Shift Option Dash
In defence of the em dash
When I told my partner that I was doing one final punctuation check on Running Writing Volume #1 before hitting print, she said, ‘Just make sure you’re not using em dashes—everyone will think it was written by AI’.
‘But but but… there are heaps of em dashes in it, they’re my favourite! I can’t change that in case something thinks I didn’t write it! Right?!’
For most of my adult life I’ve written for web and socials, and I don’t tend to use em dashes online, but I like to in print (and when replicating printed works like I will here on Substack). (Yes I could have then but chose not to.)
This renewed hatred and distrust of the em dash just makes me want to use them all the time—everywhere.
Try it now! Are you on a Mac? Press and hold Shift Option Dash
Windows? Hold Alt and type 0151 on the numeric keypad
I like playing with punctuation in my fiction writing. I like to show that I do know the rules (well, some of them), so that when I break the rules readers are clear that it’s intentional. Whenever I read a work that does this, I feel like I’m in on something. I also love that there will have been so many that I wouldn’t have noticed: even better.
When writers do this—break the rules intentionally—it gives those moments so much more impact. When I do this, I don’t necessarily want people to notice but believe that you can set the tone and the pacing in a way that feels natural, not laboured. Or the opposite—where it’s obvious that you want people to pay attention—with a few simple and considered devices in either their intended usage or otherwise.
I love that you can also—sometimes—leave it up to the reader to decide whether you want them to pause, or use one to imply that there’s a rush to the next moment. Readers can then follow the longer-than-it-needs-to-be straight line—straight to the point.
Sometimes you get a feel for a work and get an early idea of what the author means when they use an em dash, and other times they can surprise you—both are wonderful.
A recent episode of the excellent podcast, 99% Invisible, explores this argument better than I can. They chat with Bryan Vance—a Portland-based journalist who runs Stumptown Savings—who has been accused of using AI due to their love of the em dash. If you’re interested, I highly recommend giving it a listen.
Click here to listen to 99% Invisible
Regardless of what the internet says, the em dash is here to stay, and I intend to use one whenever it suits—and sometimes when it doesn’t.
Kurt