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Brackets acceptable?

Gryphos

Auror
In my writing every so often I use brackets in the narration, an example being:

She raised an eyebrow at me, as if I was the one who'd done something stupid (and for once, she was wrong).

I never thought anything of this use of brackets, but on occasion in crits and stuff I've been told that it may be a good idea to swap them out for dashes, ex.

She raised an eyebrow at me, as if I was the one who'd done something stupid - and for once, she was wrong.

Now this does seem perfectly acceptable, and if the case was that it was a truly better option I would certainly not object. However, I'm not entirely sure why brackets are to be avoided. I've read a few novels that employ brackets, as well as many that employ dashes. So what is the general consensus on the matter?
 

CupofJoe

Myth Weaver
I don't know either except as a style thing...
Or it might be a [font] display/printing thing - a single ( or ) might (if you screw your eyes almost shut) be confused with an i,j, l, 1 etc...
I actually prefer the second version as it make the added comment feel like more of an aside than it might have been
Not that it really matters in this context but I think () are actually parentheses and not brackets, [] are brackets...
 

Nihal

Vala
I believe em dashes are the adequate punctuation mark to designate such breaks in a story. (Code: ALT+0151 in numpad numbers)

I'm not a writer, specialist nor the most exigent reader, but I like em dashes. They're an elegant solution to break a phrase. I expect to find clarification inside parentheses in informal and technical texts, but I don't expect to find them in a novel.

I lack the words to explain it properly, but parentheses feel like infodump to me, not a change of subject. They fail to maintain the flow of the story. There are footnotes for clarification purposes, commas for designations, and em dashes for the momentary change of subject. Parentheses feel a poor choice when compared to them, decreasing the punctuation diversity, thus the beauty of the text.

En dashes can be used for this purpose too, I think, but they're also used to express ranges. Most writers I've read so far stick with the em ones.


P.s.: Parentheses are also called "curved brackets" or simply brackets in some countries.
 
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Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
At some point I read something along the lines of this.
Putting something between em dashes — like this — is used to put more emphasis on that specific part of the sentence. Using brackets on the other hand (or so I heard) will remove emphasis from that part of the sentence.
The parts between the dashes are more important than the rest of the sentence and the part between the brackets are less important.

I think it's a matter of style/voice. Using brackets can probably be used to great effect in certain situations, but I think you have to be careful to not overuse them or use them in a way that breaks immersion too much.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
I can't recall reading anything of professional quality that utilized parentheses or brackets.

My concern for your use of brackets lies in making the writing noticeable. You're usually better off if reader doesn't notice the writing. They just get the story.

In that regard, I think you're better off using punctuation that is more widely accepted. Readers are used to seeing punctuation like EM dashes and ellipses. They aren't used to brackets in fiction.
 
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Hi,

I'll add my voice to the others - in the piece you quoted an em dash is the best option. Em dashes are used to separate clauses out of sentences, usually where the clause is an explanatory one, or where there is a logical distinction between the clauses. Brackets have their place too but it's limited. Usually they are used to add a descriptor word that isn't really part of a sentence. En dashes however are hyphens and their main use is in hyphenated words.

So from my latest:

"She was a goddess, and she could send out her armies of twisted beasts – her priests called them chimera – to the furthest reaches of the world to hunt down those who defied her until the end of time if she wanted to."

Note how the clause in the middle of the sentence is simply an explanation of the first clause, almost an aside, and not particularly well connected to the last clause, and yet the whole lot hangs together as one sentence. It's because when you read an em dash you read it as a space. When you read a bracket you don't really - or I don't. As an alternative to an em dash some authors would use a double hyphen.

Brackets I would limit the use of to descriptor words - especially in scientific papers which is where they mostly occur. For example:

"You should never drink wood alcohol (methanol) because it may lead to blindness."

They can also be useful for separating out parts of a text which are not part of the flow of the book but which may add perspective in much the same way that footnotes do. (See my note below - and this one!)

And an en dash - basically a shorter dash - is for hyphenated words such as "x-ray"

(Note that in this program I can't actually seem to write a distinct em dash from an en dash - so you'll have to imagine that some are shorter and some are longer.)

I'd also add one more thing. In this brave new world of indie publishing, the "rules of writing" have become far more flexible. Authors aren't just in control of their stories and their publications, they're also in charge of their punctuation. If you want to use brackets you can. It's not wrong, just not usual. The important thing is that if you do use them you need to be consistent.

Hope that helps.

Cheers, Greg.
 

Steerpike

Felis amatus
Moderator
I agree with the others that an em dash is the best choice in this example. I have, however, seen plenty of professional works that use parenthenticals within the narration itself. I'll see if I can some up with some examples this evening when I get home. Some authors use them more than others, but the majority of published works do not appear to include them.
 

Svrtnsse

Staff
Article Team
An example from an old favorite of my childhood (free from memory):

He'd made fake teeth out of the backside of an orange peel (ask your mom, she'll know how).

I doubt anyone here would use it in this way, but it works in the context (it's a children's story) and while it breaks the immersion a bit, it enhances the mood (in this particular case).
 

Fyle

Inkling
Well, George RR Martain uses them in A Song of Ice and Fire whenever he feels like it. That sold over 12 million copies (or something like that).

I use them it the rare case when i feel it works. I dont follow writting rules very tightly. As long as everything is technically 'correct' so to speak. So, if you like them and feel it adds to your writting, go for it.
 

T.Allen.Smith

Staff
Moderator
Well, George RR Martain uses them in A Song of Ice and Fire whenever he feels like it. That sold over 12 million copies (or something like that).
Fyle is right. They're present in GRRM's work. I never noticed them, which contradicts what I was trying to say about readers noticing the writing.

However, they weren't used flagrantly or with reckless abandon. I did a search and found seven total uses in the first book. That's not many considering a length of 1200+ pages. Yet, they are certainly there.
 
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Gryphos

Auror
However, they weren't used flagrantly or with reckless abandon. I did a search and found seven total uses in the first book. That's not many considering a length of 1200+ pages. Yet, they are certainly there.

Naturally, you don't want to overuse them, just like any device. But it's good to know that I'm not doing anything technically wrong in using them as I have.
 

SM-Dreamer

Troubadour
I think it depends on usage. I've definitely seen it in published books - a children's book series (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede) I'm rereading for nostalgia's sake has them here and there:

There was a great deal of etiquette, from the proper way to curtsy before a visiting prince to how loudly it was permissible to scream when being carried off by a giant. (Linderwall still had an occasional problem with giants.)

Generally when I do see it in writing, it seems to be as an aside, or extra information that there isn't any emphasis, whereas things that need to be emphasized have the em dashes.
 
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