On first read the use of three colons and an em-dash stood out to me most. The use of colon, colon, colon, and then a hard stop of an em-dash, feels like a rule of three thing and also makes "the ice machine alcove" to the "kitchen door" feel like a unit of thought, and then another one begins.
I found your blog when I was looking for more information on punctuation in creative writing and the effect punctuation marks have on the reader. Especially em-dash, colon, semi-colon etc... I didn't find many blog, but I found you book Punctuation for Writers and the colons in this example reminded me of an example where a character is remembering things backwards.
It's really fun studying a piece of text that caught my attention. I've had plenty of "you can do that?" moments while studying and I've used some techniques in my own writing.
Thanks, Emilia. The short answer to your question (I know you weren't asking) is Yes, you can do anything you please. But it's better to know the effect of punctuation on the reader first. That's why I wrote PFW in the first place.
The colon forces a long pause (just like . ! ?) and the em dash (medium pause) is excellent to indicate an interruption.
I first saw and learned the technique from Jason Gurley, an excellent fiction writer, in a short story. I'll email it to you shortly.
On first read the use of three colons and an em-dash stood out to me most. The use of colon, colon, colon, and then a hard stop of an em-dash, feels like a rule of three thing and also makes "the ice machine alcove" to the "kitchen door" feel like a unit of thought, and then another one begins.
I found your blog when I was looking for more information on punctuation in creative writing and the effect punctuation marks have on the reader. Especially em-dash, colon, semi-colon etc... I didn't find many blog, but I found you book Punctuation for Writers and the colons in this example reminded me of an example where a character is remembering things backwards.
It's really fun studying a piece of text that caught my attention. I've had plenty of "you can do that?" moments while studying and I've used some techniques in my own writing.
Thanks, Emilia. The short answer to your question (I know you weren't asking) is Yes, you can do anything you please. But it's better to know the effect of punctuation on the reader first. That's why I wrote PFW in the first place.
The colon forces a long pause (just like . ! ?) and the em dash (medium pause) is excellent to indicate an interruption.
I first saw and learned the technique from Jason Gurley, an excellent fiction writer, in a short story. I'll email it to you shortly.
Thank you =) I really wanted to read the story ever since I read the example
You're welcome. I wasn't sure whether you'd seen the example. I think you'll like the power of it.