Some Basics.

A lot of our stories are nearly perfect, style-wise. Others, not so much. Here's some issues I found with this month's slush.

• Everyone gets their own paragraph. Whenever a character speaks or acts, it's safest to give them their very own paragraph. Especially when you're not tagging dialogue often.
• And while we're on the topic, Structure your paragraphs so they make sense. A paragraph should have an entrance and an exit, almost like a mini story. Sometimes that only takes one sentence. Sometimes it takes ten. But everything in the graph should relate to the same topic. New topic or a new character = new paragraph.
• Punctuating dialogue. With a regular tag like he said, use a comma. If you're tagging with choreography, it gets its very own sentence. Example: "Breaking comma rules drives me crazy," the editor said. or The editor slammed her hand down on the table. "Breaking comma rules drives me crazy."
• Use ellipses sparingly...
• Use a dash when someone gets interrup--
• Use 2nd person judiciously. The story isn't about me (you), it's about your character. That said, I just saw it done quite effectively. It lent a casual voice to the piece. But it didn't happen much.
• Subjects and their verbs never get separated by commas. Never. Never. Never.
• Use mostly good old regular plain Jane subject/verb construction so readers understand what you're trying to tell them. It's a structure they understand.
• Fragments. I'm biased against verb-only fragments, and I LOATHE them when used in a series of three, using the same verb for repetitive effect. I'll warn you now: it very well could mean an instant reject. (Though, that usage is generally a symptom of poor writing which makes itself known before I ever get to such a series.) I much prefer descriptive fragments containing adjectives and their object.
• We no longer italicize thoughts at Electric Spec. (of course there are exceptions, depending on the story. We'll do it if it's needed for clarity.) We do italicize stuff like telepathy or other designated dialogue.
• Please don't indicate italics with a *. Editors have to go in and remove all of them. You're submitting a story for pay. This is a professional endeavor, not an update on Facebook.

All right, I think that's it for now. As of today we've read and accepted/rejected all the stories except for our hold file for our next issue. Keep 'em coming!