I’ll admit it!!!! I love a good exclamation point!!!!
Oh, stop. Quit gasping in horror and disgust. You are so dramatic!!!!
Cute exclamation point!!!!(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I know, I know . . . exclamation points are overused and the words in the sentence should convey the excitement, humor, or other emotion, and not rely on the punctuation mark to do the job. Throwing in an exclamation point, or in newspaper terms, “screamers,” verges on melodrama. John R Trimble, who wrote Writing with Style, likens the exclamation point to an “applause sign,” I would add exclamation points are writing’s version of a sitcom laugh-track. They cheapen the writing.
As such, my WIP is devoid of the ubiquitous one-winking-eye devil. However, I liberally sprinkle exclamation points in my blog comments. I can’t help it.
Here are two great clips from Seinfeld showing Elaine’s love of the exclamation point.
How about you? Are you an exclamation point lover or hater?
Related articles
- Too many exclamation points!!! (salon.com)
- Settle down! 6 guidelines for using the exclamation point (prdaily.com)
- Let’s Go Ahead and Declare It the Year of the Exclamation Point! (theatlanticwire.com)
- The Point of Exclamation (opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com)
- The history of the exclamation point… (blogs.smithsonianmag.com)
Robin Coyle 