1 (edited by Dirk B. 2019-09-30 22:27:00)

Topic: Proper use of colons?

I've received conflicting feedback about my use of colons for the following sentences and am wondering if the colon is correct for one, both, or neither.

Connor quietly quoted Scripture: “Then from the smoke came locusts on the earth, and they were given authority like the authority of scorpions of the earth.”

Connor called to the heavens in a loud fearless voice: “Father, our enemies are upon us! Protect us now from the powers of Satan, so we may give you glory all the days of our lives!”

These sentences seem similar to me. In the first one, Connor is quiet and quoting. In the second, he's loud and praying. The only real difference is that the Bible quote is a single sentence, while the prayer is two sentences.

I'm inclined to use the colon for both.

Thoughts?
Dirk

Re: Proper use of colons?

A period works fine, but if you like a colon, then put a colon and move on or you’ll never get finished.

Re: Proper use of colons?

Temple Wang wrote:

A period works fine, but if you like a colon, then put a colon and move on or you’ll never get finished.

I agree.  Both work.

Re: Proper use of colons?

Temple Wang wrote:

A period works fine, but if you like a colon, then put a colon and move on or you’ll never get finished.

There's nothing wrong spending a few minutes learning new topics, especially when more experienced writers disagree on the topic.