Current annoyances

[slemslempike]

People putting punctuation inside quotation marks. I know it's the rule for North Americans, but it's wrong and people should be better.

Having to count how many "r"s different writers use for "grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrl" (it's usually substantially fewer than that) because this easy-flowing, self-defining, reclaiming thing is ALL WELL AND GOOD, but I am all about consistency and standards and blanket rules that stifle all creative expression.

I'm HUNGRY and all my food is in my office.

Comments

[sabethea.livejournal.com]

Not when writing dialogue, though, surely?

"I was thinking about dinner," she said.

^ Is that wrong? Have I been offended all right-minded grammar pedants (because in my book, to be a grammar pedant is to be right-minded) or is* there different rules for story-ing?


ETA *ARE there <-hates on own grammatical mistake

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

That's reported speech though, not a quotation. I think that's different? I don't know the rules for fiction, only referencing. (And only the referencing system I use.)

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

It is different. Direct speech in dialogue does have different rules, as the punctuation refers to the sentence inside the quotation marks, not to a sentence in which a quotation is embedded. And the same for parentheses (and this is something that does annoy me when people get it wrong).

[alltheleaves.livejournal.com]

Ah! Ok this is where I was confused because I interpreted your quotation marks as including dialogue. Right, am still going to request grammar lessons, but might be a little less stupid when I have them.