What the heck is an Em Sprint?
You're writing a book. As you do this, if you come across a hyphen, you'll learn some new grammar rules. It's different than just a line and you're like, "What the hell is that?"
To be honest, I had no idea about the dash until Joe first approached me about a punctuation post.
So I did what any educated American would do and went straight to Wikipedia, and then I moved on to additional resources. Lo and behold, there was a lot more to learn about an em dash than just its definition – especially when I saw examples showing an em dash in action.
Do you see what i did there?
If not, don't fret! Throughout this post, you'll learn more about what an em dash is, when to use it, and why it can add extra style to your stories (if it's overdone).
Em Dash – definition
It turns out that the em dash (also known as the m dash, m rule, long dash, or "mutton" in grammatical slang circles) is exactly the extended dash you see when the narrative or Conversation is interrupted.
You know the:
Andy scanned the budgets on his desk and found that Margot's handwriting – and indeed most of her work – was unsatisfactory.
Or in dialogue:
"Carl, I honestly don't know why you …"
“Stop it, Lauren. I'll top my pasta with hot sauce instead of marinara if I want. "
In certain circumstances, a hyphen can be used in place of commas, parentheses, colons, and semicolons. It's also different from a hyphen and a hyphen, which I'll explain in more detail later in this post using examples.
Until then, link a dash as an exciting way to add extra information at the end of a sentence – or in the middle, as you can see in the example above.
A hyphen may appear in the English language, which is used in informal or creative writing. It gives prose a voice and style that a comma or semicolon may not, although it serves a similar purpose.
But when do you use an em dash? What is the benefit of this, and why do writers sometimes abuse this punctuation mark? Let's look at that.
What Em Strokes (Long Strokes) Do For Your Writing
Em Strokes are a fun way to get the reader inside the characters' minds and learn about their personalities.
From the first example above, we not only learned about Margot, but also how Andy perceives her and her work.
Without the enhancement of the hyphen, the reader will not get the same effect.
Take a look at the second example above. It's pretty clear there that Carl is done hearing Lauren's protests over his food choices. He cuts it off in the middle of a sentence, and using a dash is far more appealing (and less distracted) than an ellipse.
Em Dash against En Dash against hyphen
There are actually three different types of strokes and it is very easy to mix them up.
Not sure the difference between the three? Here is a cheat sheet for the different types of strokes:
As you can see, the hyphen is the longest of the three and roughly the width of the letter m, that's how it got its name. (And yes, the hyphen is named because it's the width of the letter n.)
The hyphen also acts as the longest stop or pause in a sentence compared to the other three dashes, which all serve to connect parts of sentences rather than breaking up a sentence and stopping the reader.
Using and Avoiding an Em Dash
There are times for a hyphen and other times for a hyphen or other punctuation mark. Knowing when or not to use an em dash can help clean up your writing and engage a reader instead of confusing or distracting them.
Em Dash vs. En Dash vs. Hyphen vs. Minus Sign
Over the past few years, some authors have used the hyphen, hyphen, or minus sign in place of the hyphen, but these punctuation marks are in fact non-transferrable.
There are important differences:
Dash or em dash?
A hyphen connects two elements that are joined together to act as one word. There are five types of words that should be separated: compound adjective + noun, age + noun, some numbers (twenty-one to ninety-nine), some prefixes (though not many) and, for clarity, with confusing combinations.
Bestseller, two years old, pre-Hanukkah and anti-racist
An em hyphen cannot be used as a hyphen. A hyphen expands an idea, emphasizes it, or suggests a break. It doesn't combine words.
Double hyphen or em dash?
A double hyphen is a punctuation mark that uses two parallel hyphens. It looks more like an equal sign. It should not be confused with two dashes (-). This is most commonly used in fonts or for commercial purposes that add a visual effect to the punctuation mark.
Malbaum⸗Franktur.
En Dash or Em Dash?
A hyphen connects a range of numbers or words like a hyphen, while a hyphen separates words or phrases.
I'm going on vacation from July 4th to 8th. This indicates the number of days "I" will go away together. An em dash cannot be used here. It wouldn't make sense.
