Timeline for Ellipsis in Fiction (Four dots or no)
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
9 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21, 2015 at 21:18 | vote | accept | G.S. | ||
| Sep 9, 2015 at 8:08 | comment | added | G.S. | Thank you for the link! I actually came across it while researching this issue. I think the three dots is probably the way to go (unless omitting the way you demonstrated in your first comment, but I think that's more for technical writing than fiction). | |
| Sep 9, 2015 at 7:41 | answer | added | deadrat | timeline score: 1 | |
| Sep 9, 2015 at 7:05 | comment | added | JEL | There's a discussion on Writers that might be helpful. | |
| Sep 9, 2015 at 6:49 | comment | added | JEL | If you're looking for rules, those will come from your publisher (or yourself, if you're publishing the work). I doubt if you can go far wrong just using three dots. I'm not sure that ellipsis ever signifies only a "trailing off of thoughts", but if it does, the three dots are fine--an unfinished (omitted by the thinker) thought is signified. | |
| Sep 9, 2015 at 6:48 | history | edited | G.S. | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 111 characters in body
|
| Sep 9, 2015 at 6:45 | comment | added | G.S. | In fiction, however, ellipsis are often used to show a trailing of thoughts, whether in narration or dialogue, and not an omission or interruption. In my example, the character is being wistful, hence the ellipsis. This is why I specifically asked about it in regards to fiction, because I believe different rules apply, rules that are not in CMOS. Also, I don't want to address the space issue since that's a different matter entirely! I just want to know if it should be three dots or four. | |
| Sep 9, 2015 at 6:37 | comment | added | JEL | The ellipsis you've used signifies an omission or an interruption. The way you've done it introduces ambiguity. "This is a sentence. ..." indicates an omission/interruption after the sentence. "This is a sentence... ." indicates an omission within the sentence. The availability of thin spaces helps. | |
| Sep 9, 2015 at 6:09 | history | asked | G.S. | CC BY-SA 3.0 |