!?!

[pmmg]

What do we think about using punctuation in rapid succession in our prose, such as:

"What the heck are you talking about!?!" Charlie exclaimed.

Good? Bad? Don't use?!..Go for it?!? It depends...

 

[skip.knox]

It definitely depends--on genre, audience, etc.--but I received some advice in graduate school that I took to heart and I believe it has served me well.

Don't rely on typography for emphasis.

It would be easy to attribute this to stodgy history professors and only applicable in academic writing, but I've found it useful in my fiction writing.

Specifically because it forces me to find words to do the work instead. So, rather than bold or italics or an exclamation mark, I try to phrase the sentence or clause in such a way as it reads more important or louder than it would otherwise. Make the words do the work.

This doesn't always work and I don't always notice myself using an exclamation point (the most frequent transgressor), but it has happened often enough that I do think it's contributed to an improvement in my prose.

As for piling on, all that I just said applies double or triple.

"What the heck are you talking about!?"
Charlie's voice rose with the question and he waved his arms wildly like a drowning man. He was obviously frustrated, but all Rebecca could do was laugh.

There's no room for elaboration when you rely on punctuation.

 

[Penpilot]

For me, it depends. I think something like that best fits stories with a lighthearted slant or instances where a lighthearted tone is being conveyed. It's hard for me to imagine it being used in a dramatic scene, because seeing something like that on the page reminds me of comicbooks and children's cartoons.

 

[AlexS]

The best way to show mood and emotion in dialogue is with the words themselves.
The second-best is by the dialogue tag ('she exclaimed', 'he whispered solemnly', etc)
Punctuation is a distant third.

 

[Karlin]

“Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind.”​

― Terry Pratchett, Eric

 

[A. E. Lowan]

“Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind.”​

― Terry Pratchett, Eric

Said the man with four monitors before it was even a thing.

I will use them, but I'm super selective as to where and how. Usually it comes out as a way to convey complexity of tone, like ?!? or !?!, which sound differently. One is confusion mixed with aggression, and the other is angry confusion.

But, just in case that's not nearly enough punctuation for you, the Lang and Lit crowd have some to offer you.

 

[Demesnedenoir]

Gross outside of maybe a children’s book and then max of 2. Cartoon strips excluded as special case.

 

[pmmg]

Said the man with four monitors before it was even a thing.

I will use them, but I'm super selective as to where and how. Usually it comes out as a way to convey complexity of tone, like ?!? or !?!, which sound differently. One is confusion mixed with aggression, and the other is angry confusion.

But, just in case that's not nearly enough punctuation for you, the Lang and Lit crowd have some to offer you.

View attachment 4050

I accept, but are they on my keybaord?

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I accept, but are they on my keybaord?

Yup! Most of those punctuation marks have Word Alt codes included just to the side of each. I type Alt codes... a whole lot. About a quarter of our cast seems to have them, so I will either hotkey what I need or just type them as normal if I'm moving along too fast to mess with it. I also have the em-dash hot keyed, because I have no fear of gods or men.

 

[JBCrowson]

I think this is an area that is likely to change, perhaps is already. People have become accustomed to emojis and the text renditions of them, so <3 them or not, the typographic lexicon is expanding. Personally, I use single questions marks and rarely single exclamation marks. Not only do I not fear Gods or men I believe in neither!

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I think this is an area that is likely to change, perhaps is already. People have become accustomed to emojis and the text renditions of them, so <3 them or not, the typographic lexicon is expanding. Personally, I use single questions marks and rarely single exclamation marks. Not only do I not fear Gods or men I believe in neither!

Gods... yeah, sure. I can believe in them. Men...? You know, there's merit to both sides of the discussion, but I think there's more evidence that they exist that the government won't let us see. I mean, there's signs of them all over the place, like scattering seeds... or beer cans. Lots of sightings, too, but that could just be another unicorn thing.

 

[pmmg]

Foolish deceived woman. We just know where to hide. We are almost as good as Bigfoot at hide and seek.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Foolish deceived woman. We just know where to hide. We are almost as good as Bigfoot at hide and seek.

I hear they're getting a sasquatch to head the Are Men Real and Why Do We Care Institute of Modern Skepticism.

 

[pmmg]

You care, you know it.

Without men, and their stupidity, what would we write about? The world needs them.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

You care, you know it.

Without men, and their stupidity, what would we write about? The world needs them.

Totally agree. Comic relief is always welcome. Got to train the war bears on something.

 

[JBCrowson]

I mean, there's signs of them all over the place, like scattering seeds... or beer cans. Lots of sightings, too, but that could just be another unicorn thing.

I think sightings of men are really unicorns, think about it. Men supposedly have this big thing sticking up out the front of them - sounds suspiciously unicorn-like to me. And beer cans? Ha! Like shopping carts, they are both sentient and capable of independent movement, but freeze when observed, so they definitely don't need men to spread themselves around. When you add in the fact the earliest human remains to date were of a lady called Lucy, it all starts to add up.

 

[Prince of Spires]

Gods... yeah, sure. I can believe in them. Men...? You know, there's merit to both sides of the discussion, but I think there's more evidence that they exist that the government won't let us see. I mean, there's signs of them all over the place, like scattering seeds... or beer cans. Lots of sightings, too, but that could just be another unicorn thing.

It should be noted that astronomers have discovered over 6.000 planets. No men have been observed on any of them. At this point, it's safe to assume that any sightings of men is either an error, made up, or a statistical anomaly. Though, it should be noted that the same goes for women....

As for !?! or variations thereof (in a futile attempt to get back on topic), I personally don't use them, in the same way that I don't include emoji's in my text. I think the intent of a line should be clear from the writing itself. Also, if you use 1, then it will look silly. If you use 1 per page, then it probably also looks silly. If you're somewhere in between that, then readers will just accept that it's your style of writing.

 

[Kassandra]

Hopefully, not all !?! at once.

I've heard that nowadays, this is looked down upon.
However, each time I read a book, if I read:
"Get out of here!" or
"Get out of here," he yelled, or
"Get out of here," he smashed the door.

Well... The first one is the one that's going to yell at me.

 

[Naruzeldamaster]

What do we think about using punctuation in rapid succession in our prose, such as:

"What the heck are you talking about!?!" Charlie exclaimed.

Good? Bad? Don't use?!..Go for it?!? It depends...

I use it if it makes sense for the character, but I try to use it sparingly since some folks frown on it.
I don't think I'd go !?! if just !? was enough to get the point across though. Same with three question marks, why bother with three when two will get the same point across?

Side question, but still on topic, how do we feel about using Tilde (~) to denote a sing song/chipper/teasing voice?

I've been trying to be better about not spamming the thing, but I've been using it when it fits.

 

[skip.knox]

There are numerous grammar guides that will say when to use an exclamation mark. None of them will recommend using multiple punctuation marks together.

I don't want to give the impression that exclamation marks ought never be used. They ought to be used to end a sentence (never in the middle)--same as periods and question marks. As the name implies, they come at the end of an exclamatory sentence. They can also come at the end of a command.

All rules can be broken by those who know what they're doing. If you are unsure, then you're not the one to be breaking them, just yet.