Does anyone use hyphens instead of inverted commas/speech marks? I thought this was a weird old-fashioned literary technique but am currently a book written about five years ago, using hyphens instead of speech marks. It feels very strange, as if the characters aren't really speaking at all. What is the point of this device?!
I never have been, and probably never will be, accused of being a dedicated follower of fashion. Incidentally, neither are the bulk of the buying population.
Louis,
Before her death, the brilliant Eva Ibbotson, raised her concern about the use of the semi-colon. She liked to use them. She was disapointed to learn that publishers do not favour their use as much as they used to.
Shorter sentences seem to be the fashion. They make scenes and descriptions more dramatic.
Each to their own way of doing things.
It would be good to hear what Cressida and other professional editors have to say on this subject, as budding authors need to keep up with the times.
I never use brackets in my stories either. (They seem to have been relegated to asides in message board posts.)
I do use every other form of punctuation, but sparingly. One of my tutors pointed out that too much punctuation can interrupt the flow and slow the pace of a story, so I try to avoid Oxford commas and the like if they are unnecessary. I certainly wouldn't leave all those decisions to an editor. I agree with Louise that it might reduce your chances of being picked from the slush pile.
On the subject of Mrs Heavily-Hyphenated, a peculiar style indeed. The apparent misuse is still intriguing, though. I find myself wondering, not which author, but which publisher allows such a bend of all the rules.