If I Were Your Writing Coach, I’d Take Away Your Exclamation Point

 

Exclamation point abuse! It happens to far too many writers! It seems they just can’t help themselves!

Okay, look, you get one exclamation point per year or per book. That’s it. And I just used up my three-year allotment. Unless you are illustrating a point of a character who always seems to be in exclamatory mode, a character who is a joke and a punchline, then you might use more exclamation points to show what an idiot he is. Otherwise, just don’t. Exclamation points should be treated like saffron: Just a few bits go a very long way.

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  1. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    What!!!

    • #1
  2. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Did I use up my annual quota with my post “Florida, Florida, Florida!”?  https://ricochet.com/804966/florida-florida-florida/

    • #2
  3. CB Toder aka Mama Toad Member
    CB Toder aka Mama Toad
    @CBToderakaMamaToad

    Okay… but don’t touch my elipses…

    • #3
  4. cirby Inactive
    cirby
    @cirby

    One of my supporting characters is a very punctuation-heavy sort of girl.

    Everything she says is either exclamation pointed, question marked, or run-on sentenced to death. With in-universe commentary by the other characters about her speech patterns.

     

    • #4
  5. Percival Thatcher
    Percival
    @Percival

    I get as many as I want. I just don’t want many.

    • #5
  6. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Did I use up my annual quota with my post “Florida, Florida, Florida!”? https://ricochet.com/804966/florida-florida-florida/

    Annual? No. Lifetime? YES! 😜

    • #6
  7. Gary Robbins Member
    Gary Robbins
    @GaryRobbins

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Did I use up my annual quota with my post “Florida, Florida, Florida!”? https://ricochet.com/804966/florida-florida-florida/

    Annual? No. Lifetime? YES! 😜

    You have made * very, very happy.

    • #7
  8. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    CB Toder aka Mama Toad (View Comment):

    Okay… but don’t touch my elipses…

    I have to admit to ellipsis abuse on my own part.

    • #8
  9. cirby Inactive
    cirby
    @cirby

    Arahant (View Comment):

    CB Toder aka Mama Toad (View Comment):

    Okay… but don’t touch my elipses…

    I have to admit to ellipsis abuse on my own part.

    That’s my worst writing habit, and I’ve been trying to murder it for quite some time. After a writing session, I do a search for ellipses and act accordingly.

     

    • #9
  10. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    cirby (View Comment):

    One of my supporting characters is a very punctuation-heavy sort of girl.

    Everything she says is either exclamation pointed, question marked, or run-on sentenced to death. With in-universe commentary by the other characters about her speech patterns.

    That is an appropriate usage.

    Seriously, besides Gary’s Florida post, I have seen this recently in a couple of works of fiction. Exclamation points really should be fairly rare. One might go with an “Oh my God! Where’d that dinosaur come from?” But in general conversation using them to show that someone is enthusiastic is making a mountain out of a mole hill. There are other ways to show it. Unless it’s a character like that or a T. rexnado, avoid them.

    • #10
  11. Vance Richards Inactive
    Vance Richards
    @VanceRichards

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Did I use up my annual quota with my post “Florida, Florida, Florida!”? https://ricochet.com/804966/florida-florida-florida/

    I mean, how often do we get use the word juxtaposition?

    • #11
  12. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    Is there a lifetime quota on exclamation points no matter the type of writing?

    Please don’t say zero.

    Go Celtics!

    • #12
  13. Guruforhire Inactive
    Guruforhire
    @Guruforhire

    Cold dead hands

    • #13
  14. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Vance Richards (View Comment):
    I mean, how often do we get use the word juxtaposition?

    More like inspiration. 😁

    • #14
  15. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    Is there a lifetime quota on exclamation points no matter the type of writing?

    Please don’t say zero.

    Go Celtics!

    There are certain situations where they are always appropriate.

    War eagle!

    • #15
  16. Hoyacon Member
    Hoyacon
    @Hoyacon

    I’d rather ban those who call it an “exclamation mark.” 

    • #16
  17. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    I’d rather ban those who call it an “exclamation mark.”

    I don’t know. Now that I think about it, a character named Mark who exclaimed all the time would have a built-in name.

    • #17
  18. Michael S. Malone Member
    Michael S. Malone
    @MichaelSMalone

    Arahant:

    Exclamation point abuse! It happens to far too many writers! It seems they just can’t help themselves!

