I’m sure the writing-folk of Tumblr have read the Vonnegut quote: “Do not use semicolons. They are transvestite hermaphrodites representing absolutely nothing. All they do is show you’ve been to college.” 

I had a workshop yesterday, and a classmate criticized my use of semicolons in his comment letter. “Semicolons are supposed to add independent clauses to an initial independent clause.” Yes, I know this. I’ve been through grammar classes. “And also about semicolons, they’re not fun to see when reading a story.” 

… 

“The most appropriate place for them to be used is in legal jargon and technical manuals.”

Please kill me before you use the phrase “technical manual” in regard to any aspect of my writing. It’ll be out of mercy. 

The comment letter goes on about how I could have used compound sentences to create relation or just periods to separate independent clauses.

I can understand the Vonnegut-imposed-stigma. I can understand how the semicolon can seem pretentious, but I’ve been using semicolons all over my writing since the 6th grade (when I figured out its correct usage from books and trial and error). Semicolons are inextricably involved in my writing process. I’d have to consciously make an effort to stop using them. When I first started writing, I wrote mostly poetry and, thus, read a massive amount of it; I’d go to my library and just pick random poets off the shelf, so punctuation didn’t just hold a grammatical function to me anymore. It began to serve a rhythmic function. And besides, there’s something really lovely about the creating a relationship between two seemingly unconnected clauses. I think so, at least.

I’m just curious to see what other writers have to say about this. 

Does the semicolon have a place in Creative Writing?