Question about punctuation

[luzula]

Here is a sentence with three variations in the comma placement:

1) It was not yet noon, and though it was October, Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that same day.
2) It was not yet noon and, though it was October, Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that same day.
3) It was not yet noon, and, though it was October, Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that same day.

I feel like 1) is the most common today and the one I would have used before my current fandom. But the 1925 book I'm writing fic for only uses 2) and 3), so that's what I am now using in my fic. I suppose 2) and 3) do make more sense in a way, because if you remove the phrase "though it was October" with its surrounding commas, you still get a sentence that works, which is not the case in the first one if you remove "and though it was October" with its surrounding commas.

My sample here is just one author, but I do wonder whether 2) and 3) are more old-fashioned ways of using commas?

Comments

[melannen]

I might use any of those, or even "It was not yet noon and though it was October, Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that same day" or even "It was not yet noon and though it was October Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that day" especially in a modern fandom.

But I am firmly of the belief that especially in fiction commas are about pace and cadence at least as much as grammar; the POV who says 'It was not yet noon, and, though it was October, Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that day' is much more methodical and thoughtful and unhurried than the one who says 'It was not yet noon and though it was October Keith thought he might reach Ardroy that day.' (Basically, I am much more likely to believe the first one actually will make it to Ardroy that day than the second one.)

[luzula]

Oh, good point! Yes, of course you're right that it's also about style and characterization.

And I think I'm quite affected by writing in a book fandom, where the canon has a definite writing style that I enjoy trying to emulate.

[genarti]

Agreed, and I was going to say much the same! I love commas, but to me their placement is as much about ~vibe~ as about anything grammatical. These examples all work for me, but give slightly different cadences, and thus slightly different feelings. And I agree, too, about the methodical, thoughtful impression given by the most comma-heavy version.