We have made every effort to simplify the process of converting to curly quotes, but there are certain situations that may still require special attention.
The combination of em dashes and curly quotes is one of those more complex situations since, according to the Chicago Manual of Style, the use of curly quotes with em dashes can vary depending on whether they indicate a break in thought or sentence structure within the narrative or an interruption in dialogue. Here are the guidelines for using em dashes in relation to quotation marks:
If the em dash belongs to the narrative and not the dialogue, it should be placed outside of the quotation marks.
Example: She couldn't believe what she had just witnessed—“It was absolutely astonishing,” she exclaimed. (Curly quotes would point away from the em dash.)
If the em dash belongs to the dialogue, it should be placed inside the quotation marks.
Example: “I can't believe you—” she began, but he interrupted her. (Curly quotes would point toward the em dash.)
It's important to note that accurately determining whether the em dash should be inside or outside the quotation marks often requires a deeper understanding of the context, and automated algorithms may not always make the correct determination. Therefore, manual corrections may be necessary in these situations to ensure proper usage of em dashes.
In such cases, you can replace the incorrect mark directly with the appropriate one from within Atticus by either copying and pasting it, or by using the keyboard shortcuts. For more information on keyboard shortcuts, you can visit: https://www.atticus.io/keyboard-shortcuts-for-atticus/
Another possible solution would be to use find and replace (the magnifying glass in the right sidebar) to search for the incorrect combination and replace it with the correct combination pasted from the text or typed using shortcodes. If you use a combination of em dashes inside and outside of the dialogue, however, you’ll want to be sure to review each replacement rather than using replace all.