Comments on: Semicolons Are Wrong?

By: Debra

Debra — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 19:27:12 +0000

Should read: “…why shouldn’t sentences…”

By: Debra

Debra — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 19:26:14 +0000

People SPEAK in semi colons so why should dialogue be written with them?!? Often, however, a comma is placed where the semicolon belongs. This is becoming more and more common in these days of non-prescriptive writing.

By: Susan M

Susan M — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 01:31:11 +0000

Why shouldn’t dialogue be punctuated correctly? If a character utters a sentence that requires a semicolon, then the semicolon should be there. I would find it more of a speed bump to read a sentence that was incorrectly punctuated–that always takes my focus away from the content and makes me think about the grammatical error instead. It might be more fair to say that most real people don’t use long or complicated sentences when they speak, so if semicolons are popping up a lot in dialogue it’s a signal that the dialogue itself is unnatural. But the problem would be the badly written dialogue itself, not something caused by semicolon use, or to be fixed by their removal.

By: Janet Reid

Janet Reid — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 14:00:18 +0000

What the hell kind of conversations are y’all having that you don’t use semicolons? Perchance you need to spend more time with witty, urbane storytellers; clearly you’re missing out.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 23:52:31 +0000

Semicolons are not essential. They provide a shade of meaning through collocation generally absent in these times.

By: bethany

bethany — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:23:37 +0000

my ex-boyfriend definitely speaks with semi-colons. If I was writing fictional dialogue like he talks, it would have semi-colons.

By: Jean

Jean — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:27:12 +0000

Read the following out loud:

Semi-colons, like any other punctuation, are important; they imply intonation in dialogue.

Semi-colons, like any other punctuation, are important, they imply intonation in dialogue.

Semi-colons, like any other punctuation are important. They imply intonation in dialogue.

I can hear a difference.

By: Susan James

Susan James — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 15:26:39 +0000

A speed bump! I see it as the opposite, a great bridge that keeps the flow going better than a period or a comma that causes a pause.
Em dashes are for interrupted dialogue- not the same at all.

By: Claire

Claire — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:27:21 +0000

An em-dash is no substitute for a semicolon. An em-dash denotes a break in thought, a separation. A semicolon implies two thoughts are more connected then they would otherwise seem.

To say “no character speaks with semicolons” is to say “I have a limited imagination and all my characters seem like cookie-cutters of each other.” Think about the fastidious grandfather, or the effortlessly elegant debutant. Do you seriously only have fast-and-loose characters with no foils, even among the minor players? If so, your writing needs more than just a lesson in punctuation.

By: Miriam

Miriam — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:26:59 +0000

I love semicolons! I actually just wrote a blog post (in honor of today being National Punctuation Day) on the awesome nature of semicolons:

http://blog.leeandlow.com/2009/09/24/our-favorite-punctuation/