Caution: Grammar Police!
Still on my “grammar rules” kick, but this is pure glee.
The 2019 American Copy Editors Society Conference!
As reported in The New Yorker. See what you now can and cannot do!
#amediting, folks!
Tag Archives: hyphens
The Em Dash— #amwriting
I often turn to Connie J. Jasperson for good common sense about writing, in this case an issue that looks as if it ought to be simple, yet plagues many of us. I also note the use of an em dash to indicate interrupted dialogue–another use that can be overdone! (em dash intended). Thanks, Connie!
Over the years, I have seen many books written by wonderful authors who overuse em or en dashes.
I also tend to do that in blogging and in Facebook posts, and my first drafts can be peppered with them. Em dashes are a kind of author’s crutch because it is easy to rely on them.
Trust me, readers find it distracting to see an em dash in every paragraph. Some editors don’t want to see one on every page. Their point of view is that the em dash is like any other repetitive word in a manuscript. As a tool, it’s useful as a way to emphasize certain ideas, and can also be used to good effect in the place of a semicolon. In my opinion, the em dash should be used sparingly to be most effective.
So, what is the difference between the hyphen and the em dash? Aren’t…
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Those Annoying Hyphens!
Here, from Life in the Realm of Fantasy via Chris the Story Reading Ape is an extremely helpful article about something that DRIVES ME NUTS.
Not whether to hyphenate, but why so many indie writers don’t use hyphens when they can be of so much help.
Connie Jasperson has pulled together a wonderful, easy-to-follow (note hyphens) guide to when and why to use hyphens in compound modifiers and expressions.
Check it out! Then get a box of hyphens to use in your own writing. They cost only a few cents at the dime store. 
Just Can't Help Writing 