Every time an exclamation point is used
an editor dies.
Exclamation points should be rare.
All punctuation is not created equal. Periods stop the thought. Question marks end dialogue (try not to use outside of dialogue, they can throw readers out of the story). Commas pause. Exclamation points... well, in fiction exclamation points kill things. Like your work in progress.
The first excerpt loses emotional value because there's dramatic punctuation.
All punctuation is not created equal. Periods stop the thought. Question marks end dialogue (try not to use outside of dialogue, they can throw readers out of the story). Commas pause. Exclamation points... well, in fiction exclamation points kill things. Like your work in progress.
No Need for Narration Emphasis
Exclamation points make this dark moment read like a comic book.
Next year she'd have to make friends with someone on the decorations committee so she wouldn't end up looking like part of the furnishings! Good thing she'd picked up a bit of color at the beach last weekend so at least she was visible above the strapless bodice. Still, she felt indistinguishable from her snow-white surroundings, blending in where others shined.
And wasn't that just a metaphor for her life!
- Seducing Cinderella by Gina L. Maxwell (punctuation modified)
How she really wrote it:
Next year she'd have to make friends with someone on the decorations committee so she wouldn't end up looking like part of the furnishings. Good thing she'd picked up a bit of color at the beach last weekend so at least she was visible above the strapless bodice. Still, she felt indistinguishable from her snow-white surroundings, blending in where others shined.
And wasn't that just a metaphor for her life.
- Seducing Cinderella by Gina L. Maxwell
The first excerpt loses emotional value because there's dramatic punctuation.
Little Need for Dialogue Emphasis
Exclamation points make dialogue read over-the-top. There are few exceptions.
The movie Pride & Prejudice is a great example of this. Heroine Elizabeth Bennet is a strong, confident character who speaks her mind in a respectful tone. Like when she refused her cousin's offer of marriage:
The movie Pride & Prejudice is a great example of this. Heroine Elizabeth Bennet is a strong, confident character who speaks her mind in a respectful tone. Like when she refused her cousin's offer of marriage:
"I am not the sort of female to torment a respectable man. Please understand I cannot accept you."
- Elizabeth Bennet, movie Pride & Prejudice
Now imagine if the script was written with exclamation points:
The second Elizabeth Bennet sounds an awful lot like her mother, who is written over-the-top and ridiculous on purpose. In her novel Jane Austen describes Mrs. Bennet as, "...a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper."
Be prepared for a manuscript full of Mrs. Bennets if you use exclamation points. Some readers will never forgive you.
What are the few exceptions to exclamation points in dialogue?
And other urgent, urgent matters. Exclamation points can also be used when a character is yelling across a far distance, like from rooftops or across a stadium. Same if the character is yelling over a loud noise.
But still use sparingly.
Redundant exclamation points really kill a manuscript. If every time we see Mr. X he's storming into the room and screaming! ...the reader may become bored with him because all his appearances read the same.
If surprise is always emphasized with "!!" the manuscript lacks description (in verbs; try not to fix this with several adjectives). Exclamation points do not exist to show emotion; they exist to heighten it on occasion. If readers can't tell a scene is charged with [insert emotion here] the issue is with the writing, not the punctuation.
That said, continue to write in the wake of punctuation mistakes. Every manuscript I edit will have them. I am far from perfect and there are no perfect books. Just remember if exclamation points are needed, the writing may be wrong.
Thanks for reading!
Have an opinion on exclamation points? Let's hear it!
Written by: Kristin Anders, The Romantic Editor
For similar articles, search using the below label "copyedit."
"I am not the sort of female to torment a respectable man! Please understand I cannot accept you!"
- The Elizabeth Bennet we wouldn't have liked, thankfully not in the movie Pride & Prejudice
The second Elizabeth Bennet sounds an awful lot like her mother, who is written over-the-top and ridiculous on purpose. In her novel Jane Austen describes Mrs. Bennet as, "...a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper."
Be prepared for a manuscript full of Mrs. Bennets if you use exclamation points. Some readers will never forgive you.
What are the few exceptions to exclamation points in dialogue?
"The baby's coming!"
"Look out!"
And other urgent, urgent matters. Exclamation points can also be used when a character is yelling across a far distance, like from rooftops or across a stadium. Same if the character is yelling over a loud noise.
But still use sparingly.
Can Ruin Novels
Exclamation points are often crutches, being used for the same characters or to show the same emotion.
Redundant exclamation points really kill a manuscript. If every time we see Mr. X he's storming into the room and screaming! ...the reader may become bored with him because all his appearances read the same.
If surprise is always emphasized with "!!" the manuscript lacks description (in verbs; try not to fix this with several adjectives). Exclamation points do not exist to show emotion; they exist to heighten it on occasion. If readers can't tell a scene is charged with [insert emotion here] the issue is with the writing, not the punctuation.
That said, continue to write in the wake of punctuation mistakes. Every manuscript I edit will have them. I am far from perfect and there are no perfect books. Just remember if exclamation points are needed, the writing may be wrong.
Thanks for reading!
Have an opinion on exclamation points? Let's hear it!
Written by: Kristin Anders, The Romantic Editor
For similar articles, search using the below label "copyedit."
No comments:
Post a Comment