Yet Another Question

[rosalinda-143.livejournal.com]

Well, more like "questions". Because I have two.

One: how would you write pm? Is is PM, P.M., p.m., or pm. Or do I just avoid using that in my writing?

Two: I'm not sure about hyphens ( - ). It's kind of hard to explain, but I'll try my best...

Here's a sample of a sentence from one of my short stories: I kept my bag in my lap. It kept all my belongings including two pairs of clothes–not including the ones I was wearing–and my wallet with my I.D. and the money I had made previously.

When I had my short story read by a beta they told me that I should have spaces between my hyphens, like so: I kept my beg in my lap. It kept all my belongings including two pairs of clothes - not including the ones I was wearing - and my wallet with my I.D. and the money I had made perviously.

My question is, what's the difference? I started doing that as I write, but when I read I see the the hyphens don't have any spaces in between? How do I know when to put spaces between the sentences and the hyphens?

Thanks to all in advanced!

~ J

Comments

[henyad.livejournal.com]

TAKEN OUT OF PURDUE OWL:

1.Use a hyphen to join two or more words serving as a single adjective before a noun:
a one-way street

2.Use a hyphen with compound numbers:
forty-six

3.Use a hyphen to avoid confusion or an awkward combination of letters:
re-sign a petition (vs. resign from a job)
4.Use a hyphen with the prefixes ex- (meaning former), self-, all-; with the suffix -elect; between a prefix and a capitalized word; and with figures or letters:
ex-husband
self-assured
mid-September
all-inclusive
mayor-elect
anti-American
T-shirt
pre-Civil War
mid-1980s
______________________________________________________________________

I think both the a.m. and AM convention are acceptable.
But are probably more of a stylistic issue.