The Em Dash: Not Your Enemy
Just Your Favorite Author’s Secret Weapon
Oh no—an em dash. Obviously this book was written by AI. Cue the dramatic music and mass unfollows.
Here's the thing: Writers have been wielding em dashes since before ChatGPT learned to string together a sentence. If you're pointing at punctuation and screaming "robot!"—you might want to actually understand what it does first.
So let's break it down—gently, for the overreactors clutching their pearls in the back.
The Em Dash: Not Your Enemy
An em dash (—) is punctuation’s power player.
It’s the literary equivalent of a mic drop—clean, cutting, and hard to ignore.
Here’s what it actually does:
Interrupt with purpose — Mid-sentence revelations hit harder.
Add dramatic emphasis — Because sometimes, a comma just won’t cut it.
Slip in side comments — Like this one — without losing the flow.
Replace clunky parentheses — Cleaner. Sleeker. More emotional punch.
Create delicious tension — That pause that makes readers lean in.
In other words? It’s the punctuation mark for writers who understand rhythm.
This Isn't AI—This Is Vibe
📖 “I could’ve left—but I didn’t.”
💬 “Say it again—no, louder.”
👀 “She knew what he was—what he’d always been.”
That’s not a robot. That’s intentional craft.
Real AI tells:
Repetitive phrasing. Awkward transitions. Em dashes crammed after every third word. Sentences that technically work but emotionally flop.
Human writing with em dashes:
Strategic placement. Emotional weight. A natural rhythm that grips the page.
Plot Twist: This Isn't New
Emily Dickinson was dashing all over her poetry in the 1800s like it was her signature move, and spoiler: it was.
Virginia Woolf? Em dash addict.
Kurt Vonnegut? A master of the pause-that-slaps.
Your favorite bestselling author? Probably using them too.
The Real Issue Here
I get it.
AI is everywhere, and readers are cautious but when you start accusing punctuation of being synthetic, you’ve officially lost the plot.
Some writers live for em dashes. Others ride hard for semicolons, abuse commas, or write in punchy fragments that’d make your 10th grade English teacher cry.
None of that makes them bots.
Final Word
The em dash isn’t a red flag—it’s a power move.
It’s been a power move for centuries.
If you hate it, that’s fine. Stick to your commas and periods but don’t come for authors who wield punctuation like a weapon—sharp, precise, and emotionally loaded.
Because the real difference between AI and human writing?
Intention.
Every em dash, every pause, every drop of rhythm—it’s all deliberate. It serves the story.
And if you can’t tell the difference?
Maybe the problem isn’t the punctuation.
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