If you write a lot, as I do, today is a day for circumspection and brevity. It is National Punctuation Day. The founder of this fete, Jeff Rubin (pictured doing a colon workout), has given a guide on how to celebrate the day (see National Punctuation Day site). The tasks are repeated below:- Sleep late.
- Take a long shower or bath.
- Go out for coffee and a bagel (or two).
- Read a newspaper and circle all of the punctuation errors you find (or think you find, but aren’t sure) with a red pen.
- Take a leisurely stroll, paying close attention to store signs with incorrectly punctuated words.
- Stop in those stores to correct the owners.
- If the owners are not there, leave notes.
- Visit a bookstore and purchase a copy of Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style.
- Look up all the words you circled.
- Congratulate yourself on becoming a better written communicator.
- Go home.
- Sit down.
- Write an error-free letter to a friend.
- Take a nap. It has been a long day.
I had salt bread and chorizo slices with Tomme de chevre for breakfast, while my six year old showed off her robot dancing to Malian music. A friend sounded like he needed some 'baby sitting' while his twins had to stay home and I offered; but he has declined.So, my day is already well punctuated. I will try to find my copy of Strunk & White, and have a good leaf through it as I make comments today. Yesterday, I had a chapter of an MBA dissertation to deal with, and punctuation was not an issue.
At the end of my day, when I try to make a full stop, I will see if I need an exclamation mark. The modern style includes Emoticons and there are no rules that I have seen that deal with those. Maybe, I should invent some. So, like possessives before a gerund, we can all know when and where to place the smiling faces or whatever.
Have fun poking fun at others' mistakes today, but make sure you are not going to get poked back.
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