In praise of the em-dash
One of the best punctuation marks—and one my personal favourites
I heard a rumour that one of the things people look for to determine if a piece of writing is AI generated is its propensity towards the em-dash—if it uses it frequently, it’s AI, so they say.
But I love the em-dash—if you stick around, you might say I overuse the poor thing (and you might be right). But look at it—it’s so much more elegant than a semi-colon. Not to dis the semi-colon too much—I still use it sometimes—but it’s true. Compare for yourself:
But I love the em-dash—if you stick around, you might say I overuse the poor thing.
But I love the em-dash; if you stick around, you might say I overuse the poor thing.
Which do you prefer? Be honest.
All of this is to say, if you see an overabundance of em-dashes in my writing it is because of I am entirely human with particular preferences—one might even say persnickety preferences—for punctuation.
If you enjoy me rambling about punctuation, you might like my post about using Canadian English in my writing.
Writing update
Revisions progress on book 4 of the Lyra Cycle. I realize the progress is slow, but life has thrown a few speed bumps in the way the past little while.
However, I continue to valiantly fend off Shiny New Ideas while pushing through.
Books for your TBR shelf
I just finished Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree. I finished Legends & Lattes earlier this year, and it was lovely. This instalment goes back a number of years in Viv’s life … and it’s also lovely.
I find nowadays that I like a good portion of lovely in my reading — if you’re the same, I can recommend both of these books.
I also read On Tyranny. No particular reason. That was not so lovely, but powerful.
Happy reading!
— CR
Where to find my books
If you’d like to read any of my scifi or urban fantasy books, you can find them at your favourite online retailers. Or you can buy them direct from me on the Armchair Alien store.
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