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YouWriteOn Message Board > Literary Forums > Professional Writing Tips and Techniques - New Help Search Recent Posts
Ellipsis - to space or not to
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anarcho9
 06 Jan 2010, 18:59 #79537 Reply To Post
I am quite a fan of using the ellipsis as a dramatic tool in my dialogue. However, I have received quite a bit of feedback to say that there shouldn't be spaces between the periods/ stops. However, some of the publishing information I have researched appears to contradict this - as the ellipsis can sometimes be lost or misinterpreted during formatting.

Does anyone have a feelings or opinions on this? From what I can tell there should be spaces, but my reviews say otherwise.
JackMac
 14 Jan 2010, 20:38 #80132 Reply To Post
There should not be spaces between the dots. If the ellipsis is in the middle of a sentence there should be a space in front and behind the ellipsis. In other words treat it like another word in the sentence. If the ellipsis is at the end of a sentence, there is no need for a separate full stop.

Examples :
What the ... hell are you doing?
You'll spill the beans, will you? You dare ...
pipio
 15 Jan 2010, 19:29 #80171 Reply To Post
The ellipsis (also called a 'omission' or 'suspension' mark) has two uses.
1. To show that material has been omitted from a direct quotation.
E.G. "To be, or not to be...to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune...or to rise up against a sea of troubles... thereby ending them."

2. To show that a sentence has been left unfinished (tails off).
E.G. As David Cameron passed the dole queue in his Rolls, he turned to his spin doctor and said, " I hope the Unemployed don't vote in the election. If they do..."

There cannot be a space before an ellipsis as it directly follows the last word.

Although it's frowned upon by snotty publishers, some writers use ellipses for dramatic pauses in the middle of a sentence.
This is sometimes right but often a comma is enough, or if a sentence is cut short a dash is best.

I.E. John looked at the dog sitting at Julie's feet and, putting out his hand to stroke it, asked, "Does your dog bi-".
"That's not my dog," Julie said, as John wiped the blood from his hand.

Hope this helps.
This post was last edited by pipio, 15 Jan 2010, 19:47
... an honest insult is so much better than an insincere flattery...
datahog
 15 Jan 2010, 23:12 #80172 Reply To Post
Quote: JackMac, Thursday, 14 Jan 2010 20:38
There should not be spaces between the dots. If the ellipsis is in the middle of a sentence there should be a space in front and behind the ellipsis. In other words treat it like another word in the sentence. If the ellipsis is at the end of a sentence, there is no need for a separate full stop.

Examples :
What the ... hell are you doing?
You'll spill the beans, will you? You dare ...

This recently came up at Authonomy where an editor quoted the Chicago Manual of Style as saying there should be spaces between the dots. I don't own that manual but of the two books I do own that address the subject--"Punctuate it Right" and "The Elements of Grammar"--they concur.
markgayle
 16 Jan 2010, 00:12 #80175 Reply To Post
This all came up in some other part of the board a few weeks back. Once more, it is ALL explained at this link:

http://www.bookshed.eu/node/25

From a book that is well worth buying if you want a simple guide that tells you what to do and doesn't waffle or treat its readers like morons.

Now and then I write:

http://www.mofanning.co.uk
datahog
 16 Jan 2010, 00:20 #80176 Reply To Post
Quote: markgayle, Saturday, 16 Jan 2010 00:12
This all came up in some other part of the board a few weeks back. Once more, it is ALL explained at this link:

http://www.bookshed.eu/node/25

From a book that is well worth buying if you want a simple guide that tells you what to do and doesn't waffle or treat its readers like morons.

Well that's one opinion, and a British one. There may be a pond differential here. For example, I note that the Brits put periods and question marks outside of quote marks, whereas in America the only punctuation marks that belong outside of quote marks are colons and semi-colons.

This post was last edited by datahog, 16 Jan 2010, 00:21
Keel
 16 Jan 2010, 09:11 #80179 Reply To Post
You're right datahog.
In dialogue, question, exclamation marks etc should always be within single or double inverted comas; it’s not ‘an across the pond thing’.
Hey saucy, that's the best offer I've had all night.
markgayle
 16 Jan 2010, 09:51 #80181 Reply To Post
Quote: datahog, Saturday, 16 Jan 2010 00:20

Well that's one opinion, and a British one. There may be a pond differential here. For example, I note that the Brits put periods and question marks outside of quote marks, whereas in America the only punctuation marks that belong outside of quote marks are colons and semi-colons.



I'm a Brit and I've never heard of putting punctuation outside quotation marks in dialogue.

In fact, the same site explains it thus:

http://www.bookshed.eu/node/24

(although you are correct in that there are often differences in style from country to county and indeed from organisation to organisation.)
Now and then I write:

http://www.mofanning.co.uk
Carole
 16 Jan 2010, 10:11 #80183 Reply To Post
Nor have I.

If in doubt, you can always just pick up a book, any book, and flick through it to find some dialogue.
*
Cinnamon
 16 Jan 2010, 10:14 #80184 Reply To Post
I don;t care about punctuation much. If youre books good; the publisher won't care if you can't punctuate. That's what copy, editors are for.
This post was last edited by Cinnamon, 16 Jan 2010, 10:45
E-asy Peasy?
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