Ending a line of dialogue with “?!”: Allowed or obnoxious?samMalpo2z RKk cesOo n Sgjer 9x nato67Og 2 tinin
A dialogue of mine contains the following sentence:
"You fired all three of them?!"
Trouble is, I'm not sure I've ever seen a novel that used a question mark and an exclamation point together - it's something I normally see in comic strips and the like. Is using the two punctuation marks together only acceptable in certain forms of writing, or is it safe to use it in a novel without it appearing childish and/or obnoxious?
Using just the question mark doesn't really create the effect I'm aiming for.
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obnoxious, but that's just my subjective reaction – sesquipedalias 13 hours ago
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3I'm almost certain I've seen this in professionally-published fiction. – Monica Cellio♦ 13 hours ago
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@MonicaCellio Do you remember where? – Evil Sparrow 10 hours ago
2 Answers
The combination "?!" has been in common usage enough that the interrobang (‽) was suggested as a punctuation mark to replace the need to use two symbols.
Note that the interrobang (and thus the intent to use "?!") would normally not be used in formal writing, but was used in the ruling of a 2012 US court case, Robert F. Booth Trust v. Crowley
In any event, I know I've seen ?! in written fiction aside from comics, although it tends to be more recent.
I just ran a search on all of Jim Butcher's Dresden Files for the '?!' mark. Why this series in particular?
- It's modern
- Stylistically, I expected to find '?!' there.
- I had it on my computer, so I could Ctrl+f
Here are the results: in 17 books (15 novels + 2 short stories collections) the punctuation mark '?!' appears 11 times.
What does it mean?
Even in modern literature that doesn't take itself too seriously, '?!' is extremely rare. You are right to be asking the question. I suppose other, more verbose methods are used to convey the same effect in other literature. Nonetheless, sometimes '?!' is the most effective tool and the right tool to be used.
Example:
“Fuck!” Thomas snarled. I looked up to see him stagger, holding on to the boat’s wheel with his right hand, his face twisted in pain. He’d taken a bullet in his left arm, just above the elbow, and he held it clenched in tight against his body, teeth bared. Slightly too pale blood trickled down his elbow and dribbled to the deck. “Plan B, Harry! Where the hell is plan B?!” (Jim Butcher, Cold Days, chapter 18)
Like you say, no other punctuation mark would give quite the same effect, and the scene is tense and fast-paced, so one wouldn't want to get more verbose instead.
