User blog:ClericofMadness/Cleric's Center For People Who Can't Write Good And Want To Learn

Okay, pasta writers everywhere, it's become apparent that no one is following the rules about posting and getting feedback. It's also apparently that many people have either not paid attention in English class or have not left Middle School yet. This is a wiki that contains all manner of scary stories, so people are going to read these things. To not use proper grammar and spelling is disappointing. So, I have created a list of rules for writing.

==Capitalize Your Titles==

This has been explained before, so I will repeat myself for a final time. Read some book titles, Google it if you really have to, but learn how to properly capitalize titles. Some words are iffy and aren't always capitalized, but usually you can get away with capitalizing them reguardless. NOUNS and VERBS really need to be capitalized in titles, along with the FIRST and LAST words (always, no matter what) in titles. Furthermore, DO NOT ADD A PERIOD TO THE END. It isn't a statement, it's a title. Question marks and Exclamation points are fine to use, however. (TL;DR: http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=How+to+capitalize+titles )

Capitalize Your Sentences
This should be clear to anyone who has ever had an English class in their life, or who has ever had to write an essay. As clear as possble: EXCEPTION: When the quotation is split by a speaker action and continued in the same sentence, then do not capilize the second half. ("Mother you know ," said Bob, pausing to point at the table, "there are no cats on the table.")
 * Capitalize the first word of a sentence.
 * Capitalize the first word inside a quotation if it is something someone is saying. (Bob said, "When are we going?")
 * If your quotation ends in a question mark or exclamation point, do NOT capitalize the word that follows it if it is still part of the same sentence. If your sentence does not end at the quote, do no capitalize after it ("Wow!" he said with a gasp.)
 * Capitalize the word "I"! There's not reason to ever not capitalize "I" when referring to yourself.  I'd, I've, I'm.  You're the most important person, so that's why you capitalize I.

Fun with Punctuations!

 * Put a space after your punctuation! This is a critical writing ability.  After every punctuation mark (comma, semicolon, colon, period, exclamation point, and question mark) put a space.
 * Spaces after the end of sentences! The standard is TWO spaces after a sentence, but it's okay to use just one sometimes.
 * Use a COMMA to end a sentence in a quote if there is more after it. ("I love you," he said with a smile.)
 * Use a PERIOD to end a sentence in a quote if it is the end of the sentence. (He looked at her, smiled, and said, "I love you.")
 * Periods go INSIDE the quotation marks.
 * Commas go inside the quotation marks.
 * Question marks go inside the quotation marks if it belongs in the quote. (Bill said, "Where are we going?"
 * Question marks go outside the quotation marks if it belongs to the part of the sentence outside of the quotation. (Have you ever wondered about the people called "nerds"?)
 * If you're quoting or putting air quotes around something inside of quotation marks, use a singe quote mark around the quote. ("And then I used the 'spray gun' on him," he said.)