Question from a Literotica newbie

[fuckwaffle]

i don't know about anyone else...

i would much prefer an ellipse as opposed to the em-dash.

seeing a -- instead of a ... is just plain jarring.

-- just does not look right (not incorrect, just not right).

whereas ... is much easier on the eyes and conveys a pause or clipped speech in my opinion. of course my opinion isn't worth all that much to anyone but me.

 

[Darkniciad]

I still use an ellipse for cut-off speech for pretty much the same reason, even though I know it's technically wrong. It just irks me for some reason, and on top of that, Wordperfect goes goofy and puts the quotation mark backwards when you try. It refuses to accept that it's the end of the sentence and assumes that you're starting a quotation.

I do use em-dashes ( probably too frequently ) in the place of parentheses and to convey emphasis, though. I'm trying to fight my way through learning semicolons to eliminate a few of them here and there, but I hate those little bastards *laugh*

 

[OnnaDare]

How funny is it that I was just wondering about ellipses -- and speech patterns in dialogue yesterday. I think Monty Python (as in just about all things,) sums it up best:

"Good evening. Well tonight, we are going to talk about... well that is... I am going to talk about... well actually I am talking about it now... well I'm not talking about it now, but I am talking... I know I'm pausing occasionally, and not talking during the pauses, but the pauses are part of the whole process of talking... when one talks one has to pause... er ... like then! I paused ... but I was still talking ... and again there! No the real point of what I'm saying is that when I appear not to be talking don't go nipping out to the kitchen, putting the kettle on ... buttering scones... or getting crumbs and bits of food out of those round brown straw mats that the teapot goes on... because in all probability I'm still talking and what you heard was a pause ... er ... like there again. Look! To make it absolutely easier, so there's no problem at all, what I'll do, I'll give you some kind of sign, like this (makes a gesture) while I'm still talking, and only pausing in between words... and when I've finished altogether I'll do this. (he sits upright and crosses his arms) All right?"

Since I can't make a gesture when I write...I'll keep on using ellipses...
Onna
Loves me some Monty Python!

 

[BBV22]

'Yeah, it's annoying as hell when people have the gall to post criticisms and then hide behind anonymity.'

Someone give the poor guy a security blanket.

Well, all I was saying was it would have been easier if they had used a user name so I could contact him/her directly and find out what they thought I should be doing instead of bothering all the nice netizens of the Lit forum

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Well, all I was saying was it would have been easier if they had used a user name so I could contact him/her directly and find out what they thought I should be doing instead of bothering all the nice netizens of the Lit forum

I think Raymond Carver wrote a short story about you.

 

[sr71plt]

Interesting when folks say a standard punctuation usage looks "wrong" to them. Being standard, it's what published books generally use. So, must not be much reading of mainstream books going on to consider that the standards look "wrong."

 

[Darkniciad]

Interesting when folks say a standard punctuation usage looks "wrong" to them. Being standard, it's what published books generally use. So, must not be much reading of mainstream books going on to consider that the standards look "wrong."

I don't bat an eye at it when I read it, but when I type it...

I think it may have something to do with the computer screen. On a printed page, it looks fine. When I look at an em dash used properly for cut off speech in something online ( including no leading or trailing spaces ) it just looks out of place.

 

[ishtat]

: & ;

I wonder if the overuse of ellipses is related to the non/wrong use of colons and semi colons. It looks as though some publishers have given them up altogether.

My personal dislike is !!!!!

 

[sr71plt]

I wonder if the overuse of ellipses is related to the non/wrong use of colons and semi colons. It looks as though some publishers have given them up altogether.

My personal dislike is !!!!!

I think publishers are OK with semicolons. I only see the colon used in nonfiction in published works, though. They prefer an em dash or redoing it into a separate sentence.

You know of a publisher that permits "!!!!!"? (or even more than the rare "!"?)

 

[fuckwaffle]

Interesting when folks say a standard punctuation usage looks "wrong" to them. Being standard, it's what published books generally use. So, must not be much reading of mainstream books going on to consider that the standards look "wrong."

actually the books i have read and do read use the ellipse often. i have yet to notice, probably because it is not used, an em-dash.

i also dislike semi-colons as their use is rather jarring when i encounter them in a sentence. why not just break the sentence in two? semi-colons should be relegated to lists.

eta: or maybe because i hate a computer language that uses a semi-colon as line delineation is why. can anyone say oracle pl/sql?

 

[sr71plt]

Fine with me. Since I actually publish, though, I'll continue using the authorities the publishers use--so that when my work is edited, the editor can concentrate on problems with the context rather than on changing my personal, nonstandard, obstinate quirks to the publisher's standards.

 

[ishtat]

actually the books i have read and do read use the ellipse often. i have yet to notice, probably because it is not used, an em-dash.

i also dislike semi-colons as their use is rather jarring when i encounter them in a sentence. why not just break the sentence in two? semi-colons should be relegated to lists.

eta: or maybe because i hate a computer language that uses a semi-colon as line delineation is why. can anyone say oracle pl/sql?

I (note the capitalisation) like semi colons and colons, if used appropriately. I like them when I particularly do not want to break a sentence in two. SR71plt is right in arguing for consistency in published work; he is also right in noting that the colon has fallen out of use in fiction: the bible is a notable exception.

I used to write and read a lot of business reports in which the colon was invariably used preceding a hyphen and list or series of bullet points, thus:-

 

[fuckwaffle]

I (note the capitalisation) like semi colons and colons, if used appropriately. I like them when I particularly do not want to break a sentence in two. SR71plt is right in arguing for consistency in published work; he is also right in noting that the colon has fallen out of use in fiction: the bible is a notable exception.

I used to write and read a lot of business reports in which the colon was invariably used preceding a hyphen and list or series of bullet points, thus:-

to capitalize or not to capitalize, is that the question. whether it is nobler to place a capital at the beginning of each sentence or is it just a style chosen by the typist?

i find that i type faster and without much error if i don't use caps.

my coding syntax checker doesn't mind all lower case.

 

[BBV22]

As low as that ?

Yeah, not much happens quick unless you're on the water