Google defines ellipsis as

"A regular oval shape, traced by a point moving in a plane so that the sum of its distances from two other points (the foci) is constant, or resulting when a cone is cut by an oblique plane that does not intersect the base."

Or in simple terms, it's the ... we see in writing to show a pause.

On Wattpad, we find it used multiple times in books, sometimes a little to much...

That leaves us with a question,

How do we use ellipsis properly? And when are they needed?

An ellipse can be used as a means to show a character having a trailing off of thought. For example,

"If only she had . . . Oh, it doesn't matter now"

When writing, an ellipse can be used to show a pause in the narrator's trail of thought. Or a pause in action.

He was without hope . . . desolate, empty . . . the epitome of a broken heart.

In another form, an ellipse can be used to show a characters hesitation to a situation or a conversation.

"I wasn't really . . . well, what I mean . . . see, the thing is . . . I didn't mean it."

As you can see, this makes a character's words seem more real. It makes them appear more human.

However, like an exclamation point, we don't want to see an ellipsis multiple times in one chapter of a book. It can become quite excessive.

Lets illustrate that, say your cooking a meal for someone, you make it with the best ingredients and spend hours preparing it. After your long hours of cooking, its time for the salt seasoning. You take a big salt shaker, open the lid, and poor the whole thing on the dish. Is the meal you spent so long on going to taste good? Of course not!

Similarly, an ellipse can be used to really spice up your writing, like any other uncommon punctuation tools. But, used to much, and the writing can be ruined.

So, when writing, try to only use one or two ellipsis per chapter at max.

If you feel like you need one, first think if there is another way to show a pause then to use an ellipse.

For example,

As tears trailed down her cheeks, the girl's lips quivered. "I... I don't know what to do with myself anymore... I... I feel so broken!"

Instead can be written as,

As tears spilled down her cheeks, the girl's lips quivered. "I," she stammered, "I don't know what to do with myself anymore, I-I feel so broken!"

As you can see, that didn't use a single ellipse and contained similar, if not the same emotional gravity to her words.

Quick checklist of things to remember when using ellipsis.

• Ellipsis are the three dots ... Prelude and followed by a space.

• Ellipses can be used to show a pause in a characters speaking, show a trailing off of a narrator's words, and show hesitation on the part of the character.

• Ellipses are to be used sparingly, like salt on a dish.