I just got into it with and editor, over semicolon VS em dash.
I was under the impression that the semicolon was proper grammar, which turns out to be true.
But the newest style in fiction writing, is to put an em dash (-), where you would normally put a semicolon (;).
Her argument, was that, no one knows what a semicolon is anymore, and that it confuses the readers.
Honestly, I think anyone over the age of 16, should, if not does, know what one is.
I read on the writer's digest WEBSITE, a simple way of describing it: "its intention is to be stronger than a comma, but not as final as a period."
Well, there you go.
It's like, "Team Jacob" and, "Team Edward", in the literary world, you've got, "Team semicolon" and, "Team em dash". Actually there are also the bi-croud, who like to use them both in the same body of work.
Only you can decide.
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I do use and love the semi-colon; to me, sometimes the flow of the prose demands one. I also use em-dashes, so put me in the bi-crowd :-)
ReplyDeleteI think it undervalues the reader to say that s/he would be confused by a semi-colon - how would such a reader cope with a complex plot, or unfamiliar settings, if a tiny piece of punctuation would discomfort him or her? I've had reactions from a wide range of readers, and no one has ever commented on punctuation!
I suspect that punctuation becomes invisible, as long as it's correct - it's only intrusive when badly done.