Exclamation Marks Comeback

Exclamation marks are a source of contention in writing circles. About now is when a blog writer will trot out the F. Scott Fitzgerald quote which says that using exclamation marks is like laughing at your own joke. But, well, just between you and me, The Great Gatsby was written in 1925, so this piece of advice is coming up on its centenary.

Exclamation marks have been making a comeback. Although still frowned upon in deep literary fiction, these little over-emphasizers are frequent in genre fiction. The guideline for serious literary fiction is that your entire novel of 100,000 words should only have a handful of exclaims. Maybe all the characters in works of literary value talk in hushed tones, never raising their voices?

Certainly, exclamation marks can be overused! And there's nothing more annoying! Don't use too many! Double exclaims are especially bad!! It gets really hard on the eyes!

Use in Moderation

Some general pointers for using exclamation marks judiciously:

1. Mostly in dialogue
2. Somewhat in thoughts
3. Rarely in narrative exposition.

Exclamations in Dialogue

Exclamation marks are useful in dialogue to indicate that a character has raised their voice. This can be to indicate positive or negative emotions, ranging from enthusiasm to anger. It's mostly a stylistic choice whether to use them or not, and how often. Consider the various ways to write the same line:

• "I didn't mean it!"
• "I didn't mean it," John exclaimed.
• "I didn't mean it!" John yelled.
• "I didn't mean it!" John said.
• "I didn't mean it," John yelled.
• "I didn't mean it," John exclaimed! (Overdone)
• "I didn't mean it." John pounded his fist on the desk. (Body language beat)
• "I didn't mean it!" John pounded his fist on the desk. (Body language beat)

These are (mostly) all valid ways to write the line. Your main goal as an author is to get your meaning across to the reader. None of these are wrong, although I feel like using both the "!" and a strong verb ("yelled") is probably overdone, but it depends on the scene.

Exclamations in Thoughts

Thoughts are the next level, and they're only one level down from dialogue. Usually they're marked via italics, or "I thought", or both.

• I didn't mean it! (in italics)
• I didn't mean it! thought John.
• I didn't mean it! thought John. (both)

If you have a first person narrator, the occasional exclamation mark to emphasize a thought is fine. But they should be less frequent than in dialogue. Characters don't raise their internal voices quite as often.

Exclamations in Narration

Finally, narrative exclamations should be rare, unless you have a very quirky narrative tone. This is where the F. Scott Fitzgerald advice definitely applies. Maybe only a couple, and certainly less than a dozen, per novel, thank you very much. Now, let's go dance the Charleston!