend the contraction of “it is.” Use the non-apostrophe version for everything else.

  • Commas and quotes. I don’t see this error as much as the others, but here’s the correct use: Everyone called him ‘Sandman,’ but I always called him Cinnamon. - The quotes go outside the comma. Along those lines, dialogue follows a similar pattern: “Sarah is going to drown,” I mused quietly to myself as I watched the young girl flail in the pool. Quotes go outside of commas.

  • Farther vs. further. Use the spelling with ‘a’ to indicate an actual distance. For example: I went farther down the road than Stephanie. Use the spelling with ‘u’ to indicate a metaphoric use. For example: I went further with Stephanie than anyone else on the field hockey team.

  • Split infinitives. Example of incorrect use: I need to pick Charlie up from the hospital. What’s correct? Here it is: I need to pick up Charlie from the hospital. The infinitive verb is ‘to pick up.’ When it is used in the infinitive form like that, the standard practice is to keep it all together. But keep in mind that you can choose to do it stylistically differently. The rule regarding split infinitives is not set in stone.

Want more actionable writing tips? Check out part 2! Click here.

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