Ellipsis...

Fact: I love the ellipsis. The what? Yes, the ellipsis.

Wikipedia says it was originally used to indicate that something was being omitted. But I'm pretty sure I use it for that about once every 100 times I use it. Wikipedia also says that it is used "to indicate a pause in speech, an unfinished thought, or, at the end of a sentence, a trailing off into silence" (which has its own name: an aposiopesis.) I would say I use it most often as an aposiopesis actually. Wikipedia says an aposiopesis is when a sentence is "deliberately broken off and left unfinished, the ending to be supplied by the imagination. ... This device often portrays its users as overcome with passion (fear, anxiety, excitement) or modesty." (Hey, look! I just used the ... to omit something!)

I love that. I love all that an ellipsis/aposiopesis stands for! The ... can transform a sentence. Take it somewhere that it couldn't go with a simple period. There is something so abrupt, so final, about a period. But an ellipsis... an ellipsis allows room and time, creates space for imagination and emotion... I love that! (Ok, so the ... may be tied with the !, just sayin'.)

I was just thinking the other day about how much I use the ol' ... and how much I enjoy it. Afte some research (I mean, I googled it, Wikipedia popped up first, and I read a few sentences...) I love it even more. So here I am, blogging, about my love for a punctuation mark ...

(Fact: I bet you're wishing I would have used the omit function of the ellipsis so this post wouldn't have been so long. Am I right?)