Playing around with punctuation can not only change the meaning of a sentence, it can also allow you to shape the pacing and emotional buildup within a scene.
Clarity
Punctuation’s impact on clarity is more obvious. Use the wrong punctuation marks, and you can change the meaning of a sentence altogether.
For example:
- A woman without her man is nothing.
- A woman: without her, man is nothing.
This is a commonly used example because of how different the two lines read with just the addition of a colon and comma.
Funnier versions of this you may have seen include the innocent “Let’s eat, Grandma!” (in which the speaker is talking to their grandma) versus the more cannibalistic “Let’s eat Grandma” (in which the speaker is speaking to someone else about turning Grandma into a snack.) 🐺 👵🏻
Pacing & Emotion
Where writers have some more leeway is in using punctuation to manipulate how the reader “hears” or reads a sentence or paragraph. Short and/or fragmented sentences can create tension, anger, and urgency, while longer sentences can convey emotion, calm, or introspection.
For example:
- I didn’t plan on losing and so I unloaded punches left and right. Then, when he blocked his face, I swung at his sides.
- I didn’t plan on losing. I punched right, left, right. When he blocked his face, I swung at his sides.
Neither a nor b is correct or better than the other.
The difference is that b feels a little more urgent and tense. Adding punctuation and clipping the sentences meant we could remove a couple of words that were slowing the section down.
Wrapping Up
When I used to teach, I often discussed with my students that writing is an art form (and I say the same now when I work with someone on line editing). The page may look a little different than a canvas or clay, but you can shape and paint with the words just the same.
It’s okay to play with the language and get a little messy.
Originally posted December 16, 2022. Updated May 22, 2025.
