Semicolons seem to cause a lot of confusion among writers, to the point that I’ve heard some writers say they are stupid to use or should be banned. But semicolons serve a purpose in writing, even in fiction, and should be used when needed but not overused.

The most common use of a semicolon in fiction is to replace a period and connect two independent clauses without one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet).

The snow came down in huge drifts; we still managed to get to the party.

You can also use a semicolon to connect two independent clauses with one of the conjunctive adverbs (however, moreover, therefore, consequently, otherwise, etc.)

I wanted to stay home and warm; nevertheless, I went to my family’s formal dinner.

Semicolons are also used when you have a series and the units of the series contain commas. Then a semicolon is used to separate the units.

My itinerary includes Paris, France; London, England; and Dublin, Ireland.

The rules for when a hyphen is used can be a bit confusing because there’s just not a ton of agreement on it and it’s changing all the time. The best advice is to keep a dictionary handy and try looking up the word first. If you can’t find the compound word in the dictionary, treat it as two separate words.

Put simply, hyphens are used to join two words into a compound word.

Adjectives
When two words are used as a single adjective before a noun and act as a single modifier, they should be hyphenated:

• air-conditioned room
• sugar-coated words

When the two words are used after a noun, they should NOT be hyphenated:

• The room was air conditioned.
• His words were sugar coated.

Adverbs
When adverbs not ending in “ly” are used in front of a noun, they are hyphenated:

• long-anticipated reunion
• much-needed break

Numbers
A hyphen is used with compound numbers between twenty-one and ninety-nine:

• twenty-six
• eighty-three

Hyphenate any spelled-out fractions:

• one-half
• three-quarters

Prefixes
Prefixes are hyphenated when they come before proper nouns:

• un-Canadian

Hyphenate prefixes ending in an “a” or an “i” only when the root word begins with the same letter:

• semi-inherent
• ultra-antagonistic

If the prefix ends with “e” or “o” and the root word begins with the same letter, they are generally not hyphenated:

• coordinate
• preexisting

If prefix is “self” and the word is not “selfish” or “selfless”, it should be hyphenated:

• self-assured
• self-motivated

If the prefix “ex” is used, the word should be hyphenated:

• ex-mayor
• ex-wife

Use a hyphen with the prefix “re” only if “re” means “again” and omission would cause confusion with another word:

• Will she recover her health?
• Will she re-cover the couch?

Adverbs are words that modify the meaning of verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. These are often called the “ly” words but it’s not a universal rule that adverbs must end in “ly”. Adverbs are not used to modify nouns.

Adverbs are a perfectly correct part of the English language yet they are frowned on when you are writing fiction in particular. Why is that, when they do a valid job and are not grammatically incorrect?

Well, a sparing and judicious use of adverbs is actually quite acceptable, even in fiction. The problems come about when adverbs are over-used because it’s a sign that the verb they are modifying is too generic or too weak for what you are trying to convey.

For example:

• “She ran around the corner.” – This is boring and it could convey just about any mood.
• “She quickly ran around the corner.” – The adverb “quickly” helps set a bit of a mood of haste or hurry.
• “She raced around the corner.” – This is a better verb choice as it no longer needs the adverb’s help to set the mood.

Adverbs are also considered a sign of “telling” the action to the reader by making the action obvious. It’s a weakness.

In the example above, “ran” is too weak a verb. It can mean too many things (a jog, a panicked run, a terrified fleeing?) and it’s too generic. Because it’s so generic, it makes the sentence almost disappear and become invisible. If that’s what is intended, it’s okay. But if you want to convey emotion or mood, it needs to be stronger.

The one real exception to this is dialogue. The characters need to speak naturally and in accordance with their word and selves and this can mean a more frequent use of adverbs.

So whenever you are tempted to use an adverb, stop and see if you can find a more descriptive verb, adverb or adjective to use instead. Is there a single word that can convey your meaning instead? If you don’t know one off the top of your head, try looking up synonyms or looking in a dictionary. It’s worthwhile.

When you’re almost ready to submit, take the time to search your manuscript for words ending in “ly” and see how many are left. Can you replace any of them with a stronger, more specific, word?