Writers should pay attention to the ellipsis. It's frequently encountered, used and misused -- but seldom thought about.
An ellipsis (plural is “ellipses”) is a series of three dots that can have several purposes, be governed by several standards, and appear in several forms.
- I use three dots with no spacing (…) to indicate a pause, or a trailing-off into another phrase.
- I use three dots with spaces (. . .) to indicate an omission.
- If the omission is at the end of a sentence, I use four, like . . . .
Some authorities, including The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, recommend using smaller-than-normal “thin” spaces between the dots in an ellipsis. The difference is very subtle, so I don’t bother. The Chicago Manual of Style has a lot about ellipses -- probably more than anyone needs to know.
Adopt a standard (a "style") that makes sense to you, and be consistent within a book.
Yes, I know that the ellipsis is not necessarily elusive, but I like the alliteration, so I used it for the blog title.