©2025 Fable Group Inc.
4.0 

A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation

By Noah Lukeman
A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation by Noah Lukeman digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

"Takes the straitjacket off punctuation…Lukeman's wit and insight make this an instant classic." —M. J. Rose

The first practical and accessible guide to the art of punctuation for creative writers. Punctuation reveals the writer: haphazard commas, for example, reveal haphazard thinking; clear, lucid breaks reveal clear, lucid thinking. Punctuation can be used to teach the writer how to think and how to write. This short, practical book shows authors the benefits that can be reaped from mastering punctuation: the art of style, sentence length, meaning, and economy of words. There are full-length chapters devoted to the period, the comma, the semicolon, the colon, quotation marks, the dash and parentheses, the paragraph and section break, and a cumulative chapter on integrating them all into "The Symphony of Punctuation." Filled with exercises and examples from literary masters (Why did Poe and Melville rely on the semicolon? Why did Hemingway embrace the period?), A Dash of Style is interactive, highly engaging, and a necessity for creative writers as well as for anyone looking to make punctuation their friend instead of their mysterious foe.

Download the free Fable app

app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities
app book lists

Stay organized

Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.
app book recommendations

Build a better TBR

Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building tool
app book reviews

Rate and review

Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tags
app comments

Curate your feed

Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities

10 Reviews

4.0
“This is silly, but looking at the picture of the author before or while reading makes this book read as far more intimidating and ostentatious than it probably actually is. I don’t know, I can just feel his judgment. There’s no denying that he knows what he’s talking about, though. The advice is sound, clear, and well-written. There are plenty of examples throughout. It’s not usually too boring or exhausting as many books of this nature can be (it has its moments, though). My complaint is that at the end of each chapter the author describes the type of writer who uses each punctuation mark and what it says about them, which is fine… but he basically only says the negative! Dude, I’m already insecure enough. Say something freaking good about me. Also a stressful read because in many ways punctuation isn’t that deep—but in many more ways, it is. The author himself states wisely in the epilogue, “Breaking the rules only works when a writer has great respect for the rules he breaks.” I think that sums it up perfectly. For me punctuation is mostly felt, and this is a great guide for feeling it better and learning how to experiment. (G rating)”
“So this was not what I was expecting. This particular punctuation book was written with a specific category of readers -- authors of fiction -- in mind, and I am not a member of that audience. I therefore skipped all the exercises at the end of each chapter, but I otherwise enjoyed reading. What I learned about punctuation: there are rules, which are really more like suggestions that you had better follow even if they're hopelessly vague and begging to be broken. I actually learned more about how punctuation shapes literature, which incidentally gives me more insight as a reader than as a writer of the English language. I'm paying a lot more attention to punctuation as I read now and it's kind of fascinating.”

About Noah Lukeman

Noah Lukeman is the author of several bestselling books on the craft of writing, among them A Dash of Style: The Art and Mastery of Punctuation. Noah lives in New York City, where he runs a literary agency.

Start a Book Club

Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!

FAQ

Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?

Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?

How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?

Do you sell physical books too?

Are book clubs free to join on Fable?

How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?

Error Icon
Save to a list
0
/
30
0
/
100
Private List
Private lists are not visible to other Fable users on your public profile.
Notification Icon
Fable uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB