Day 68: Dash Dash Dash

Day 68: “Dash Dash Dash”

Everyone should find their own way to best express their voice.

One of the most annoying things for me when I was writing for homework assignments and essays in school was the constraint that one sentence should be held to one statement — separate ideas should thus be kept in different sentences. In order to transition from one idea, you have to close off the first idea with a period, and then using transitioning words and rewording your previous idea briefly, you can move on to the next idea.

In this way, it became really hard for me to write out my thoughts. My thoughts are a mess — a whirling chaos of ideas flying round and round in no particular pattern. I think one thing and immediately some other closely related idea jumps to the forefront of my mind — jumps to the front and dances a little jig before getting kicked off the table by another idea.

When I speak to people, it is so easy for me to get sidetracked. I start telling a story, but then before I even begin, I end up giving a bit of context so that the story runs a little smoother. Once the story begins, I mention places and people, and then I find myself going off on another tangent because that place or person is tied to another interesting short story — one that people don’t want to miss, surely.

I realize that I speak in “asides,” in contradictions, and in carets (that little proofread insert mark thingy — looks like this “^”). I say one thing and then I want to turn to the person nearest to me and whisper a little joke to them. I say another thing then have to stop myself because my head ends up dealing with two contradicting ideas brawling over who is right and who is wrong. And now and again, I’ll be explaining something and suddenly have to jump back a few words to add a quick tiny idea.

And so…I’ve realized the best way for me to demonstrate my voice in writing is by using three dashes (- – -), that ultimately result into a nice thin line breaking up my thoughts in the same sentence (—). I’m pretty sure I don’t even use it correctly half the time, but it helps me get out what I want to say — so fuck it.

For anyone who has read a few of my articles, they’ll undoubtedly realize that I use these dashes religiously — in every article I’m pretty sure.

A list of examples for your lovely perusal:

• It’s definitely not that bad though — or so I tell myself. (Day 54: Input)
• And we all know those people who get super into running around the library, pulling book after book off the shelf, piling them up in their arms, swearing that they’ll read them all — yea, that’d be me. (Day 54: Input)
• Walking in, I was drawn to the beauty of the paintings — the surreal worlds that each painting created. (Day 36: Another Reality)
• Sometimes there are things that need to be said — things that need to be done — because it’s important. (Day 46: Because It’s Important)
• We don’t tell ourselves this — mostly because we like to think of ourselves as capable and independent people — but almost always, if we’re honest with ourselves, we wish there was someone who could tell us what we needed to do. (Day 49: No One is Going to Tell You How)
• I guess we should just make the most of the days when we feel good and productive — and we should take those sad and frustrating days to feel those emotions completely. (Day 56: Feeling Completely)