I genuinely do not understand this new, stupid accusation floating around the internet that using em dashes somehow makes your writing ‘unnatural’ or ‘not human.’
Like… are you kidding me? Em dashes have existed longer than half the people making that complaint have been alive. They’ve been in literature, essays, newspapers, journals, letters, and basically every written medium since punctuation became a thing humans fought about.
And I actually tried to ignore this whole topic for the longest time. I told myself, “Just let people be wrong on the internet. It’s not worth the energy.” But there comes a point where enough is enough, where the ignorance just gets so loud and so confidently stupid that you cannot stay silent anymore.
I’m truly, deeply sorry that I want to articulate my thoughts in a way that actually reflects how a human brain jumps, pivots, interrupts itself, and wanders. There is nothing ‘unnatural’ about that. That is literally how people think and speak.
And if you genuinely believe that em dashes are some proof of ‘inhuman writing,’ then my dear, you have never actually read a single book. Because ninety-nine percent of traditionally published authors use them. Classics. Fantasy authors. Romance authors. Literary authors. Modern authors. Old authors.
And sure, yes, obviously no one should use sixty em dashes in a 200-word paragraph. That looks like a punctuation stampede. But refusing to use them at all? Acting like they are some kind of forbidden, suspicious punctuation mark? Absolutely not.
I love em dashes. And I’m going to keep using them forever.
So stop accusing writers of “fakeness” because of punctuation.
Stop pretending your personal punctuation preferences are some moral high ground. Stop acting like you’re the gatekeeper of real writing when you clearly haven’t read widely enough to know how real writing actually looks.
And honestly, EVEN if someone does misuse punctuation, even if they sprinkle em dashes everywhere or barely know how a comma works, it is still NOT your business. Take care of your own stuff instead of policing someone else’s creativity.
Mind your own work. Because other people’s punctuation choices are not (AND NEVER WILL BE) your job to fix.
janainaart
stormborns
germansingergirl
jbbartram-illu
kianamaiart
izzy806
snowghoul