Me and the Marvelous E

Have you ever had a habit? No, not the outfit nuns wear. A habit, something you do over and over and over again. Have you ever had one? Some habits are good, you know, like eating an apple every day. I've heard that keeps the doctor away. Obviously, I don't eat anywhere near enough apples. Some habits are bad, like drinking a fifth of Jack Daniels every day. Not good at all for your liver. Thank goodness, Jack Daniels was never my booze of choice back in the day when I was a heavy drinker. Oh wait, do you think gin and tonic or vodka and orange juice is bad for your liver, too? Uh oh. I guess it's a good thing I never drink that kind of stuff anymore. I suppose there are some habits that fall into sort of a gray area, like biting your nails or drinking a Starbuck's cafe vanilla frappucino with extra caramel inside the cup and on top rather than eating an apple every day (not that anyone would ever do that) or popping your gum in public or whispering in church.

I have one of those, a gray area kind of habit, that is. It's a habit that involves my writing, and I'm not really sure where I picked it up. Some of you think it's the worst possible habit a writer can have, while others of you think it's kind of my trademark. And some of you have even used the word "cute" in regard to my literary habit. I'm not sure I like that description, by the way. Reaching the supreme level of cuteness isn't exactly what I was going for in my writing. For some reason that I can't quite figure out, however, I haven't been able to get my personal scribing habit out of my mind. Now that I think about it, that's sort of a profound statement, isn't it? Habits become habits, after all, when they take up residence in our minds and establish themselves as part of our daily routine. But back to the monkey on my own author-ish back.

Since many of you are gifted writers in and of your own right, I'm sure you've already guessed what my literary monkey is. Yes, my name is Terrie, and I'm completely and totally hooked on using ellipses when I write. I use them when I write notes or letters to my family and friends. I use them when I write presentations for speaking. I use them when I write books. I use them when I write posts for this blog. See here's the thing. Ellipses are fun. Ellipses are perfect to indicate a pause. Ellipses are great indicators that the thought following them is worth reading. Three little dots that pack so much meaning. Dashes don't have the power that ellipses do. Commas don't have the oomph that ellipses have. Yes, my name is Terrie, and I have a deep affinity for using ellipses when I write.

This morning, I decided that perhaps it's time to try and break my ellipses habit. I decided that perhaps it's time to try and grow up a bit as a writer. That's why my post tonight has no ellipses in it. Not even one. And you know what? It's killing me not to use them. It feels wrong to write without them. My sentences feel unnatural. Labored. Strained. Chopped. Wrong. My sentences feel wrong without my beloved ellipses. A thought just came to me. What if God writes the story of my life using ellipses? What if He puts three little dots after some of the big events to show me there's more to come? What if He uses ellipses to tell me to wait, to stay, to keep looking for what's ahead?

Growing up is way overrated ... welcome home, little dots ... welcome home, my little ellipses pals ... I missed you guys.