Minus sign or em dash?
A minus sign and a hyphen are the same length: a short, single line that connects two words into one word (-).
A hyphen, or a hyphen in general, is longer. This is twice as long as a minus sign (-) and indicates that there is a breach of thought.
A – B = C is a minus sign. Math is interesting – even if I've never been good at it – use a hyphen (or two).
Overall, when authors use em hyphens to highlight a word or clause and draw attention to what they associate with the em hyphen with that word or clause – so.
Em dash vs. comma vs. brackets vs. colon vs. semicolon
As mentioned above, a hyphen can be used in place of a comma, a bracket, or a colon (semicolon). How can the different punctuations mean the same thing and how do you choose when to use them? Like this:
Em dash vs. comma
An em hyphen can be used in place of a comma for a stylistic choice or when many sentences are already used in a sentence or paragraph and you want to swap them.
The poet Emily Dickinson used many strokes in her work.
Because I couldn't stop for death –
He kindly stopped for me –
Em Dash vs. Brackets
Use an em hyphen in place of parentheses when you want to draw more attention to the word or phrase that contains em dah offsets. Hyphens are also informal compared to parentheses. So use a hyphen for a more casual tone.
Using parentheses can (but not necessarily) draw your attention to the word.
Using a hyphen will likely draw your attention to the misplaced words – and make sure you read it rather than skim or skip what is written.
Em Dash versus Colon
Authors may use a colon at the end of a sentence to go to a list. An em dash can also do this when the colon is used to separate additional information at the end of a sentence.
I've waited ten years for my favorite vacation: a trip to New Zealand!
I've waited ten years to go on my favorite vacation – a trip to New Zealand!
Em Dash versus semicolon
An em dash is used more than a semicolon as it is more casual and possibly less distant. Just like a semicolon, the hyphen can join two independent clauses.
Sally went to the fish market today and bought salmon; Your dinner that evening was delicious.
Sally went to the fish market today and bought salmon – her dinner that evening was delicious.
Em Dash shortcut key
In Microsoft Word (and most other word processing systems), when you put two hyphens next to each other (-), they together form a hyphen.
Most web editors – WordPress, Twitter, or Facebook, for example – don't magically turn these two dashes into hyphens.
That said, you can either copy and paste from Word or use the keyboard shortcut em dash to create them yourself. Fortunately, the keyboard shortcut em dash is incredibly quick and easy. I use it all the time:
Alt / Option + Shift + hyphen (-)
Just press Alt / Option + Shift + Dash (-) at the same time and you get a beautifully long em dash. Try it out now in the comment form below. Is not that great?
P.S.
This is the same shortcut for entering an em dash on a Mac:
Option + Shift + Hyphen (-)
Em Dash Copy & Paste
Or, just because we want to be helpful, you can just copy and paste these: –
When to avoid em dashes
Too much falls can stifle and break up a narrative flow at the expense of the story.
For example, Thinking With Vampires is a blog that takes apart writing the Twilight series, and Dana the blogger has compiled a number of examples of poorly placed strokes.
As with dessert, wine, and Nikki Minaj concerts, moderation is key.
How about you? Do you like to use Em Dashes in your writing? Let me know in the comments.
Bonus! More punctuation resources
Feeling sure when to use an em dahs now, but still have questions about grammar? Some of these additional resources on The Write Practice blog might just be what you were looking for:
Do you need more help with grammar? My favorite tool that helps find grammar problems and even run reports to improve my writing is ProWritingAid. Works with Word, Scrivener, Google Docs, and web browsers. Also use my coupon code to get a 25 percent discount: WritePractice25
Coupon code: WritePractice25 »
WORK OUT
Write at the following prompt for fifteen minutes. Use hyphens to get a glimpse into the characters' spirits or to indicate breaks in dialogue.
prompt: Ashley stared at Max, who was sitting in the middle of the disheveled living room.
When your time is up, post your practice in the comments section. And when you post, please provide feedback to your co-writers by commenting on whether they used the hyphen correctly.
