Skip to content
Mar 2 / King Kaufman

Quote of the Day: The only rule you’ll ever need

,

Here is a lesson in creative writing. First rule: Do not use semicolons … All they do is show you’ve been to college.
—Kurt Vonnegut

Comments are closed.

Filed under Quote of the Day
  • Matt Saccaro

    I’ve seen good writers use semicolons. Why the hate, King? And aren’t we NOT creative writers since we’re not writing fiction?

  • http://www.facebook.com/rwarrell Richard Warrell

    I’d be inclined to disagree on this one. Overuse of semicolons is something of a problem amongst a lot of writers, but it is also there to be used.

    I would say a better line would be “Stop and think, do you really need that semicolon?”

  • http://twitter.com/timcoughlin Tim Coughlin

    (Or that you don’t know how to use them.)

  • Anonymous

    Why would the semicolon be in existence if it is not intended to be used? That’s like saying “don’t use the period because it makes you seem pretentious.”

    The use of the semicolon is important; it helps people seem distinguished and regal haha.

  • Mohamed Al-hendy

    Yea, I enjoy the semi-colon…it helps diversify my sentences. Too many gets annoying, but surely moderate use can’t be that bad?

  • http://bleacherreport.com/ Greg Pearl

    Who knew punctuation could be so polarizing? I’m in favor of the “everything in moderation” movement also. But I like hyphens too…