How To Use Dashes In Fiction

How to create em dashes and en dashes.

How to use dashes in fiction. Generally hyphens are used to link words to make other words or phrases. En dashes are generally used to indicate ranges or to act as a substitute in word pairings for to and and. Em dash ctrl alt minus far top right on the number pad. Use an em dash to join independent clauses. Ready for more than you ever wanted to know about the types of dashes and how publishers typically use them on both sides of the atlantic.

Interjecting thoughts both non fiction and fiction writers will use em dashes in this case. Em dashes may set off a parenthetical element or interject an idea not in the sense of a grammatical interjection however in a sentence. If you answered yes professional editor louise harnby has an entire post on hyphens en dashes and em dashes in fiction for you to enjoy. Overuse of the em dash or parentheses or the semicolon or any punctuation marks can make your prose a little. There are four dashes you re most likely to use in fiction.

Dashes that set off text and replace alternative punctuation the en dash and the em dash can be used to set off an augmenting or explanatory word or phrase in a sentence that could stand alone without the insertion. And of course conventional usage depends on your location united states versus united kingdom and whether your. Cms uses no spaces around em dashes. Ap puts spaces on each side of em dashes. Most commonly a dash connects an independent clause with another with a related thought plus a conjunction like or but yet as for and after the second dash.

In fiction the em dash almost always appears with no spaces around it. Now for a quick recap on the types of dashes as used in fiction. En dash ctrl minus far top right on the number pad. In the traditional standard manuscript format em dashes are written as.