I'm a "classically trained" journalism major from the late 1980s. (Yes, my 37th birthday approaches this Friday, but please don't tell anyone.) My first feature articles, written for Dr. Braddock's class, were written with - gulp - a typewriter. Not until my senior year was I using a computer with an early version of WordPerfect. So it's been 15 years since I graduated with my degree, and with the Associated Press rules of writing drilled into my starry-eyed head. At the risk of sounding even more ancient than I've already confessed to be, I just don't understand the writing of today... throwing commas by the wayside and starting sentences with conjunctions. P31 Magazine editor Glynnis Whitwer and I occasionally marvel together about the changes in writing norms. But I guess (see I did it), you have to keep current with the times to be relevant.
I found another solider-in-arms lamenting the comma's rapid decline. Read about The Sad Fate of the Comma. You go, Samuelson!
PS. I used seven commas in this post, plus two parenthesis, two dashes, two quote marks, three hyphens and one ellipsis. Actually, after this post script the total comma count is twelve.
PSS. I'm sure I made some writing mistakes in this post. It's probably Murphy's Law since I'm writing about correct writing. I'm also sure Glynnis will point them out to me, so you don't need to. :)
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