Ode to an exclamation point (!)

The 
Superfluous 
​Screamer

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A former colleague and I were in the habit of editing one another’s writing. It was humbling and tended improve our work.

Just kidding about the humbling part.

Anyway, one day I ended a claim with an exclamation point. I don’t recall the claim, but it would have been something like this: “Over 100 convenient locations!” My colleague circled the ! and jotted next to it, Get rid of that screamer!

He was right. If your words fail to convey excitement, adding ! won’t help. You might as well add, “In case you missed it, the foregoing was exciting.”

In humor writing, an exclamation point is the written equivalent of the nerd who lays an egg and pesters you with, “Get it? Huh? Huh? Get it?” Imagine if, above, I’d added an exclamation point to “Just kidding about the humbling part.” You needn’t agree the line was funny — my feelings aren’t at stake here — but you will surely agree that adding ! would have made it no funnier or even done the impossible, namely, made it even less funny.

This is not to say that ! has no appropriate use. If someone really is exclaiming, go for it. For instance:

     “Watch out—he’s behind you!”
     She screamed, “Get the hell out of there! Now!”
     Shaking a fist heavenward, he cried out, “I hate you!”
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​I also make an exception for the ! at the end of my colleague’s Get rid of that screamer! It worked well for irony’s sake.