I laughed—then paused.
And then I felt… weirdly offended.
Because I use em dashes. A lot. I also use en dashes, hyphens, semicolons, and ellipses (LOTS of ellipses). I can’t help it, I’m Gen X—I love punctuation—like, really love it. So when I heard that comment, it felt like someone had just walked into my kitchen, tasted my cooking, and said, “This tastes too good. It must’ve come from a box.”
And then I felt… weirdly offended.
Because I use em dashes. A lot. I also use en dashes, hyphens, semicolons, and ellipses (LOTS of ellipses). I can’t help it, I’m Gen X—I love punctuation—like, really love it. So when I heard that comment, it felt like someone had just walked into my kitchen, tasted my cooking, and said, “This tastes too good. It must’ve come from a box.”
Why It Stings When People Think It's AI
So yeah, when someone assumes my writing is AI-generated because of a punctuation choice, I get twitchy. Not because I hate AI—it’s a tool like any other. But writing is personal to me. It's how I make meaning out of the million thoughts racing through my head.
In case you didn’t know, English isn’t my first language. I had to EARN fluency—the rhythm, the nuance, the melody of it. I had to learn how to make words correct AND compelling.
That’s why I care if you think what I wrote is machine-made. Because it’s not. It’s blood, sweat, and em dashes.
So yeah, when someone assumes my writing is AI-generated because of a punctuation choice, I get twitchy. Not because I hate AI—it’s a tool like any other. But writing is personal to me. It's how I make meaning out of the million thoughts racing through my head.
In case you didn’t know, English isn’t my first language. I had to EARN fluency—the rhythm, the nuance, the melody of it. I had to learn how to make words correct AND compelling.
That’s why I care if you think what I wrote is machine-made. Because it’s not. It’s blood, sweat, and em dashes.
Why I Write
I write to process, to preserve, and to play. I write when I’m heartbroken. I write when I’m furious. I write when I’m buzzing with ideas that might disappear. Writing is my way out of the chaos and into clarity.
I write to entertain, sure, but I also want to make people feel. I want them to read stories that make people feel less alone in their weirdness, their worry, their ambitions.
I write to connect. Even though we live in a world saturated with content, real connection still feels rare. And precious.
Do I also write to sell things? Yes. I write to promote, persuade, and position ideas. But even in marketing, I don’t aim for manipulation. I believe in resonance. If you connect with what I’m saying, if it feels true to you, or nudges a shift—that’s the win.
I write to shape the world I want to live in.
There’s nothing like the moment when someone says, “I read your post, and I felt that.” When someone tells me they laughed, cried, or even just paused to think because of something I wrote? My heart goes pitter-patter.
I write to process, to preserve, and to play. I write when I’m heartbroken. I write when I’m furious. I write when I’m buzzing with ideas that might disappear. Writing is my way out of the chaos and into clarity.
I write to entertain, sure, but I also want to make people feel. I want them to read stories that make people feel less alone in their weirdness, their worry, their ambitions.
I write to connect. Even though we live in a world saturated with content, real connection still feels rare. And precious.
Do I also write to sell things? Yes. I write to promote, persuade, and position ideas. But even in marketing, I don’t aim for manipulation. I believe in resonance. If you connect with what I’m saying, if it feels true to you, or nudges a shift—that’s the win.
I write to shape the world I want to live in.
There’s nothing like the moment when someone says, “I read your post, and I felt that.” When someone tells me they laughed, cried, or even just paused to think because of something I wrote? My heart goes pitter-patter.
Where It All Began
I’ve been writing since elementary school, ever since I got that first pink Hello Kitty diary. I don’t remember this at all, but my dad does. He tells me so. I moved on to notebooks, to blogs, and now social media.
My love affair with punctuation started the day Mike LaNoue handed me a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves two decades ago. That book turned me into a full-blown punctuation snob, and I have zero regrets.
I care about grammar, too. Just ask Marcia and Laura—we’ve been sharing grammar memes back since back in the days when you actually had to email them.
Do I flub spelling or grammar sometimes? Sure. But I also break the rules on purpose—Stephen King says that’s allowed.
I’ve been writing since elementary school, ever since I got that first pink Hello Kitty diary. I don’t remember this at all, but my dad does. He tells me so. I moved on to notebooks, to blogs, and now social media.
My love affair with punctuation started the day Mike LaNoue handed me a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves two decades ago. That book turned me into a full-blown punctuation snob, and I have zero regrets.
I care about grammar, too. Just ask Marcia and Laura—we’ve been sharing grammar memes back since back in the days when you actually had to email them.
Do I flub spelling or grammar sometimes? Sure. But I also break the rules on purpose—Stephen King says that’s allowed.
The Process
I write when I’m inspired, when I’m exhausted, and often when I’ve had a glass of wine (or six). I write late at night, when the world quiets down, but the thoughts haven’t.
You have no idea how many hundreds of drafts sit on my computer, incomplete. Or how many words, sentence fragments, and ideas sit in notebooks or scraps of paper strewn across my desk. I have a bank of words and phrases that spark something in me. I stash them away, hoping to use them one day.
