To Dash, or not to dash, that is the question.
For most people, a ‘dash’ means an em dash—one of these. In the UK a spaced en dash does the same thing – like this, which ends up being the same length as an em dash.
In fiction, dashes can replace commas, parentheses, semicolons and other punctuation marks. Pretty versatile, right?
Still, they come with a warning: use sparingly. Don’t over-dash! If your style is conversational—you know, fun, light—it can help you convey that tone to the reader. Do it in every sentence, though, and it gets—just like this—pretty old, pretty fast.
So, when should you use the power of the dash?
1. You can use dashes when you want to emphasise something.
It couldn’t be true—it just couldn’t—and she didn’t want to even contemplate it.
You could put that into parentheses, or parenthetical commas, but it wouldn’t have the same effect.
It couldn’t be true (it just couldn’t) and she didn’t want to even contemplate it.
It couldn’t be true, it just couldn’t, and she didn’t want to even contemplate it.
See? The dashes make it stick out—they add emphasis.
2. When you want to convey a certain tone
Dashes tend to be used in writing with a casual tone. They help convey flippancy, wryness, humour and sarcasm.
Cats are great—if you like hair all over your favourite arm chair.
The dash helps give the sentence a wry tone.
Here’s a little example of how punctuation can make a difference to the tone.
Cats are important to elderly people who live alone—they provide much-needed companionship and affection.
Or,
Cats are important to elderly people who live alone; they provide much-needed companionship and affection.
In the example with the semicolon, both parts of the statement have equal weight. In the example with the dash, the second bit reads more like an afterthought. Both ways are correct—you can choose what’s right for your writing style.
But remember: even if you are aiming for a chatty style, don’t replace all your semicolons with dashes. Semicolons are elegant and can help the text flow nicely.
3. When you’re writing dialogue, you might need to use a dash as an interruptor. In this case, the dash needs to stay within the speech marks.
“What do you—” she stopped herself, suddenly embarrassed.
“I just—oh, I don’t know,” she cried.
Dashes in dialogue are also useful for showing how people actually speak.
“I like going out. Just usual stuff, I guess—movies, concerts, whatever.”
So, there you have it. I hope I’ve helped you feel a little more confident about using dashes in your work. If you still feel unsure, don’t worry too much—that’s why writers have editors!