Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!
This year, I’m
focusing on two themes: Emotions and
grammar,
depending on which
letter we’re on each day.
Today’s a grammar day!
__________
Q is for Question mark: the punctuation mark that replaces the full
stop period of an interrogative sentence, often used in place of missing or
unknown data. (?)
The question mark?
Really? What could I possibly
have to say about the question mark?
Well, not much, actually. Come
on, it’s Friday. I’ve had a long, tough
week, and there’s not much that begins with the letter Q, so I’ll keep this
brief.
There is one thing I sometimes see as an editor which really
bugs me. When writing dialogue, and the
character is excitedly asking a question, do NOT use both a question mark AND
an exclamation point. You think this
would be obvious, but I see it more often that I ever thought I would.
“You
do?!” she gasped.
Yes, I do.
Truth is, if your writing is strong, if you’re using the appropriate
verbs and nouns—notice I didn’t say adjectives or adverbs—to convey whatever
emotion your character is feeling, you don’t need an exclamation point, ever,
but especially after a question mark.
And honestly, that’s just poor grammar.
Use only ONE type of punctuation at the end of each
sentence. Always. No exceptions. Ever.
But wouldn't it be nice if we had one of these?
18 comments:
Just one - check!
LOL on the picture of a ? and ! combined. I avoid exclamation marks in writing. I can't imagine combining both and submitting it to an editor-yikes! (obviously I don't avoid exclamation points in comments)
Nice quick Friday post.
I like using double punctuation, but I don't think I'd do it in anything I knew would be published. Just emails and things. :)
Got it! Really! Did!
Lately I've been learning that too many question marks does not make a good ms. Thanks for sharing.
I like that creative combo punctuation mark but there's no room on the old Qwerty keyboard. Sheesh, I wish I used Qwerty as my Q word! LOL
I love that new question-mation mark?! Heh, I often mix the two when I'm commenting.
But it should never be in a manuscript. I edited someone's story once and they used the combination about two dozen times (not kidding). I think it was a case of accepted social media vernacular type stuff bleeding over into their more formal work. Need to keep them separated, though.
I think you're onto something there....
...the Exclaquestion Mark! :)
Because of texting and emails, everybody's using them, I see so many errors that transfer from those devices to novel writing. Which actually isn't surprising. Most new writers don't bother learning the difference. Or you'll hear them say, "Don't worry about the grammar, my editor will catch those mistakes."
Poor editor.
I'm an utter grammar fanatic. I hate when people mis-punctuate. HATE.
Happy A to Z blogging.
pensuasion.blogspot.com
I wish there were one of those!
Interesting. I think the double up is usually there to indicate disbelief, as in "Pregnant!?", that presents a very specific reaction. You can immediately tell she wasn't expecting the doctor to tell her that. Eventually I expect it will morph into its own punctuation. An Oh-mouthed emoticon maybe.
mood
Moody Writing
Eep. I'm guilty of this. Slinks away quietly.
Do you have a name for that symbol? I like
que-mation mark, perfect for rhetorical questions, perhaps. I am constantly deleting adverbs as I type, they come so naturally to me, but I tend to only use !'s when joking with friends. Thanks for sharing some great writing tips
That's an interrobang. It was used in advertising, years ago. :)
Interrobang, FTW.
It's got the greatest name of any punctuation mark, real or imagined.
Interrobang.
I love it.
And yes, it has been a long week. You can tell.
aw, but many conveys so much!!!!!!!!!! yes????? ;)
I like your new punctuation symbol. You created it, you get to name it. What will it be called? (so tempting to add the !)
Rhonda @Laugh-Quotes.com
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