Exclamation Points are Sexy!!!

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Am I writing a defense, or a confession? I have been accused by many of abusing the exclamation point. Like curse words, they should be used sparingly.

I agree: they have almost entirely been eradicated from my fiction. But emails? Blogs? Really?

There seems to be a concensus amongst friends, family and colleagues that I'm a little too excitable when it comes to the exclamation point. The husband points out that I go out of my way to use it: it is on the far left of the keyboard, along with the shift button, and as a poor typist who has her own way of doing things, I have to stop and use both hands. SHIFT with my left and !!!!!!!! with my right.

Ah, that felt so good. I'm an enthusiastic person, and I believe the exclamation point expresses enthusiasm. Yet as I go over some past emails, I see that I have an exclamation point after each sentence.

It does look un peu ridiculous. (After all, I teach grammar - albeit in a fun, experiential way - to youngsters.) The allure of the exclamation point is all about the moment, so I need to stop and think before I act. Which, come to think of it, is what Anthony Weiner should have done. Come on dude! Sit on those poor impulses and go get some therapy, cop to it and then say: it's none of your beeswax. But I digress.

I am undergoing some rehabilitation, much as I had to do with the exclamation point's sassy partner, the apostrophe.

Wish me luck!!!!!!!    :-)

Related articles

• Exclamation Point Inflation (fourpairsofeyes.wordpress.com)
• What's the [exclamation] point? (richtext.com)

Apostrophe, I Luv You

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I'm listening to the Apostrophe Song for the third time and can't stop giggling - so I thought that I'd better channel my glee and weigh in on the Apostrophe "problem" that has been creating such rancor as of late.

I have nothing to add to the debate: indeed, this will be much more of a confession.

Folks, I have an apostrophe problem. I know, I know (wringing hands). And I'm working on it, have made major strides in improvement really. But there's just something about that apostrophe . . . makes me want to . . . put one in where it doesn't belong! This desire must come from the subterranean regions of my unconscious, making nouns possessive when they should be plural. Dr. Freud, does this mean that I want my objects to control one another? Or me?

Or . . . I'm careless, and have more in common with those unapologetic peeps out there who don't edit before putting out their work (or signs) for public consumption. I'm sure that there are a couple of these unedited blogs that have mistakes. If so, I apologize and I hope you don't stop reading! (I'd like to think that my grammar faux pas are not as bad as the above.)

Everyone needs to self-edit and then some. I do know that the more I practice writing, the better I get, and that we all make mistakes in our first drafts. Indeed, this has helped shape my approach to working with others - focus on creative expression FIRST and then learn the rules as we go along. (Because rules can suck the fun out of EVERYTHING!)