: Re: Is it okay to use a lot of exclamation marks? I've noticed that I use a lot of exclamation marks when my characters are talking. They appear a lot in action scenes. Is there any rule of

@Steve161

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It would be helpful if you could provide a sample of your writing. It is a bit hard to judge whether you're using too many exclamation marks, if we can't see how many you're using. :)

As a general rule, your characters wouldn't be exclaiming all the time, would they? That's not how people talk in real life. Exclamation marks should be used sparingly, like raising your voice - if you're doing it all the time, the intention of extra emphasis becomes diluted, and only the annoyance remains.

But, you might well ask, tone doesn't transfer seamlessly into writing. For example, "thanks." sounds ungrateful, bland, compared to "thanks!". To address that, as a writer, you have words at your disposal. Instead of having a character say "thanks!!!", he can say "thank you so very much. This truly means a lot to me." Instead of emphasising with punctuation, you can emphasise with words.

There is an exception, and that, as you mention yourself, is action scenes. An officer's order is "Fire!" A comrade's warning is "Get down!" A cry for help is "Medic!" All warrant the extra emphasis, as all demand immediate action. In a tense combat scene, there's no time to be wordy - things need to be said fast, and they need to draw that extra attention. In such a situation, it makes sense that many exclamation marks would be used, just as it would have made sense to be shouting those words.

Read your work again, consider whether in the situation you are describing, an alternative way of adding emphasis can be used. If not, it must be that the exclamation mark is the right tool to use.

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