    Okay, look, you get one exclamation point per year or per book. That’s it. And I just used up my three-year allotment. Unless you are illustrating a point of a character who always seems to be in exclamatory mode, a character who is a joke and a punchline, then you might use more exclamation points to show what an idiot he is. Otherwise, just don’t. Exclamation points should be treated like saffron. Just a few bits go a very long way.

    I teach my professional writing students that they should never put an exclamation point in their exposition.  That it is insulting to the reader to tell him or her how to react to what they are reading.  That the only time to use a “!” is in a direct quote when someone is shouting or screaming.

    • #18
  19. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Michael S. Malone (View Comment):
    I teach my professional writing students that they should never put an exclamation point in their exposition. That it is insulting to the reader to tell him or her how to react to what they are reading. That the only time to use a “!” is in a direct quote when someone is shouting or screaming.

    Exactly.

    • #19
  20. Mark Camp Member
    Mark Camp
    @MarkCamp

    Arahant (View Comment):

    Hoyacon (View Comment):

    I’d rather ban those who call it an “exclamation mark.”

    I don’t know. Now that I think about it, a character named Mark who exclaimed all the time would have a built-in name.

    And does. But my close friends call me question mark.

    • #20
  21. Boss Mongo Member
    Boss Mongo
    @BossMongo

    Guruforhire (View Comment):

    Cold dead hands!

    FIFY.

     

    • #21
  22. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Arahant (View Comment):

    CB Toder aka Mama Toad (View Comment):

    Okay… but don’t touch my elipses…

    I have to admit to ellipsis abuse on my own part

    FIFY

    • #22
  23. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    Mark Camp (View Comment):
    But my close friends call me question mark.

    Much better than being an Exclamation Mark.

    • #23
  24. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    I see you are having a lot of fun with these grammatical posts!  Good for you!  Did you know that exclamatory punctuation can also indicate sarcasm!?!  Like in the infamous 2016 campaign of ¡Jeb! – we all knew he didn’t mean it when he was running!  But would you say that USING ALL CAPS AS WELL AS EXCLAMATION POINTS IS DOUBLE-PLUS SHOUTING¡?!  I’VE never been ENTIRELY CLEAR on this POINT!

    • #24
  25. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Michael S. Malone (View Comment):

    Arahant:

    Exclamation point abuse! It happens to far too many writers! It seems they just can’t help themselves!

    Okay, look, you get one exclamation point per year or per book. That’s it. And I just used up my three-year allotment. Unless you are illustrating a point of a character who always seems to be in exclamatory mode, a character who is a joke and a punchline, then you might use more exclamation points to show what an idiot he is. Otherwise, just don’t. Exclamation points should be treated like saffron. Just a few bits go a very long way.

    I teach my professional writing students that they should never put an exclamation point in their exposition. That it is insulting to the reader to tell him or her how to react to what they are reading. That the only time to use a “!” is in a direct quote when someone is shouting or screaming.

    Some professional writing is shouting and screaming! (natch)  At least for the paid flacks that inhabit Twitter.

    • #25
  26. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    SkipSul (View Comment):
    ¡JEB!

    ¡FTFY!

    • #26
  27. Arahant Member
    Arahant
    @Arahant

    SkipSul (View Comment):
    I see you are having a lot of fun with these grammatical posts.

    Sure. Why not?

    • #27
  28. SkipSul Inactive
    SkipSul
    @skipsul

    Vance Richards (View Comment):

    Gary Robbins (View Comment):

    Did I use up my annual quota with my post “Florida, Florida, Florida!”? https://ricochet.com/804966/florida-florida-florida/

    I mean, how often do we get use the word juxtaposition?

    I’ve noticed a few such instances here over the years.

    • #28
  29. CB Toder aka Mama Toad Member
    CB Toder aka Mama Toad
    @CBToderakaMamaToad

    CB Toder aka Mama Toad (View Comment):

    Okay… but don’t touch my elipses…

    Oops… ellipsis abuse above (I misspelled the word ellipses)…ellipses abuse? ellipsis abuse? do I overuse the question mark?

    • #29
  30. CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker Coolidge
    CarolJoy, Thread Hijacker
    @CarolJoy

    Just you go ahead and try it, Buster…

    !!!!!!!!!!

    • #30
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