aurora_novarum asked:
When you are expressing an interrogatory of high emotion, how do you punctuate it? (with examples from Stargate SG-1)
While it's generally considered to be cautiously acceptable to use multiple exclamation marks and/or question marks in casual correspondence, it's severely frowned upon everywhere else. However, there are a number of other ways to indicate extreme emotion in your writing without sending punctuation-conscious readers scrambling for the back button.
[For a more general tutorial on basic punctuation, check out
skroberts's
Punctuation, Part 1, part of
Grammar 101. For a more specific discussion of question marks and rhetorical questions,
green_grrl did a great post
here.]
Use Your Words
A writer's best tool is always his or her word choice. A handful of phrases can evoke an entire scene, and dialogue tags ("he said", etc.) can be used just as successfully.
"Jack," Daniel yelled.
The dialogue tag indicates that Daniel is yelling, so an exclamation mark is redundant.
"Jack," Daniel said heatedly.
Emphasis is added by using an
adverb ("heatedly"), so an exclamation mark is unnecessary.
Since using a question mark to end a sentence already indicates that said sentence is a question, "he asked" isn't necessary. So, you can be creative:
"You did what?" Jack yelled.
The question mark at the end of the sentence indicates that Jack is asking a question, so you can substitute "asked" for something else.
"You did what?" Jack asked angrily.
Adverbs can be fun, too.
Remember: the dialogue itself is the question, not the whole sentence. The question mark, if used, goes inside the quotes, not at the end of the dialogue tag.
Specific Emphasis
Another tool is to indicate exactly which word or words are being emphasized by the speaker.
"Please tell me you're joking,” Jack said, looking at the now-blank wall where the door had been just moments before.
While the whole sentence expresses Jack's concern over the situation, the emphasis can be placed on a specific word.
This is especially useful when there is no dialogue tag present.
"Well, this wouldn't have happened if someone hadn't been touching things," Daniel pointed out, worry temporarily abandoned when given the chance to say 'I told you so'. "Jack."
Here, the emphasis is in two places, and the second one uses the emphasis indicated by italics in lieu of a dialogue tag.
Of course, this also works with questions, with or without a dialogue tag.
"You did what?"
This can also be used in narration.
Sometimes, Daniel cannot believe the things Jack says and does.
Third person narration, but Daniel's anger at Jack clearly colors the text.
What does he think he's doing? Sometimes, I could kill that man.
First person narration, which would clearly be affected by the tone of a character's thoughts. Generally, though, it would be a little too much to put an emphasis in each sentence like this. Better to leave it up the reader's imagination, if possible.
Italics should also be using sparingly. Too much can look amateurish, and make all of your characters melodramatic (unless that's what you're aiming for, then go for it). And this is why writing is an art, not a science.
Well, if you have to...
Just because exclamation marks should be used sparingly doesn't mean they cannot be used at all. There are many rules of thumb-once per story, no more than three per page, etc.-but this author suggests going with what looks good to you, the writer.
"Jack!"
All on its own, this sentence works best with an exclamation mark to indicate that the speaker is yelling.
"Jack!" Daniel yelled.
Redundant and inelegant. There are other ways to make the point.
"Jack!!" Daniel yelled.
Right out. Exclamation marks are like seasonings; too much is just as bad as too little. One exclamation mark or none, but more than one looks silly (or like really bad erotica from a porn site...).
Again, the only time to use more than one exclamation mark is in personal correspondence. In fiction, it's important to take the character and situation into account, as well. Cassie, a 12-year-old girl, might say,
Thank you for helping me with my homework!!!
in a note to Sam or Daniel, but Jack would never write something similar in an e-mail to General Hammond, his boss.
The Interrobang
The
interrobang is a "nonstandard English-language punctuation mark intended to combine the functions of the question mark (also called the interrogative point) and the exclamation mark or exclamation point (known in printers' jargon as the bang)". While it normally looks like ‽, it can be substituted with ?! without any problems (and almost certainly more universal understanding).
"You did what?!"
The interrobang indicates that the sentence is both a question, and one with elevated emotion.
Like the exclamation mark, the interrobang should be used sparingly.
And? So? Therefore?
Whether it's narration or dialogue, question or statement, there are lots of options when it comes to indicating high levels of emotion. Specific word choice is best (and most flexible), but an exclamation mark or two never killed anyone, and it certainly never ruined a story.
Cut text is a quote from Terry Pratchett.