The comma.

[sr71plt]

It is a gerund clause (or phrase) but why quibble over vocabulary, especially when we can find so many other things to quibble about?

Didn't JBJ give us the non-rule that you put commas where there should be a pause in speech? Personally I protest having a writer tell my where I should have a pause in my speech. Pauses are a unique character of a speaker's presentation.

There are reasons why I don't like leading a sentence with a gerund phrase. At least part of it is that I read my stories aloud to myself and those phrases seem very awkward.

First I wasn't quibbling. I was just saying that's what I know that type of phrase is. Others who have never heard the other term may know it that way also.

Second, is it my guess you don't want to quibble over vocabulary but you do want to quibble over where to put the phrase in the sentence--right after you said one writer shouldn't tell another writer where they should choose to put such things?

I'll stick with my original response to that--it's author choice where it sounds best put. The editor's job is to make sure it's punctuated so that the reader understands the writer's choices.

 

[NotWise]

I really like your avatar.

But, if he is a writer, why not follow the rules? Is the writer lazy, or ignorant of the rules?

Maybe the writer is a rebel. We can be rebels, can't we?

There are many people who read the stories on Literotica, and come across this very thing, a writer who has not used proper punctuation. The sentences go on and on and on without breath or pause, and it gets distracting. Honestly, it's frustrating. If you want to write, put the extra effort into doing it correctly.

Commas (and other punctuation) add structure to the language. It seems like there must be a balance between giving the reader enough structure to make the language easily understandable, and so much structure that it becomes obtrusive.

Through the course of the conversation I've given in to the idea that some parsing is required.

Dammit. I hate that.

 

[barefootgirl69]

I really like your avatar.

Maybe the writer is a rebel. We can be rebels, can't we?

Commas (and other punctuation) add structure to the language. It seems like there must be a balance between giving the reader enough structure to make the language easily understandable, and so much structure that it becomes obtrusive.

Through the course of the conversation I've given in to the idea that some parsing is required.

Dammit. I hate that.

Thank you. I like your avatar, too. Not bad for 'foot prison'.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

“Homosexuality is a chosen behavior that is contrary to the fundamental unchanging truths that has been ordained by God in the Bible, recognized by our nation’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans."

Comma usage by the Texas GOP in their 2016 platform.

Like shoplifting and speeding and kicking puppies.

 

[glynndah]

I tend to sprinkle commas with abandon in my writing, but ironically I detest the Oxford comma and refuse to use it.

 

[JKendallDane]

According to my weekly reports, the only thing Grammarly spanks me more for than my comma usage is my fetish with ellipses.

At least I've finally gotten control of those damn semi-colons, though.

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[Handley_Page]

According to my weekly reports, the only thing Grammarly spanks me more for than my comma usage is my fetish with ellipses.

At least I've finally gotten control of those damn semi-colons, though.

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I understand; I had to get a contractor in to round 'em up.

 

[EverLux]

They both have cut back in the use of commas after introductory clauses (a comma after long introductory clauses: "On one bright, clear day in May," but not short ones: "In May I went to . . ."). They aren't good about identifying how long the introductory clause needs to be to get the comma, though.

This is a trend I'm having trouble getting on board with. When I read those two examples aloud, there's as much of a pause after "May" as there is after "bright."
Nope. Can't do it.

My greatest punctuation weakness is an overuse the em dash. I didn't even know what it was until I took an editing course with U of C last year, and now it's my favorite thing ever. When I edit my stories, I end up having to remove a bunch of them from places where commas would work just as effectively.

 

[wrant]

Though gerunds do begin with words having -ing, a gerund phrase functions as a noun.

"Washing clothes in a tub outside was a horrible chore!"

(Washing being the subject of the verb was)

Not all readers 'pause' while reading. While teaching a fourth grader to read, commas are important to show when and where to pause, just as periods tell them to stop.

Correct. The phrase I always stick with is "a pause comes from a comma, a comma doesn't come from a pause." Know your rules. Then again rules change. I personally like dropping the Oxford Comma when it isn't required to help sustain meaning. Others give me grief for it.