Stop Blaming the Em Dash: How Writers Keep Their Voice in an AI-Suspicious Era
Let's get this out of the way: I overuse em dashes - and I'm friendly with semicolons. Not to be cute, but because they carry rhythm. A half-beat here, a hinge between two thoughts there. The timing matters.
That style now gets flagged as "AI." Ironic, since AI learned a lot of it by chewing through human books without asking. The bigger problem isn't punctuation; it's that our tools now second-guess the very choices that make a voice a voice.
The Semicolon "Ban" and Why Writing Is Music
I've heard professors ban semicolons as "indecisive." That misses the point. Good writing is musical - cadence, tension, release - and punctuation is percussion. If it serves clarity and rhythm, it stays.
The rule is simple: use anything that sharpens meaning and keeps the beat. If a comma muddies it, try a semicolon. If a period slams the door too early, use a dash. There are plenty of melodies; pick the one that says what you meant.
Why Style Now Looks Suspicious
AI made a mess of the vibe check. Readers and editors are jumpy, so anything familiar - like a streak of em dashes - gets side-eyed. Disclaimers don't help; "No AI used" reads like hiding something.
Bad idea: outsourcing trust to a "certification" logo. Who certifies the certifiers - and what are they using behind the scenes? Even Word's Copilot chimes in with safe synonyms that don't mean the same thing. Helpful, until it isn't.
What Actually Feels Machine-Written
- A flat, affectless tone that never risks a specific opinion.
- Generic transitions and clichés that smooth everything into mush.
- Even sentence lengths; no breath, no punch, no surprise.
- Vague nouns and empty verbs ("leverage solutions for improvement").
- No lived detail - no senses, no stakes, no moment you couldn't fake.
- Over-explaining the obvious; nothing left for the reader to do.
Keep Your Voice: A Practical Checklist
- Draft without helpers. Write the first pass in your own headspace. Use tools after the idea exists.
- Read it aloud. Mark where you naturally pause, push, or pivot - then match punctuation to the breath.
- Create a personal style sheet. Note your go-to moves (dashes, fragments, long lines) and why you use them.
- Add "receipts." Specific names, numbers, scenes, or sensory beats nobody else would write the same way.
- Vary the tempo. Mix short lines with longer runs; one-sentence paragraphs are allowed when they earn it.
- Audit transitions. Replace filler like "furthermore" with sharper turns or structure the paragraph so you don't need them.
- Tool rule: accept suggestions only if you can defend them. If a swap changes meaning or tone, decline.
- Keep versions. Save drafts before and after any AI assist to show lineage - useful for clients and editors.
- Note your process in briefs and proposals. "Human-written draft, optional AI pass for idea expansion, final human rewrite." Clarity builds trust.
Em Dashes vs. Semicolons: Use With Intent
- Em dash - breaks the frame to add energy, contrast, or a sharp aside.
- Semicolon; joins two complete thoughts when the link matters more than the full stop.
If you want a quick refresher that isn't prescriptive, these are solid:
Using AI Without Losing Yourself
- Idea expansion, outlines, and alternatives - fine. Keep the argument and voice yours.
- Rewrite everything it gives you. If you wouldn't say it out loud, it doesn't make the cut.
- Never outsource the take. Tools can suggest paths; you decide what's true and what lands.
- If you need tool recommendations, vet them with intent - here's a useful overview for writers: AI tools for copywriting.
The Line That Matters
We should value the human voice like any other natural resource - scarce, shaped by time, and worth protecting. The giveaway isn't an em dash; it's whether anything alive is on the page.
Write what only you can write. Keep your quirks. Boring is the bot tell; specificity is your proof of life.
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