: Re: Using colons and semi-colons in dialogue I've often heard writers say they don't like using colons and semi-colons in dialogue specifically. I don't often see colons and semi-colons in dialogue,

I use colons and semi-colons in dialogue. I have editors at some houses who take them out (house style), usually to replace them with em-dashes. I don't think it really makes much difference so I don't fight to keep the original punctuation, but if I were self-publishing, I'd leave them in.

I think the argument against them is based on the idea that people don't "speak" colons or semi-colons, but I think we do - punctuation is meant to represent the way we use our voices as well as to follow grammatical rules. So I'll continue to use all available punctuation, in dialogue or otherwise.

But if I weren't going to use colons or semi-colons, I'd probably use em-dashes instead.

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: Re: Using colons and semi-colons in dialogue I've often heard writers say they don't like using colons and semi-colons in dialogue specifically. I don't often see colons and semi-colons in dialogue,

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: What settings are appropriate for IngramSpark? There are several settings I've run across, and a web search turned out why you want an ISBN from Bowker rather than one owned by someone else,

: Would the Following be Correctly Formated? Cassâ€™s body arched violently off of the bed, his mouth open and shrieking, arms flailing outward to protect from unseen invaders. The doctors,

: Acronym issue transitioning from prose to dialogue I am writing fiction. There is a group called the Mental Health Access and Referral Team. In prose, I can either use M-HART or MHART. In dialogue,

: Making modern references I'm working on a modern fiction drama in an urban setting. I'm trying to be real in terms of conversation threads--music, movies, drugs, etc. Here's my problem: I've

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