Something New

I’ve spent the last few days trying to learn something new; adding, as it were, to my punctuation skill set, the … ellipsis.

                                            

Defined in the OED as:

Ellipsis • n. (pl. ellipses) the omission of words from speech or writing. A set of dots indicating such an omission.

It appears I’ve used this symbol a lot in my dialog. I wanted to indicate halting pauses … as well as omitted words. People talk like that … I know I do. I pause … because I’m trying to remember what point I was going to make. (I’d be more upset if this wasn’t already a lifelong trait.)

Like I said, I’ve liberally sprinkled … all through my manuscript. Some places more than others. When I started looking, I was surprised at how many times I slipped … in. (I took a few out.)

Spacing is important with….

In going through my words, I have to decide where to add a space, where to place a comma, a period, or question mark. (I don’t use many exclamation points.)

I’m still learning. I’m paying attention to what I’m reading to see how other writers and editors do it. I’ve come across many … and some…

It amazes me that there’s always some, new to me, little detail to learn.

I suppose it shouldn’t…, but it does.