Hey gang! Time for another grammar post, because I had far too much fun writing the last one. Today’s topic, by request, is em dashes!
Which is totally appropriate for a first by-request post, since I’m a SLUT for em dashes.
First things first: What in the sam hill is an em dash?
An em dash is a long dash (—) used in punctuation.
It’s extremely versatile and packs a punch, which is probably why I love it so much! You may choose to use it in place of commas, semi-colons, colons, or parentheses.
Within reason, of course.
Because the thing about the em dash is, it draws the eye. That’s a reason to use it, but it’s also a reason not to use it too often (she says, hypocritically). So keep that in mind as we forge ahead.
Why might you use an em dash?
The basic reason is emphasis. Like I said, an em dash draws the eye. Different punctuation creates a different tone. Em dashes are best used to get an abrupt feeling or to give part of the sentence extra weight.
With that in mind, here are some specific reasons you might choose to use an em dash rather than alternative punctuation.
To offset an independent clause.
(Note: An independent clause is a part of a sentence that can stand on its own as a whole sentence. For example, in the sentence “she hadn’t eaten much; she had eaten some cake,” both “she hadn’t eaten much” and “she had eaten some cake” are full sentences in their own rights.)
Replaces: comma + conjunction, semi-colons, colons
An em dash makes for a longer pause than a comma, feels less formal than a semi-colon, and creates more emphasis than a colon. (I love me a good semi-colon, but in action scenes I feel like they slow the pace.)
Example with comma + conjunction: “You don’t have the sword, you don’t know how to use the sword, you don’t know any magic, you have to fight a sorcerer with dragons, but it’s okay because you’re leaving the nursing home?”
With em dash: “You don’t have the sword, you don’t know how to use the sword, you don’t know any magic, you have to fight a sorcerer with dragons—but it’s okay because you’re leaving the nursing home?”
Example with semi-colon: Edna’s stomach lurched, jumped, plummeted, and sloshed; she extracted a white linen handkerchief from her handbag and held it to her mouth, sure she was going to vomit.
With em dash: Edna’s stomach lurched, jumped, plummeted, and sloshed—she extracted a white linen handkerchief from her handbag and held it to her mouth, sure she was going to vomit.
Example with colon: She wasn’t sure why she was panicking: she wasn’t given much to panic.
With em dash: She wasn’t sure why she was panicking—she wasn’t given much to panic.
To offset a dependent clause.
(Note: A dependent clause is part of a sentence that cannot stand on its own as a whole sentence. For example, in the sentence “she hadn’t eaten much, just a slice of cake,” “she hadn’t eaten much” is an independent clause that makes sense on its own, but “just a slice of cake” lacks a subject and verb and doesn’t make any sense on its own. It depends on the independent clause to give it meaning.)
Replaces: colons, commas, parentheses
An em dash creates more emphasis than a colon or comma and draws more attention to the aside than a parenthetical.
Example with colon: Edna wasn’t quite sure what Methodius had said or what she ought to do: whether he’d given her name, told them to expect the Chosen One, whether she should mention him.
With em dash: Edna wasn’t quite sure what Methodius had said or what she ought to do—whether he’d given her name, told them to expect the Chosen One, whether she should mention him.
Example with comma: His bushy eyebrows dipped low over his eyes as if he’d never seen the likes of Jeanine before, which he hadn’t.
With em dash: His bushy eyebrows dipped low over his eyes as if he’d never seen the likes of Jeanine before—which he hadn’t.
Example with parentheses: They view Jesus as the Chosen One (God’s, that is) and find it infuriating that a group of perfectly ordinary wizards has the audacity to name their own saviors of the world in times of crisis.
With em dash: They view Jesus as the Chosen One—God’s, that is—and find it infuriating that a group of perfectly ordinary wizards has the audacity to name their own saviors of the world in times of crisis.
To offset a word you want to emphasize.
An em dash draws the eye to a particular word.
Example without em dash: The next Theobald Smith lived in Ann Arbor, in a drafty old Victorian that had been grand once.
With em dash: The next Theobald Smith lived in Ann Arbor, in a drafty old Victorian that had been grand—once.
To indicate a change in thought.
Replaces: ellipses
This most often takes place in dialogue. An em dash indicates a sudden shift in thought, while an ellipsis makes it seem more like the character is trailing off and then picking up with a new thought.
Example with ellipses: “Teenagers are a more traditional choice, but… Wands and cauldrons, the Chosen One, right here in my office, how positively thrilling!”
With em dash: “Teenagers are a more traditional choice, but—wands and cauldrons, the Chosen One, right here in my office, how positively thrilling!”
On a related note, em dashes can also be used to abruptly interrupt a sentence. This again most often occurs in dialogue. Maybe a character suddenly stops speaking; maybe another character interrupts them. Either way, you can use an em dash to indicate that the speech has broken off.
“I do have several lesser swords in my collection, so if you know its title—”
“The Sword of Destiny,” Edna said.
In narration, using em dashes can also create a feeling of tension and fast pacing. I particularly like to use them this way in action scenes, as in this example:
As the airborne crowd grew nearer, Edna realized just how terrible this lack-of-a-plan was, but oh well, Clem was shuttling toward the exit and the aerquestrian and her horses were waiting for her outside—
Clem’s carpet stopped. The police officers rocketed past her, through the exit and out. The flying horses whinnied; the aerquestrian shouted in triumph; the police yelled in confusion. Clem’s carpet plummeted from the air.
In this case, the em dash both matches the flurried quality of Edna’s thought in the first paragraph and indicates the abrupt cessation of the action as Clem’s flying carpet comes to a halt at the start of the second paragraph. I love ending paragraphs in action scenes this way, but in drafting I definitely tend to overdo it! If you find yourself going hard with em dashes early in the writing process, be sure to revise most of them out later. This forces you to really think about your sentence structure and diction—is there a more exciting way this sentence could be written so it doesn’t rely on an em dash to pack a punch? The remaining em dashes will also have a greater effect.
In reading over the above examples, think about how the em dash affects the feeling of each sentence in comparison to the alternative punctuation. You may like one or the other better, but keep in mind that the choice to use an em dash is largely dependent on the context! Because of the emphasis and punchy quality of em dashes, for example, I’m more likely to use them in action scenes than elsewhere in narration (although I do also use them elsewhere, because, as previously stated, I’m an em dash slut). In dialogue, I’m most likely to use them when characters are arguing or when one character is speaking over another without paying attention to what the other is saying.
(This happens a lot in my stories, which…may be why I use so many em dashes. Also: the a e s t h e t i c.)
Questions? Confusion? Concern? If you have any comments or need anything cleared up, tell me below!
e.m.anderson 
2 thoughts on “Em Dashes Are Friends, Not Food…or Whatever”