?!?!?!?!

[TheEarl]

I swore I'd never use the multiple punctuation point in my writing, but I've been forced to in my sig line scene.

Lister: Dog's milk?!

Now, if this was a real piece of writing I would have used one or the other and shown how he was saying it through prose.

Lister looked down at the cup of tea with horror and lowered it from his mouth. "Dog's milk?" he exclaimed.

"Nothing wrong with dog's milk." Holly said matter of factly. "Full of vitamins. Full of minerals. Full of marrowbone jelly."

The question however is this. In this situation, where both an exclamation and a question need to be punctuated, which one do you choose (If you weren't allowed to reword. No cop-outs here)? Or would you go for the horrible double punctuation just to ensure the meaning got across?

The Earl

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I like the double punctuation. It makes a strong statement. Me, I'm a dots-fanatic, my stories are full of trios of dots...
Like that.

If I had been free to write that line, I would have combined my dots with either a question mark or an exclamation point:

Lister: Dog's milk..?

Lister: Dog's milk..!

I would prefer the first one, but the more I think of it, the more I like the double punctuation.

 

[Never]

I don't consider double punctuation terrible if it appears in dialogue, especially if the selection is made up of nothing but dialogue. Word choice and horrid syntax is also allowed.

First person narratives fall someplace in between.

 

[Svenskaflicka]

I think all punctuation thingies - , . ; : ! ? ?! !? - can make a story stronger if used right, and destroy it completely, if used wrong.

 

[Never]

Actually. I was thinking about butchering my punctuation – today, Just to see; you know - what the effect would be - Or. is that affect!

 

[TheEarl]

Actually. I was thinking about butchering my punctuation – today, Just to see; you know - what the effect would be - Or. is that affect!

Scene: Overview of the ship as we hear a voice-over of Rimmer dictating a report to Holly

Rimmer <VO>: After intensive investigation comma of the markings on the alien pod comma it has become clear comma to me comma that we are dealing comma with a species of awesome intellect colon.

Holly: Good. Perhaps they might be able to give you a hand with your punctuation.

The Earl

 

[pop_54]

I swore I'd never use the multiple punctuation point in my writing, but I've been forced to in my sig line scene.

Lister: Dog's milk?!

Now, if this was a real piece of writing I would have used one or the other and shown how he was saying it through prose.

Lister looked down at the cup of tea with horror and lowered it from his mouth. "Dog's milk?" he exclaimed.

"Nothing wrong with dog's milk." Holly said matter of factly. "Full of vitamins. Full of minerals. Full of marrowbone jelly."

The question however is this. In this situation, where both an exclamation and a question need to be punctuated, which one do you choose (If you weren't allowed to reword. No cop-outs here)? Or would you go for the horrible double punctuation just to ensure the meaning got across?

The Earl

You want to express shock and indicate a question in one go, no other way really Earl.

Punctuation marks are a pain in the rear sometimes, when to, when not to, will it fuck up a line, will it improve a line.

I almost never use them in dialogue lines, if a person reading the story can't fathom out that a question is being asked, or that someone is surprised or shocked they're beyond help anyway.
Dialogue should be crisp and clean, it should flow like a voice, not have queer symbols stuck at the end of each line.

I mean who ever saw a real person with a bloody great question mark above their head when asking something, come on.

pops.............

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: ?!?!?!?!

Punctuation marks are a pain in the rear sometimes, when to, when not to, will it fuck up a line, will it improve a line.

I'm with Pops. I rarely use exclamation marks; just the basics for me, though I tend to love commas (it's their erotickle shape).

I think punctuation can be as subtle or overt as sex. Think of the exclamation points in a look or gesture, the parenthetical moan, the questioning look as you're manipulated into a new position. And my god - the semicolon! the apostrophe! Ah...

For Pops: !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perdita

 

[Svenskaflicka]

A fellow author once told me:

"Only when you know how to use language correctly, can you break the rules."

I've followed this rule ever since.

