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Exclamation Marks

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Paul Whybrow

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This article from the Guardian, written by Elena Ferrante, about the use of exclamation marks in writing, had me scurrying to my WIP to check how many I've used in 29,000 words.

Elena Ferrante: ‘I make an effort never to exaggerate with an exclamation mark’

The answer is one, and that had been made by a dead forger who added an exclamation mark to her own signature in the corner of a painting she'd copied, as a protest.

I've long known that exclamation marks are frowned upon by writing gurus. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said:

Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”

Usually, it's possible to indicate shock, fear and anger by word choice.

I admit that I use exclamation marks in emails to friends, which are more colloquially phrased...and also in posts on the Colony! :p

Do you overindulge in exclamation marks?

literature-punctuation-exclamation_mark-editor-publisher-publishing-shrn3122_low.jpg
 
I advise you to be dubious of all advice.

Do you overindulge in exclamation marks?

I have at least one character who overindulges in exclamation marks. There are people who punctuate everything they say with exclamation marks in real life, why wouldn't there be in fiction? But that's in dialogue.
 
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This article from the Guardian, written by Elena Ferrante, about the use of exclamation marks in writing, had me scurrying to my WIP to check how many I've used in 29,000 words.

Elena Ferrante: ‘I make an effort never to exaggerate with an exclamation mark’

The answer is one, and that had been made by a dead forger who added an exclamation mark to her own signature in the corner of a painting she'd copied, as a protest.

I've long known that exclamation marks are frowned upon by writing gurus. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said:

Cut out all these exclamation points. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.”

Usually, it's possible to indicate shock, fear and anger by word choice.

I admit that I use exclamation marks in emails to friends, which are more colloquially phrased...and also in posts on the Colony! :p

Do you overindulge in exclamation marks?

literature-punctuation-exclamation_mark-editor-publisher-publishing-shrn3122_low.jpg
Paul - 'hah' (or maybe - hah!!) I thought, reading your post, I hardly ever use exclamation marks. So I did a search on my novel and found 29 in 97,000 words. Which freaked me a bit, until on further reflection I realised that (a) some appear in Communist party slogans, either posted in public places or quoted by my characters (so that's just authentic...I hope) and (b) their use is otherwise exclusively in the dialogue of three characters, one of whom is 7 years old and a bit excitable, one who has monomania, and the third is a drunk who likes to tease people. Nice to be made aware of that, though - that I have essentially (over?)used them as a method of characterisation...
 
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