[stylist] Exclamation points

Tue Apr 30 16:28:54 UTC 2013

Bridgit,
Thanks for the explanation. It sounds like your professor was into
experimentation and using new ways of visually implicating emphasis ... I
hope, in addition to and not totally in place of the occasional and
time-honored exclamation point. In terms of using the dash to connote a
slight passage of time, I prefer the ellipses, but I think every writer must
come to some understanding of all of this as a matter of personal style. I
believe it was Gertrude Stein who was famous for not using commas.
Personally, I don't want to go there. 

I still don't like all caps. The only time I can personally justify that
approach is when the word is itself a sound that happens outside of the
narrative. I think Rowling does this with "BAM." I've never used it,
however, in all of my years of writing.

In your earlier post, you also mentioned italics and boldface, both of which
I believe should be used with the utmost of caution and never for creating
the sense of emphasis. In my novel, I use italics twice, and in both cases
it is for the title of a book mentioned in the text. Were I to then use it
to connote emphasis, its rule in setting off titles would be compromised.
Likewise, 

boldface is used in my book only for chapter titles. If the concept of
having the technique be unintrusive or unobtrusive is at all a part of the
discussion, I am baffled at the use of boldface. In PR writing boldface is
used specifically to distract the reader from reading from the top and to
place prominent points of interest in the reader's mind. Though I often
think Madison Avenue is misinformed about the value and effect of
advertising and different techniques, they do still do this in print. I am
assuming they think it really does work. If it does, then that impact must
be considered when deciding whether or not to use it in other types of
writing.

I also think that dismissing something out of hand because of exclamation
points is a bit much, but forewarned is forearmed, and I won't send you
anything with a point for Slate and Style. *grin*
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit
Pollpeter
Sent: Tuesday, April 30, 2013 11:40 AM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] Exclamation points

Donna,

All caps isn't to be used to replace every occurrence of an exclamatory
statement; it's just a unique way in which to produce a more visual way to
make it clear it's an exclamation. If we would have used all caps
frequently, the instructor would have graded against that too. They were to
be equally used sparingly. This particular instructor's background had been
journalism before she became a creative writer. She has her MFA from
Columbia, and her style can reflect that background at times.

An example of using a visual marker to note a cadence that stands out in my
mind is from a Truman Capote story. I can't recall the story, but when
writing that a person looked another person up and down, he wrote it this
way: up - and - down to give that sort of pause between words.
Like if you were to elongate the phrase when speaking it out loud. This
visual indication kind suggest that cadence. This example is bad because
it's not an exclamatory statement, but it stands out in my mind as an
example of trying visually to produce a cadence or type of statement.

So we were encouraged to find different ways to express exclamatory
statements, but regardless what that route was, it was always to be used
sparingly.

Bridgit

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2013 23:36:46 -0400
From: "Donna Hill" <penatwork at epix.net>
To: "'Writer's Division Mailing List'" <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] Exclamation points
Message-ID: <F088464530A0497A995D553EB9B85E2C at OwnerHP>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="us-ascii"

Bridgit,
Interesting. I actually detest the "all caps" solution. I am currently going
through the manuscript again with exclamation points in mind. In the print
book design stage, I will have another opportunity in a few weeks to submit
any revisions, so I took Chris's suggestion to heart. 

At first, I thought I'd just strip them out altogether. However, as I read
my work I realized a couple of things. First of all, I wasn't using them as
a replacement for using words. I haven't added a single word, and I'm almost
through. The other thing is that I am developing a certain sensibility about
how to use them. Part of my punctuation preferences are, for better or
worse, informed by how a passage sounds with Jaws.  In dialog, I have a
cadense in mind, and though I suppose I could keep it to myself and allow
the reader free rein to interpret it, I can't fully bring myself to do it.
It's like the question mark. Do we really need to tell the reader that this
or that is a question? Why don't we just use periods and let them have the
freedom to assume it's a retorical question, if they like? 

I have removed most of them, but I have deliberately left some which I feel
do add something. I'm going to check afterwards to see what percentage of
them I kept. One example of a way in which I chose to use them was in a
scene where a kindergarten class got a bit out of hand. As the children
begin talking and then arguing with each other, I dropped the use of dialog
tags in order to lend an intensity and speed to the dialog. It isn't
necessary to know which child said what. However, if every sentence ends in
a period, it is not clear that the writer expects the reader to presume an
escalation of the argument. So, I used a couple near the end of that dialog
string.

I still can't believe that your professor thinks all caps are OK. That last
sentence should, if it were to truly reflect how astounded I am at this
moment, end with an exclamation point. I know it's done, but to me that is
far more of a distraction visually than any punctuation mark could possibly
be.

I have done a lot of thinking about this, and I believe we have Madison
Avenue to blame for the maligning of a mark which has served writers well
for many years. The exclamation point is seen by people who have become
oversensatized to it as the written equivalent of the laugh track. In each
case, it seems like the consumer is being told how to feel. I agree that it
is over-used, and I admit that -- despite my opinion that I didn't do that
-- I am as guilty as hell. Nevertheless, I think it has its place. Donna

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