It has been brought to my attention that one of my discriminating blog readers thinks my posts have too many exclamation points.This reminds me of another criticism several years back when I was told I was too perky in the morning.
Too perky? Too many exclamation points? Really? These are bad things?
I always thought these were good things. Who knew others were annoyed by early morning good cheer (perkiness) and perturbed by the quantity of things I think deserve exclamation (perky punctuation)?
I guess exclamation points do lose all impact in overuse. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf. At some point, when there really is a wolf, nobody will notice because I've used so many exclamation points that they just disappear.
I guess it's like the maxim: "If everything is emphasized, nothing is." I've also heard that the exclamation point is just a crutch for the lazy writer. Sounds about right.
The exclamation point is relatively new punctuation, first appearing in the 1400's. Originally it was known as a "mark of admiration" and some scholars believe it comes from the Latin Io (meaning joy).
Please note that this entire post does not contain a single exclamation point. Furthermore, I'll try to dole them out sparingly in future posts. However, in regard to morning perkiness: toning that down a notch could have disastrous consequences. Because if there is anything worse than a perky mom it would be an miserable mom. Miserable, because I can't admire and feel joy in the new day. Trust me, perky trumps misery any morning.
