Hi Bob,

Yes, you've honed on another of my dilemmas - that 'but I'.

I have decided (in my capriciousness) that I don't like using the 3 ellipses
to signal a trailing off of the voice (I'm happy to use them for etc etc,
but not for the faltering). I thought about using other devices but couldn't
decide on anything that appealed to me, so I decided in my pig headedness
that I wouldn't use anything - just stop. I know this is an awkwardness for
the reader - the sort of thing they may have to read a couple of times to be
sure it is intended, but that seems different to awkwardness because of a
clumsy word, for instance (I'm full of self justification on this, so KNOW I
must be on shaky ground LOLOL.

I'll probably weaken, but for the moment ...

Cheers and thanks Bob - it's a genuine issue you've drawn attention to and I
really haven't resolved it to my own satisfaction at this point.

I'll work on it.

Frank



> Hi Frank,
> A canny poem!
> A suggestion (slight ammendation...) where you write:
> "but I
>
> he said
> I wonder what she's doing now"
> may be helped if it included three dots:
> "but I...
>
> he said
> I wonder what she's doing now"
>
> or if the stanza break were different:
>
> (BREAK THE STANZA HERE)
> "but I
> he said
> I wonder what she's doing now"
>
> I feel you're emphasising the pause but I'm just wondering about how you
> show it.
> Bob
>