...Ellipsititis...

[Chicklet]

Small rant.

So many people get bitten by this bug, nipped in the rear and somehow forced to put ... between...well...every...single...word...Do you notice that?!

Now, what I hate is when *I* do it, and I don't see myself doing it until it's too late! ARGH!

Anyone else have a gripe about the little ellipses? (As I'm going through a story, editing and editing again...)

 

[deliciously_naughty]

I put them in....

Posts
journal entries


But not...
stories

 

[Rumple Foreskin]

I feel your pain, Chicklet. IMHO, ellipsis (pl. ellipses) is one of the most mis-used punctuation marks in creative writing.

You can remind folks 'till your blue in the face that an ellipsis is used to indicate an OMISSION, especially in a quote. You can point out that it's not intended to indicate a pause, that's what em dashes are for. You can cite as authority the Chicago Manual of Style, Stunk & White, or your ninth grade English teacher.

You can do all that, but it won't do any good.

Resigned Rumple

 

[Quasimodem]

My only gripe is when they are done wrong.

Since they represent changes of thought, or incomplete sentences, they really only work in fiction, in dialogue.

Three dots equidistant between two phrases, represent changes in thought.


"Darling, my wife . . . put down that gun?"

Four dots, snug against the end of a single phrase (period+ellipsis) represents an incomplete thought.

"Hi! I’'ve never met a psychopath be. . . ."

Ellipsis are also of use to represent omitted words in quoted material.

 

[SlaveMasterUK]

I often use ellipses in the following context:

Jenny began to explain. "I was just about to..." but Micheal cut her off.
"Just about to what? Don't tell me - I can guess!" He snapped.

but I have also been known to... well, if my character is uncertain, sometimes she'll... pause while she thinks of the right words.

am I wrong?

ax

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I love the 3 little dots! I use them all the time!

I use them when someone's being interrupted:

"But I just..."
"Shut up!"
"But..."
"No!"

I use them when someone's not fulfilling a sentence:

"I just wanted to tell you that... Oh, never mind!"

And, my favourite, I use them when someone's hesitating about what to say:

"But wouldn't that be... I mean, it seems like... isn't it... doesn't it hurt?"

 

[oggbashan]

It was only after joining Lit that I started using ...

Before I would use .. or .... or - or just leave a space or even sometimes get really hung up and use ....................

Now I am legitimate and stick to ...

Shame about all the stories I wrote before joining Lit. I haven't bothered to edit them all to standardise on ... but they need editing for other reasons as well.

However my Muses keep producing more story lines so I write new ones and leave the old ones alone. Some day ...

Og

 

[Guest]

Ya know... English has been evolving (some say devolving) for centuries. When I read something w/ellipses I always know what is meant; what's the big deal? The grammarians and academicians will take longer to fall into line with the proletariat (the actual writers) as usual.

Ellipsists of the world, Unite!

Perdita...

 

[pop_54]

Hmmmm

Hardly ever use them myself, well I always finish everything

Being serious, I don't use this form of indication often, I usually invent something else, a unique little thing maybe, as purdy said English is ever evolving, so why the hell can't I evolve it if I want to, I am English after all.

 

[Guest]

Re: Hmmmm

I am English after all.

Oh, man, you are so English I just want to parse you to bits and suck on your clauses, pull your comma and call you my opus magnum.

Perdita

 

[pop_54]

Re: Re: Hmmmm

Oh, man, you are so English I just want to parse you to bits and suck on your clauses, pull your comma and call you my opus magnum.

Perdita

Lot of big words there Purdy darling, I hope you aren't being lewd or crude

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: Hmmmm

Lot of big words there Purdy darling, I hope you aren't being lewd or crude

No sir, not a bit. I'm a proper grammar school girlie. Like my pleated skirt and white anklets?

conjugatingly yours, perdita