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I think your odd use of the exclamation mark is a great counter-example to your comment! After a long sentence with zero commas, here we have a punctuation mark
by WhompingWindows 5y ago
I think your odd use of the exclamation mark is a great counter-example to your comment! After a long sentence with zero commas, here we have a punctuation mark! It doesn't exclaim, as in "Watch Out!" or "This is amazing!"! It's a questionable choice, it makes the reader think: why is this here? Is this writer casually throwing out punctuation that isn't needed?
That cognitive interruption, which I've kindly added multiple times to my first paragraph, is precisely what McCarthy says not to do in the very first bullet point of the article:
"Use minimalism to achieve clarity. While you are writing, ask yourself: is it possible to preserve my original message without that punctuation mark, that word, that sentence, that paragraph or that section? Remove extra words or commas whenever you can."
- anonymousDan 5y agoI don't know, I think the exclamation mark above changes the tone of the paragraph from being a snarky comment to something less aggressive...
- driggs 5y agoIs English your first language? Have you read Cormac McCarthy? Neither McCarthy nor anyone else in this conversation is referring to the punctuation at the end of a sentence. And, for the record, I was exclaiming that the takeaway is exactly the opposite of what the author suggests. That is, in fact, the precise meaning of an exclamation point. I've kindly included some actual cognitive interruptions for you, to aid in your understanding of this discussion.
- brudgers 5y agoNow I am wondering is italics a substitute for ‘“…”’?