Over the last five years (at least. I’ve only noticed it in that time), two arguments have raged in the writing community. Lines are drawn, hills defended, ditches chosen in which to die. Words are important to writers. That’s why we react in such a visceral manner when our understanding of how words ought to be used is violated. The non-writing world looks on bemused, amazed and, at times, with a certain concern as we tear into each other. With all of that in mind, I blithely wander into the fray.
Before I start, let me make clear that I am not a fan of absolutes as a general rule. Absolute rules, in my opinion, are best employed at the extreme edges. For me, the vast middle ground is an infinite shade of gray. Rules allow us to traverse that shaded country. Our readers can assume certain things as they read our work if we follow convention and common practice. This makes their experience with our work easier. But I am not a believer in blind obedience to rules simply because they are “the rules”. There is an iconoclastic side of my personality. It contends that sometimes the best thing a creative person can do is knock over the lamps, overturn the apple cart, shatter a convention or three, and stomp through the parlor with our muddy boots. And sometimes, not.
So you can take what I’m about to say with a grain of salt.
The two great debates that have raged concern the Oxford Comma and the other is double spacing at the end of a sentence. My opinion has changed on one of these over the years, while it has become diamantine on the other.
In case you have missed out on this calamitous comma conflict, let me offer a brief summary of the issue.
The Oxford Comma Debate struck me as pretentious nonsense when I first stumbled on it a few years ago. It struck me as a “form over function” argument, which never appeals to me. It is the end result of the creative process that matters, not how you get there (in my opinion). So following the rules in all things and at all times is not a natural stance for me. The rules are important, because a shared set of assumptions speeds communication, even if it doesn’t always improve the quality. As is too often the case, the proponents of the OC in the public debate tend to be loud and absolute. It’s OC every time, all the time! The inference I drew was that those who turned their back on this holiest of punctuations would be shunned in polite language society and cast into the outer darkness.
Once I dove past the chop at the surface, I discovered there was a more reasoned and reasonable discussion to be had. There are times when the Oxford Comma will increase the clarity of meaning in a sentence. A classic example is “We invited the strippers, JFK, and Stalin” vs “We invited the strippers, JFK and Stalin”. If you have any notion of who the second and third persons in the list are, then you will probably understand the intent even without the serial commas. It is clearer in the first example, however. Now we’re discussing a function over form question, and I’m all in on that. The debate pushed me to think more about where and how I use commas. That has made my writing better. So a win all round.
On the other hand, there is the question of one or two spaces following the final punctuation in a sentence. Age 50 or so seems to be the dividing line on this topic. If you learned to type/keyboard before the 1990s, you were taught to put two spaces after that final period/question mark/exclamation point. There was an excellent reason for doing this. Lacking proportional fonts (which computers brought to the wider world), spacing for letters was all the same. So the space between letters in a word was the same for a wide letter (like an “m”) as it was for a narrow letter (like an “l”). People who learned their typing/keyboarding in the computer era have been taught to use a single space. It’s a logical progression and has become the standard in the publishing industry since it saves space, and, in the end, pages. I have no essential argument with it. But I learned to type in the early 1970s. The habit, after more than 40 years, is automatic. I don’t see it as a huge issue.
But there are people out there who will die on that hill.
It starts with a way to play the age-ism card. “You Know Someone Is Old If They Do This!” The argument that sets me off is the folks who claim “I can’t even read things with double spaces!” Every time I see that my thought is that they can’t be serious. I have read materials with both conventions AND NEVER NOTICED THE DIFFERENCE. If it distracts you from the material (literally, we’re talking about a single space), then either the material is of very poor quality, or you’re not giving it the attention it deserves.
As for the question of contemporary publishing standards, nothing could be simpler. If I submit a piece to a publisher, and their standards are for single spacing, I can fix the issue in fewer than ten seconds. All you have to do is go into “Edit”, click on “Find and Replace” and put two spaces in the “Find” window and a single one in the “Replace” window. Hit the appropriate button, and in a second the issue is gone. I will admit that I do not worry about in my social media writing, or on my blog. My personal “stylebook” includes two spaces at the end of sentences. In more than a decade of writing, I have never had someone complain that they found my material “unreadable” because of the end of sentence spacing.
In fact, I’ll make you a bet. Did you have any difficulty in reading the last five paragraphs? I have been alternating between single and double spaces at the end of sentences throughout this section. I will leave you to be honest with yourselves about whether or not it bothered you.
So the Oxford Comma achieved that which is said to be impossible. A social media discussion changed my mind on a subject. I am more conscious of how I use commas and do my best to use them to increase the clarity of my writing. On the other hand, I refuse to worry about the end of sentence spacing issue. Feel free to make it part of the outrage culture of the day. Don’t expect me to care. When it’s an issue, I can take care of with a few keystrokes. By don’t expect me to believe it’s a big deal.
And now, feel free to weigh in below in the comments or on social media.
Peace.
Stories Are My Life 
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