Where's your Colon :

[pmmg]

So...when I am writing formally, I use Colon's all over the place, but in my fiction writing they feel like a no-no. In that, yeah, sometimes they are right thing according to the grammar, but secretly, a comma causes the right pause, and I suspect most readers will read right over it and not notice the punctuation mark is not really the right one. Of times, if I find I need a colon, I might just reword things so I dont.

But I put it to you... Do you use colons in your creative writing and published works, or do you find that some punctuation, while technically right, is somehow not the right one for the job in fiction?

What say you?

 

[ThinkerX]

Harry Turtledove, after his sixth or eighth fantasy novel, wrote that he was embarrassed by the number of colons and semicolons in his first couple of books. I kept that in mind while writing my novels. They happen, but not a lot.

 

[Devor]

I just did a quick search in some of my work and found two colons, zero semicolons.

The first colon introduces the text on a sign. The second one joins two sentences and is a little more interesting. The first sentence describes the character actively trying to ignore something, and the second describes the thing she is ignoring.

I'm pretty sure I've also used colons elsewhere in a short Setup: Punch situation. The weapon shot him: An arrow landing in his chest. Or, y'know, something like that.

Normally, though, I find colons and semicolons to be a bit of an overload. They don't usually accomplish anything other than to make the text feel denser.

 

[Incanus]

I use colons in 'normal' writing, but I tend to use em dashes instead of colons in fiction. I also use semicolons in fiction. I tend not to use parentheses, except in First Person POV. All of this is purely arbitrary, and largely done with aesthetics in mind. I don't mind at all seeing these things handled differently by other writers.

 

[Devor]

^ Since you mention the em dash and parentheses (which I never use), I saw a thing - okay, it was really about AI - that happened to say: The dash highlights the separated text, the parentheses diminish it, and the colon is neutral. It’s kind of true.

Personally, I think colons turn your stuff into turds, but that’s me scraping the bottom for a joke, sorry.

 

[Incanus]

Personally, I think colons turn your stuff into turds, but that’s me scraping the bottom for a joke, sorry.

I should probably let this pass (!), but I can't seem to help myself: does this mean a semi-colon would be something like a fart?

Oh, boy, just put me out of my misery now...

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I have the Em-Dash hot keyed and the things I do with commas should be illegal - are probably illegal in better places. My wife is my editor and I drive her out of her mind.

 

[Ban]

Ban said: "I currently have 423 colons and 40 semicolons spread throughout a rather short novel. I tend to use colons in connection to dialogue, so the colon count (odd term) would be reduced by many hundreds if I were to remove those. "

 

[pmmg]

Ban...I think you have a sickness. You may need to see someone about all those colons.

I tend to avoid Semicolons, cause all it does is cause everyone to think they are not used properly. For immersion a comma is sufficient.

 

[Saigonnus]

Where's my colon? It's in my bum...

Seriously though, I only use the colon when starting lists... like Jack surveyed the aisle critically, and ended up getting: A hammer, a package of zip-ties, a coil of rope, and a pair of pliers. I am aware that it has many other uses, but I just don't generally use them.

 

[pmmg]

I'm gonna say, I sometimes do come across sentences in my prose where a colon would be the right punctuation mark, but when I use it, it just looks wrong. It even looks a little but snooty, so I dont use it, and go for a comma instead. I do sometimes use a semicolon, but that one for me is rare as well. Semicolons seem to have this power to make others tell you their wrong. I do prefer to avoid them too.

 

[skip.knox]

I'm a bit confused. A colon has a particular function. It introduces a list. There are some other specialty functions, including the contents of a sign, cited by Devor . It really has nothing to do with pauses.

Semi-colons join two complete clauses; either one can stand on their own. Commas and periods just break up our prose into sections, and there are some rules for each. Those were invented in the Middle Ages as an aid to those who were not literate enough to be able to figure out sentences on their own. Reading early manuscripts, handwriting aside, is an exquisite form of torture.

Amendments and corrections to the above are always welcome.

 

[xena]

I don't use colons much in fiction. I usually go with dashes.