Do you use em dash?

[blackcrowcrowd]

I have been binge reading a certain chinese webnovels and it seems to use quite a bit of em dashes. Do you guys use them? If yes (or no), why?

 

[Lorelliad]

About two or three times per chapter. They just work so well for my writing.

 

[AnEmberOfSundown]

It's the appropriate way to interrupt a clause. Most of the time when people overuse commas, they should be using an em dash. Hyphens can be used for a stutter, but an em dash is the correct way to show someone interrupting a thought or someone else's speech. En dashes are only for things like date ranges, so that makes it easy.

 

[MysticalSiren]

Omg ㅡ these were my favorite. It makes writing look so clean. I picked it up from the korean keyboard. The only problem is, it looks like AI to a lot of people.
Even if it existed all along.
I had to remove them from my stories because it can flag me for AI.
It's easier to unse than a comma or semi colon though
.... :(

 

[PancakesWitch]

I have been binge reading a certain chinese webnovels and it seems to use quite a bit of em dashes. Do you guys use them? If yes (or no), why?

its probably the AI Chat bot they use to translate them.
I never use em dashes but comas, but when I correct grammar the chat bot loves adding a million em dashes, like two or three times per paragraph

 

[JayMark]

I never learned how to use it and other stuff works better for me, so no.

Also, 'your story is AI because you use punctuation' is the worst argument ever.

From my understanding: discerning an AI story is more about recognizing the same patterns that specific LLMs use over and over again, what they avoid, and realizing over efficiency of the structure. Also, AI stories can start with very strong hooks but they go nowhere unless a human intensely curates and edits the output.

 

[MysticalSiren]

its probably the AI Chat bot they use to translate them.
I never use em dashes but comas, but when I correct grammar the chat bot loves adding a million em dashes, like two or three times per paragraph

Its possible but also just Asian languages in general have "ㅡ" in the keyboard very easily accessible. Its used by youtubers and on social media everywhere. A lot of chinese in general can be separated by these.

 

[NotaNuffian]

Must be a me thing, because I rarely see em dashes in the chinese I read.

There is also no transition splitter aka the "***" between paragraphs to tell you scene change.

Em dash, as I know, is often used for dramatic pauses or as a semi-colon replacement. Both of these are never in what I read.

Hell, semi colon is not used and basically just laid bare as it is.

Ps. I would like to change the dramatic pause part, it does appear when someone's getting murked with their pleas cut short. Also, this seems to be a recent trend (actually, I just saw this example on my latest dropped work)

 

[Fox-Trot-9]

I do use em-dashes quite a bit, usually to denote interruptions in dialogue or action or a sudden change of some kind.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

More of an EM sprint these days.

 

[Fairemont]

I use 'em whenever I feel like it.

 

[empalgepuk]

Only to interrupt dialogues.

 

[Zagaroth]

Yes, I use the occasionally.

Funnily enough, I didn't start using them until everyone started complaining about AI using them. That's when I got curious, read up on how to use them properly, and watched a couple of videos. I decided I liked them and that they would add some variety to my punctuation.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The honest answer is: I use them whenever spell check suggests them and I can't see a better way to reword the section (so about 2/3 of the time it suggests it).

 

[Ral_062]

My favorite thing to add

 

[TinaMigarlo]

I was always a semicolon person.
regardless of if you are using them grammatically correctly, though...
regardless of whether or not its a reliable way to "tell" its AI...
they have become the universal "face of AI".

so while I never used them, and always was a semicolon person anyways...
I now actively refuse to use them.

"And I use this to---"

"Stop!"

interrupt dialogue.

Now, for the humorous part. Some people will go on and on and *on*, being Conan the Grammarian. No! That's not correct! Here! Look at this obscure reference style text from 1918! It *proves* I'm doing things the exact correct grammar way! You? Are wrong!"

gee. Really? I find that simply... fascinating.
I don't remember my English professor's ever *once* telling me...
---"just put three asterisks in, people. Then the readers know you're changing POV. Remember this, kids."
--- but everyone started doing it. Magically, that's fine and dandy.
--- [load face-palm.JPG, snark *initiated*]
--- how "grammatically correct" is all the litRPG made up characters nonsense? Hm?
--- some of those writers, are the same one's whining about autistic grammar rules.

the truth, is simply this. Its WEB-NOVEL land, kids.
you can do literally *anything* your little heart desires.
if readers complain? must be "wrong". Readers don't whine about it? Must be "right".
no other rule exists, but get readers.

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

More of an EM sprint these days.

what's that

 

[TinaMigarlo]

what's that

I wondered that too.
cant even google it, cause EM is standard for a number of technical things. Electro-Mechanical among them.

wait, EM.
as in... EM-dash.
i just don't get the sprint part.

in other news, I use the, what do they call it? The "stanford comma"? I just like it. Flows better to me.

 

[Eldoria]

I have been binge reading a certain chinese webnovels and it seems to use quite a bit of em dashes. Do you guys use them? If yes (or no), why?

I'll use an em dash when it's needed... and I won't use an em dash when it's not needed. It depends on the narrative's needs.

 

[NapLovingImmortal]

Not really. I never used it before AI, and dont really want to use it now cuz of... you know.