 

[OT]

I'd pick one or the other and rely on previous character development for any additional feeling. If he's the spewing type, he probably shouted it and the question is secondary. If he's the calm cool nothing can rattle him type, then he probably asked with a bemused tone in his voice. Double punctuation gets too close to lazy writing or encouraging lazy reading.

 

[TheEarl]

Thanks all. I was just curious about what you'd do. I rarely use even a single exclamation mark in my writing, let alone more than one bit of punctuation.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

In an exact same scenario as this, I'd use the double punctuation.
Lister's reply to Holly was not only an exclamation of disgust, he was also stating it as a question; as if he couldn't believe what he'd just heard.

Maybe my judgment is a little clouded, because that particular scene is embedded in my memory, I can hear Craig Charles crying out that line as I type it: Dog's milk?! (Milk spraying from his mouth as he says it.)

I'll admit to being a little over-zealous with my punctuation, maybe because I chat online so much, and it is the easiest way to display emotion. As well as the smilies, of course.
I have to learn to temper this in my writing, I'm still on a steep learning curve.

 

[champagne1982]

Dog's milk!

If you leave off the question mark the phrase looses it's query status. Imagine: Bullshit!

However because of it's lack of predicate, the phrase becomes a stand alone imperative, thus not requiring an exclamation point; but without a query word, the 5 w's and how, the only hint that a reader would have that your "Dog's milk" is a question is the use of the mark, ?.

 

[pop_54]

Re: Re: Re: ?!?!?!?!

I'm with Pops. I rarely use exclamation marks; just the basics for me, though I tend to love commas (it's their erotickle shape).

I think punctuation can be as subtle or overt as sex. Think of the exclamation points in a look or gesture, the parenthetical moan, the questioning look as you're manipulated into a new position. And my god - the semicolon! the apostrophe! Ah...

For Pops: !!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Perdita

Hey fancy a bit of punctuation purdy darling, I feel like a nice hot !!!!!!!!!!!!! myself.

pops.....

 

[Guest]

Re: Re: Re: Re: ?!?!?!?!

Hey fancy a bit of punctuation purdy darling, I feel like a nice hot !!!!!!!!!!!!! myself.

Let me adjust my commas and take off these tight parentheses. Much better.

Is that an ! I see, or you just ready to go?

 

[pop_54]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: ?!?!?!?!

Let me adjust my commas and take off these tight parentheses. Much better.

Is that an ! I see, or you just ready to go?

My ! is ready to go darling

 

[Guest]

Ha Ha Ha. You're the best, lover.

Look what happens when a certain Mr. Grumps leaves town. Ho ho ho!

Thanks for a great time, Pops!!!

Perdita and Perdita

 

[Guest]

p.s. to Earl

Thanks for use of the thread, dear boy.

Pear

 

[pop_54]

Hehe!!

Ha Ha Ha. You're the best, lover.

Look what happens when a certain Mr. Grumps leaves town. Ho ho ho!

Thanks for a great time, Pops!!!

Perdita and Perdita

Give Perdita my love darling, and what fun as you say. Yea sorry about hi-jacking your thread Earl but we did finish on a puntuation mark!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MathGirl]

"Dog's milk?" he exclaimed.

Dear Earl,
The quesiton mark needs to be there because it's an incredulous question. Why not italicize the words for emphasis and use the "?"? (double space here)
MG
Ps. An item from MG's photogenic mammary: If it would make your character feel better, veternarians sell a synthetic bitch's milk for puppies whose mama is dry. Think it's called "Esbilac." Now isn't that a nice thing to know?

 

[CWatson]

Originally posted by TheEarl
I rarely use even a single exclamation mark in my writing, let alone more than one bit of punctuation.

Well, then, when you DO use more than one, it'll be that much more powerful.

 

[cahab]

The question however is this. In this situation, where both an exclamation and a question need to be punctuated, which one do you choose (If you weren't allowed to reword. No cop-outs here)? Or would you go for the horrible double punctuation just to ensure the meaning got across?

The Earl

Accordeing to Harrap's, the correct punctuation is an exclamation mark alone.