Notes
Writing Tics That Piss Me Off, Part 1
Multiple Exclamation Marks
It really shits me when people end their sentences with multiple exclamation marks. Why? Well, name me a punctuation mark that’s meant to be written two or more times in a row — and remember, an ellipsis doesn’t count, because although you type it as three periods (…), it’s actually a symbol of its own (it even has a character reference — …).
Can’t name one? Exactly. The only thing that comes close is using an exclamation mark and a question mark together to indicate astonishment (as in “You did what to my brand new car?!”).
Please don’t use multiple exclamation marks to end your sentences1. It makes you look like a douche. If you’re really excited about something, use exciting words.
An Exception
I’ve seen people use multiple exclamation marks (usually three in a row) in comics, and for some reason, I’m fine with that. Maybe it’s because speech in comic books is almost always exaggerated — every sentence on the cover of this 1959 issue of Action Comics ends with an exclamation mark. When all of your sentences end with exclamation marks, I guess you need somewhere higher on the volume dial to go to.
1: Oh, and in case you’re wondering, this also goes for multiple question marks. That’s another thing I see quite a bit, and it pisses me off as well, for the same reason as multiple exclamation marks.
