Like Magic

Punctuation used correctly almost disappears from the page because the reader just doesn’t notice it.  Incorrect punctuation, however, can jump off the page as if the font is ten times bigger than the rest of the text, especially when a professor reads the composition.

It is even possible that students have difficulty learning how to use punctuation correctly due to its disappearing act in professional writing, virtually disappearing anyway. Punctuation should be unobtrusive, though. Writers want their readers to notice what they say, not how they’ve used commas, etc.  Few book reviews, if any at all, mention how neatly and nicely an author placed question marks or semicolons.

One way to get past the tendency to slide right over punctuation when reading is to stop now and then and really look at the punctuation marks a professional writer has used. Seeing correct examples, truly seeing them, will enable you to recall how someone else punctuated sentences when you are writing your own.

It is sort of like looking inside the magician’s hat to find out where the rabbit is hidden. Noticing why a passage reads well, something to do with the practically invisible punctuation, can serve by example when it comes time for you to write. You may not get extra credit in class for perfect punctuation, but you won’t find deductions from your grade either.

It’s more productive, and maybe even more instructive, to notice how an expert rides a wave than to critique the dude who wipes out all the time. If we can see how something is done correctly, we’ll be less likely to make mistakes ourselves.

To appear effortless, like a magician who pulls a rabbit from his hat or a surfer soaring over the gulf water on the crest of a wave, takes preliminary work. Knowledge and skill come before the flawless execution of the magic act or the Ride. 

I wonder if there’s a surfing magician who can manage to produce a seagull from thin air while . . . , or maybe that would be way too much expertise in one place and one time.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! ‘Til then, hang ten!