I write fast and messy, and then I edit when I’m sober.
And yes—I do use AI tools. Grammarly, ChatGPT. I treat them like a thesaurus or a smart friend who can help me say the thing I’m trying to say more clearly, not a ghostwriter. They help me catch typos and sharpen phrasing. But I don’t just copy-paste what they suggest. I cull. I curate. I rewrite, rework, and revise until it feels right in my bones.
And if AI tries to sneak in too many em dashes? Trust me—I’ll still be the one deciding which ones stay.
I write when I’m inspired, when I’m exhausted, and often when I’ve had a glass of wine (or six). I write late at night, when the world quiets down, but the thoughts haven’t.
You have no idea how many hundreds of drafts sit on my computer, incomplete. Or how many words, sentence fragments, and ideas sit in notebooks or scraps of paper strewn across my desk. I have a bank of words and phrases that spark something in me. I stash them away, hoping to use them one day.
I write fast and messy, and then I edit when I’m sober.
And yes—I do use AI tools. Grammarly, ChatGPT. I treat them like a thesaurus or a smart friend who can help me say the thing I’m trying to say more clearly, not a ghostwriter. They help me catch typos and sharpen phrasing. But I don’t just copy-paste what they suggest. I cull. I curate. I rewrite, rework, and revise until it feels right in my bones.
And if AI tries to sneak in too many em dashes? Trust me—I’ll still be the one deciding which ones stay.
Who Inspires Me
Writers leave fingerprints on me. Not because I tried to copy them, but because I studied them. I asked questions: Why does this line hit so hard? Why does this joke land? Why does this feel true, even when it’s fiction? Every time I found an answer, I came away a little changed—my voice a little sharper, my ear a little keener.
Writers leave fingerprints on me. Not because I tried to copy them, but because I studied them. I asked questions: Why does this line hit so hard? Why does this joke land? Why does this feel true, even when it’s fiction? Every time I found an answer, I came away a little changed—my voice a little sharper, my ear a little keener.
- Jasmine Star taught me how to engage. Her captions read like conversations over coffee—warm, direct, and a little bit caffeinated. From her, I learned that connection isn’t just nice; it’s the best conversion tool out there.
- Stephen King taught me that storytelling isn’t about monsters or plot twists. It’s about people—their fears, flaws, and fragile attempts to do the right thing.
- Anthony Bourdain taught me how to feel life. His words were visceral: greasy spoon diners, cigarette smoke, jet lag, laughter in languages he barely spoke. From him, I learned to write with curiosity, respect, and just enough dark humor to cut the sweetness.
- Sam Parr and Shaan Puri taught me persuasion—the art of making ideas sticky. They showed me how simplicity sells, how personality converts, and how honesty (the well-edited kind) builds trust faster than any call-to-action ever could.
- Rob Johnson taught me how to impress an academic audience. He taught me how to write with precision. From him, I learned that in academia, words aren’t just tools; they’re credentials. You can’t just say something—you have to support, substantiate, and situate it within a theoretical framework. He showed me that clarity doesn’t mean dumbing things down. Also, I learned that if you just sprinkle in phrases like learning outcomes, retention rate, and student-centered learning—and suddenly, you sound like you know what you’re talking about. (Spoiler: sometimes I actually do.)
- And then there’s Dave Barry. God bless Dave Barry. And then there’s Dave Barry. God bless Dave Barry. He taught me that humor has gravity—that it’s not a detour from meaning but another road to it. The best jokes don’t just make you laugh—they make you nod in recognition.
- Jerry Burchfield taught me to write with grace and diplomacy. From him, I learned that words can build bridges just as easily as they can burn them—and that choosing the right tone is often more powerful than choosing the right argument. He had a way of softening truth without diluting it, of standing firm without sounding combative.
I didn’t pull my writing style out of thin air. It came from years of trial and error, of writing things nobody read and a few things people did. My voice was built, not born. It’s a patchwork of everything I’ve loved, questioned, underlined, and rewritten. A thousand stories, observations, missteps, and accidental mentors stitched together into one ongoing experiment: me, learning how to say what I mean—and mean it beautifully. Work still in progress.
Here’s what I know
Use the tools if they help. Ask for feedback. Read the writers who shake something loose in you. But never let convenience replace connection. That part has to come from you—your humor, your history, your heartbreak.
It’s half language, half theater—and entirely about understanding your audience.
Because words matter. And how they make people feel? That matters even more.
Oh—and yes. I know the keyboard shortcut for an em dash on a Mac: Option + Shift + Hyphen.
You're welcome. 🙃
Use the tools if they help. Ask for feedback. Read the writers who shake something loose in you. But never let convenience replace connection. That part has to come from you—your humor, your history, your heartbreak.
It’s half language, half theater—and entirely about understanding your audience.
Because words matter. And how they make people feel? That matters even more.
Oh—and yes. I know the keyboard shortcut for an em dash on a Mac: Option + Shift + Hyphen.
You're welcome. 🙃
