Expressing sudden interruption in written, narrative speech?
**Question**: What is the lexical technique for expressing sudden interruptions in written, narrative speech?
For example:
> I was walking down the street when— wait! Look at that!
In the example above, I use an em dash, but the interruption does not contain the magnitude that I was going for.
The mind almost never processes text in linearity, and this makes it difficult to create sudden events in written narrative speech.
Speaking however, is a sequential process that allows employing speech devices such as intonation and inflection in order to achieve a desired magnitude.
Is there a formal writing technique for expressing an interruption with a magnitude greater than that of in my example, in written narrative speech?
Hello! This is a classic case of you "overthinking" it! There is no formal terminology for abrupt transitions, it is Simply a matter of whether it is well written or not. And I too am a fan of the em dash!
