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Q&A Semicolon or better prose?

Word's grammar check tells me the second sentence below requires a semicolon rather than a comma “If you don’t accept your physical limitations, you will burn out.” Elena was analytical again, ...

1 answer  ·  posted 5y ago by Eric J.‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Question fiction punctuation
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T10:53:27Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/42215
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar Eric J.‭ · 2019-12-08T10:53:27Z (over 4 years ago)
Word's grammar check tells me the second sentence below requires a semicolon rather than a comma

> “If you don’t accept your physical limitations, you will burn out.” Elena was analytical again, the empathy absent from her tone.

[This accepted answer](https://writing.stackexchange.com/a/31968/8680) tells me the semi-colon is probably OK (contrary to multiple other sources cited in comments to the question), but is probably a sign that my prose needs to be reworked.

It could be lengthened to

> Elena was analytical again, and the empathy was absent from her tone.

Is my original version incorrect (why)? If I use a semi-colon as Word suggests, it would be the only one in the novel. What other options do I have to keep the sentence crisp without altering the meaning?

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-02-13T23:09:50Z (about 5 years ago)
Original score: 4