Em dash examples12/11/2023 Joe’s dialogue, trails off, so we use an ellipsis. ( Notice in Clara’s dialogue we use an Em Dash because her dialogue is interrupted. “What the hell were you thinking? You might what…” Joe tried to control his anger and paced in front of the kitchen table. Until we are told that they too have been run out of town and have joined up with Butch Colon and the Sundance Semicolon. Avoid colons and semicolons except … which clarifies absolutely nothing. In the same way I’d never suggest that a punctuation mark doesn’t have its uses. I’d never tell anyone to always cut out the use of a particular word-for example, don’t eliminate all uses of the word that some are necessary. To deny yourself the use of any punctuation mark is to cut yourself off from an option that might serve your sentence, your scene, or your story. Punctuation is used for clarity, for emphasis, for rhythm. I found this quote to be great advice, so I wanted to share it with you. And plenty of noted and famous authors use colons and semicolons. Stephen Carlick The ExceptionĪs with anything-especially writing fiction-there are exception. Cormac McCarthy joined the pile-on in the 21st Century by dismissing them as “idiocy”. By the mid-19th Century, Edgar Allan Poe was already calling for the dash to dethrone it in the 20th, Gertrude Stein found them showy, while George Orwell unkindly referred to them as “an unnecessary stop”. Yet, long before Vonnegut saw to its modern humiliation, the semi-colon had scores of detractors. behlerblog (I thought this was good advice, however, this website no longer exists.) Colons and semicolons are about brevity, and they interfere with the natural flow of fiction. All they do is show you’ve been to college.― Kurt Vonnegut, A Man Without a Country.Ĭolons and semicolons have no place on your pages unless absolutely necessary. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. Marcy Kennedy Grammar For Fiction Writers. There’s a running joke in the fiction world that you only get one semicolon per career, so you need to use it wisely. Just look at the following: (Dare I use a colon here?) (And I should know, it’s happened to me…a lot.) Oh, you didn’t know they outlawed colons and semicolons in fiction? Yes, newbies will get their knuckles severely rapped if we use these hooligans. I have a sneaky suspicion-nothing concrete-that the use of Em Dashes became a favorite among writers when writers, editors, and publishers outlawed colons and semicolons. Em dashes are sometimes used to set off summaries, lists, or definitions.It can show an abrupt change in thought or be used where a full stop (period) is too strong and a comma too weak.It’s a technique that’s often used when authors transcribe verbal communications.The Em dash is used to replace a comma, a colon or a set of parentheses. To Signal an InterruptionĮm dashes can signal an interruption, particularly in dialogue and other forms of written speech. Let’s take a closer look at each way you can effectively use this versatile punctuation mark in your sentences: 1. Finally, you can use em dashes as an alternative to parenthesis. On the other hand, they can substitute missing information or missing parts of a word. What’s more, an em dash can also signal a sentence break when you want to clarify something or give extra focus to a list of items. Use the em dash to indicate an interruption or an abrupt change in thought. It has multiple uses, making it a especially useful in informal writing or fiction. What is an Em Dash Used for?Īn em dash is the longest of the dashes. Between hyphen and en dash, there’s em dash, one of the most versatile punctuation marks that you can use. This versatile symbol helps adding structure, clarity, and even personality to otherwise complex sentences. When a comma or colon isn’t enough, or you want to avoid using parentheses, the em dash may be the punctuation mark for you.
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