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Why bother with punctuation? We're screenwriters. We write dialogue the way people talk. All you've gotta have is an ear for it. True, to a point.
But being cavalier about punctuation's the sign of a sloppy writer. As Lynne Truss points out in her best-selling book Eats, Shoots and Leaves, "punctuation does matter". I leave it to you to buy the book and discover the odd title's significance. (Besides, the writer must be fabulous to propel a book on punctuation to the top of the NY Times best-seller list. Another proof of my maxim: "there is no such thing as a boring subject, only boring writing").
Faulty punctuation can change meaning. Do you really want your carefully crafted character description to make a script reader laugh aloud due to an unintended double-entendre created by your misplaced apostrophe? On the other hand, skillful use of punctuation marks can clarify or emphasize important information.
When unsure what punctuation mark to use or where to place it, maybe this Web site will help.
http://lilt.ilstu.edu/golson/punctuation/
Oh, and by the way, colonoscopies are degrading and uncomfortable. They always make me squirm.
P.S. Should this column fail to interest you, blame it on the writer-not the subject.
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