: Parenthesis Types in Fiction What's the general approach to using parenthesis (the grammatical construct, not the punctuation mark) in fiction? I have an internal "ranking" of them: Comma-delineated

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I came to this article for help on this myself, (as a new writer), but I figured I might as well post. Parentheses I generally use in a non-fiction context. I used to never use them at all, but then somebody challenged me to use them. I still find them generally not useful in a fiction context, but I do use them sometimes. Normally only when a character is thinking something, (i.e looking back on a situation or running through a current one in their head), or I'm describing something in the text and want to add something else in there that isn't really essential to the text and would break up the scene too much otherwise. It is a break in the text, generally an asside in the narrators mind. I don't use them in dialouge, because it really doesn't add anything too it, it just breaks up the dialouge.I'm also unsure about how someone speaking in parentheses would actually sound, where as in their mind it could be imagined as different.

As for dashes, I only use them when a character cuts another character off, for example "Kathryn yelled, 'That's not fair, I-' 'Go to your room.' Her Dad interrupted.'" That's what I use it for, but I've seen others use it in place of parentheses.

Commas I use all the time! They're essential to grammer if you want to write long sentences, (as I do), and can even be used before and after parentheses. I also put words aside with commas that are an aside and are giving more information in a place where parentheses wouldn't work well. I agree with others' answers in that commas can be used alot before they get redundant and are really noticed. Parentheses are definately more noticable, and commas oftentimes work just as well.

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To my mind, it's a matter of how "big a break" you want.

Commas are a small break. Dashes are a bigger break. And parentheses are a bigger break yet. (When I say "parentheses" in this post, I mean the punctuation mark. Personally I use the phrase "parenthetical statement" or "parenthetical remark" to refer to the words themselves.)

If you use parentheses a lot it can be very distracting. It makes the narrative seem choppy. Dashes are less imposing -- you can use them much more before they get distracting. You can use commas a great, great deal before people find them distracting.

I generally avoid using parentheses in dialog because it's not clear how the reader is supposed to read it. In my mind I picture a lower or more casual tone of voice. But it's ambiguous.

I've seen many writers use dashes for parenthetical remarks. I'm sure there are English teachers and grammar Nazis who say it's wrong, but I think it's pretty common these days, most people accept it, and it is readily understood.

Besides that, I'd just say: whatever you do, don't overdo it. If every sentence you write as parentheses in it, you want to rethink that.

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