: Punctuation help needed -- first-time novelist I am a first-time novelist and have finished my first novel that I hope to self-publish at the end of the year. My book is finished apart from

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"Those things I said; I didn't mean any of it."

(Off-topic, maybe, but I'd go w/ "...didn't mean any of THEM." since THINGS is plural.)

As has been mentioned, a semi-colon divides two independent clauses. That means that you COULD use a period in the same position.

So a semicolon is not correct for what(I think) you mean here. "Those things I said," is only a complete sentence if you intend to say "I said those things," just as you COULD put the object(THINGS) first in a sentence such as "To market we go." Yoda does it all the time, so it must be right.;)

But if you intend for your entire sentence to MEAN "I didn't mean those things I said."(subject is I, THINGS is the object, & the phrase I SAID modifies THINGS) then you should go w/ comma or ellipses or possibly em-dash...OR just reword the sentence to say "I didn't mean those things I said."

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Punctuation is a fluid thing in dialogue. There are rules you have to abide by just so readers have a basic understanding, but it can also be used in a variety of ways to communicate the sound of the dialogue that you want to get across.

A semi-colon combines two related but effectively separate sentences. In dialogue, people don't do this--they either turn it into one sentence or naturally break it into two. (A colon there works to flow the two sentences together. You could even use an ellipsis or an em-dash.)
An em-dash is a longer pause, with more emphasis; a comma is a shorter pause. Either one works. (In this situation: I'd go with an em-dash, since the sentence obviously has some weight to it--in an argument--and the dash helps with that.)
"I mean" is a filler thing that people say to balance out the rhythm of their speech, and almost never part of the actual sentence's meaning. So you need a comma after it.
Italics or quotation marks can indicate a phrase that is used as a term with special meaning. It's your choice.
The ellipsis takes the place of a period when it's used at the end of an incomplete sentence ("It's been...") to indicate a flow into another sentence. No full stop after the ellipsis. Em-dashes are also an option, or mixing em-dashes and ellipses.
No.
Semi-colons are a little more formal and it's up to you whether you want to use them here or use something else. See point 1.
Yes.
Quotations go in quotation marks. It should be "...to 'throw up' every time...".
Em-dashes. Em-dashes are used, like parentheses, to enclose phrases that aren't necessary but are related to the sentence. Ellipses aren't used for that purpose.

I hope that helps, but if you have many more questions about punctuation throughout your book, I strongly suggest investing in a copy-editor. If you really plan on self-publishing it, and want it to be successful, an editor will help give your work more polish.

Self-publishing companies often offer editing packages, and there are freelance editors (but be careful, of course).

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I'll provide an answer to your very first example which I believe will provide guidance to all of your punctuation questions.

Consider what punctuation is

It is a way to indicate to the reader that there are pauses in the spoken language. Originally all text was slammed together like:

thisisasentencewhichisverydifficulttoread

Orators had difficulty remembering where to pause and thus punctuation was born.

A comma means halfstop and a period means fullstop. Whatever that means.

Whatever Is Easiest To Read

So, the point is, do whatever helps your reader to read your story, article, etc in such a way that they do not stumble over your sentences.

Common Usage

Generally that means:

Adhere to common usage.

Whatever that means.

The Plight of the Semicolon

Most readers do not understand semicolons and it just makes them pause and think:

What did the writer mean here?

When readers pause when reading our text they may stop reading forever. That's why you should make it as simple as possible, but no simpler. (invoking Einstein here).

Your First Example

"Those things I said; I didn’t mean a word of it."

Readers understand periods far better than semicolons.

So, keep it simple and just make it two sentences.

What If Someone Spoke Those Sentences In Real Life?

You'd probably think they spoke two sentences, because you wouldn't differnetiate a halfstop of semicolon from a fullstop of a period.

So, since that is the sound you want to create in the user's head without her having to stop and think about what you meant, go ahead and just make it two sentences.

Summary of Keeping It Simple

Let this type of sound guide you in all of your punctuation and I think you will find it far easier and you will use less punctuation symbols and your readers will read more of your writing.

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