I guess I outta post this here. Because why not? I am also a beta reader (https://tch-forum.com/showthread.php?tid=794). Note, this is just a hobby and have no degree. I do it for fun.  Using proper punctuation  Period/full stop: .  Comma: ,  Apostrophe: '  Single quotation mark: '  Quotation mark: ?  Exclamation mark: !  Colon: :  Semicolon: ;  Many of these you already know, but when do you single quotation marks and semicolons?  You use a semicolon to help break two clauses in the same sentence. It is often used after the word HOWEVER. . At the last second, however; Type: Full jumped in front, her lithe design being able to fit despite her height. You use a single quotation mark when someone is quoting someone within a sentence. I use it for emphasis on a certain word, such as the word mate. Sometimes I use it when a character is reading a sign mentally, not aloud. “A husband is what Pokémon would call a ‘mate’ of sorts. We have a word for when a husband has a female ‘mate’. She is called a wife.” A sign next to the pond said ‘No Feeding Us, Please! It Makes Us Sick!’ in big, bold letters “He asked me if I wanted to be his assistant. Of course, I said ‘yes’, because I was old enough to get paid.” HOWEVER... some people don't know when to use a comma when a character is talking or making a sound with their mouth; such as said, wondered, pondered, replied, etc.  “We’re sorry,” Naomi said apologetically. “This is why I don’t like people all that much,” I mumbled. “Naomi, slow down,” I warned her.  “Crap,” I spat. “Are you coming back? Please come back, we miss you, Nanu,” Martha begged. When to NOT use a comma: “You’re a strange creature, huh?” I asked. (NOTE: Ends in a question mark; a comma is unnecessary here.) “Want some iced tea?” she asked. (NOTE: There's no capitalization here. Why? Don't ask, it's just a weird English/grammar rule. If someone could tell me, that would be great!)  “I told you, you’d like it.” She smiled, putting her head in her hands, looking at me intently. (Note: Smiled is not a sound made by the mouth.)  “No… I understand.” I nodded. (Again, not a sound made by the mouth.) Always break up people conversing into separate paragraphs. It makes it so much easier to read and doesn't look like a wall of text.  Quote: -- “Naomi?” I called out, taking off my sunglasses since the light wasn’t too bright inside; slipping them into the pocket of my shirt.   “Nanu… is that… you?” she asked. She rounded a corner and immediately walked quickly towards me, her dark brown eyes widened -- UPDATE: I HAVE FOUND OUT ABOUT THE WORD SIGHED: Quora Wrote: -- Only if it’s followed by rising intonation, which is what a comma stands for in written language. It’s that simple. Trying to account for punctuation with a lot of grammatical gobbledegook is a fool’s errand. When in doubt, all you have to do is read a sentence out loud and if your voice goes up in pitch naturally at some point within it, then you need a comma. -- SHOW, don't TELL.  This happens to be a common mistake newbie writers make.  When you enter a room, what do you see? A desk? What is on the desk? Is it messy, covered in papers, neat and organized? Describe what is on the desk, don't just say it's 'a desk'. What does the room look like? Small? Large? Does it have a unique smell to it? Does it smell like last night's dinner? A person's own scent? Does it have windows, a lamp, or maybe a dresser? Describe what the dresser looks like or what colour the walls are.  [spoiler]Snow. Snow everywhere.   I had never gotten used to it. It was not only white, but it was very cold to the touch and very bright white, reflecting the sunlight. It hurt my eyes, but I had gotten used to it. It also made a crr, crr noise every time I made a step. I could see my breath too. I stared at this in amazement, because I wasn’t used to this. I shivered, despite changing into thick boots, long underwear and jeans and a sweater with a thick coat thrown and a thick hat and thick gloves on top of that. “It’s so cold.” I looked over at Naomi; she too, looked like she was a popsicle. I then looked over at Blu, Type: Full and Flare, which were in front of us, they looked fine. They had fur coats and I felt a little envious. I also noticed that we were nearly above the treeline, as the trees were starting to become sparse. They too, were covered in snow. It was hard to walk in the snow, because every step we took, we would sink. The air was thin too and it made it hard to breathe.   We had matching clothes, as the Nurse Joy at the Lanakila Pokémon Centre was gracious enough to give them to us. The hats were a woolen and black, while the gloves matched, all these items were thick and had a reflective liner inside them, to trap heat. The boots were a pleather and were brown in colour, with black laces and went all the way up to the knees; they were also very hard to walk with because of how thick they were. The sweaters were dark green and woolen as well. The coats were a highly reflective orange, so we could be noticeable in the snow. The inside of the coats had the same reflective layer as the gloves and hats.[/spoiler] PASSIVE VS ACTIVE VOICE Admit it: we all do this every day, probably in our everyday conversations!  In active voice, the subject (noun) of a sentence performs an action (verb). It can be used to impact your writing.[sup](source) (https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-active-and-passive-voice.html)[/sup] In passive voice, the subject (noun) is acted upon (verb) by an object. It can be used to draw attention to the action rather than the doer.[sup](source) (http://cwidaho.cc/faq/writing-center/what-are-differences-between-active-and-passive-voice)[/sup] Passive voice Wrote: -- “BLUUU!” I heard my name being called again, her voice echoing voice louder. -- Active voice Wrote: -- “BLUUUU!” I heard my name called out again, her voice echoing voice louder. -- Noticed I removed the word "being"? Whether or not you want to use passive or active voice, in my opinion, is up to you, but I recommend trying to use active as much as possible.   That's all I can think of for now... I'll add more stuff when I think of it.