Journey Of A Writer

Ellipses Punctuation Practice

More Than Just Dot Dot Dot …

Screenshot by author of article

Hello, fellow writer!

Welcome to a fun writing practice as part of your writing quest. If you’re here for the first time, welcome to your writing quest.

This article is all about ellipses.

This was all the rage when I was growing up. Especially in school. We had to read and quote things from plays and very old literature to answer questions about what we were reading.

Ellipses were our cheat codes. And I always got As. Not that that matters here.

What matters is that you know how to use it.

So here’s some of the ways on how to do that.

Uses of The Ellipses

• Faltering speech/spoken words (I didn’t lie . . . much)
• Trailing off (It wasn’t me, it was Carlos who . . .)
• Thinking about something (I am the happiest when I’m watching . . .)
• For missing words/words left out (Sometimes when she . . . I just forget who I am for a second)
• Indecision, an incomplete thought, or a pause (I might come . . . I don’t know if I can make it)