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  1. GB reader

    GB reader Contributor Contributor

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    Dash for interrupt

    Discussion in 'Word Mechanics' started by GB reader, Mar 13, 2018.

    “When writing dialogue you can indicate that someone gets –”

    “Don't start that silly discussion again,” said Alex.



    A few day ago I saw somewhere in the forum the usage

    “When writing dialogue you can indicate that someone gets –”

    “–Don't start that silly discussion again,” said Alex.



    I think this is rather neat. Comments on that?
    Also, should you write

    “–Don't start that silly discussion again,” said Alex.
    or
    “–don't start that silly discussion again,” said Alex.
     
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  2. OB1

    OB1 Active Member

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    Could be wrong but the first seems correct to me!
     
  3. Midge23

    Midge23 Active Member

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    “When writing dialogue you can indicate that someone gets –”

    “Don't start that silly discussion again,” said Alex.

    This is, I believe, the correct way to show that the second speaker interrupted the first.

    Replace the - with ... and you signify that the speaker’s voice trailed off.
     
  4. izzybot

    izzybot (unspecified) Contributor

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    I'm not much of a grammarian but I can talk about how various methods of this make me ~feel~.

    Sam said, "In my opinion--."
    "I don't care," said Alex.​
    Alex interrupted Sam and Sam stopped talking.


    Sam said, "In my opinion--."
    "--I don't care," said Alex.​
    Alex interrupted Sam and they briefly talked over each other, as if their dialogue snippets were part of one sentence.


    Sam said, "In my opinion--."
    "--see, I don't care," Alex said.​
    With the lowercase, Alex is continuing a previous sentence from before Sam started talking.
     
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  5. GB reader

    GB reader Contributor Contributor

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    Good!

    Hm, i didn't consider that at all. You learn something every day week. I was so narrowly focused on weather the dash should be thought of as the first character in a new sentence so that the next character should be lowercase that I didn't think about the surrounding context. (someone might help me with commas in previous sentence)
     
  6. Elven Candy

    Elven Candy Pay no attention to the foot in my mouth Contributor

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    This one is correct, but without a space before the dash (it's called an m-dash).

    The second example would've just made me think the writer didn't know how to show interruptions; maybe that's because I always picture a little talking over when one interrupts? The third example makes sense to me if used the way you suggest. M-dashes make for some cool stuff :agreed:.
     
  7. Mink

    Mink Contributor Contributor

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    Dashes are a pain.

    So are "...".

    I use both frequently in my writing. I think the first example's correct, but izzybot brought up other ways to use dashes and the different connotations they can have. :)
     
  8. Thundair

    Thundair Contributor Contributor

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    I've been using, Sam said, "Give me another shot... "
    Now I get to go back and see if it was an interruption or a falling off.
     
  9. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    I’d use an em-dash, and only at the end of the first sentence.
     
  10. Unique

    Unique Member

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    Interesting that you all interrupt at the end of a word. Is this a politeness thing among authors?
     

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