I also have this tendency to write in pairs of sentences, separated by a semicolon. I find that it almost always improves the writing, though, if in the editing pass I change things so that I'm not doing it oftener than every third sentence (i.e., there are at least two sentences without a semicolon between each one where I leave it in). The pattern gets really monotonous if you do it repetitively, and it drags the whole paragraph to a halt.
To answer the question actually asked, though: yes, if the only thing wrong is that you have two independent clauses (sentences) and you've stuck them together with a comma, you can make that grammatically correct by changing the comma to a semicolon. You can also fix it by adding a conjunction (cue the Schoolhouse Rock!); ending the first clause with a period, then beginning the second as a new sentence; or by changing one of the clauses to be a dependent clause instead, such as by adding a preposition. The foregoing is the exception to the no-2-semicolons rule Rev pointed out, wherein the semicolon serves as a "supercomma" separating list items that themselves contain interstitial commas. :)
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Date: 2012-01-20 02:54 am (UTC)I think I have a tendency to think in comma splices so when I'm writing I drop in a semicolon instead.
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Date: 2012-01-20 03:13 am (UTC)To answer the question actually asked, though: yes, if the only thing wrong is that you have two independent clauses (sentences) and you've stuck them together with a comma, you can make that grammatically correct by changing the comma to a semicolon. You can also fix it by adding a conjunction (cue the Schoolhouse Rock!); ending the first clause with a period, then beginning the second as a new sentence; or by changing one of the clauses to be a dependent clause instead, such as by adding a preposition. The foregoing is the exception to the no-2-semicolons rule Rev pointed out, wherein the semicolon serves as a "supercomma" separating list items that themselves contain interstitial commas. :)