New Writers Often Make These Glaring Mistakes
How to add emphasis and complete an unfinished sentence
As a publisher, I adore finding amazing guest writers, and Malky McEwan is perfection. He has published hundreds of articles on Medium.com and several books (I’ve read them, they’re terrific), and he runs one of the most popular and highest-quality publications on Medium. I’m working hard to lure him over here. Today’s story offers a serious take on a needless error that lots of online writers make. Avoid it, and your credibility soars.
Brian finished writing his first book, “See what you think,” he said. As a friend, I took on the task as a favour.
I found 22 mistakes on his first page.
I sat with Brian at his computer for an afternoon and detailed what needed fixing. I set him up with a grammar checker and then spent another afternoon showing him how to work it.
Months passed before Brian contacted me again. He’d found a publisher and was considering their offer. A few weeks later, I met Brian for a coffee and he presented me with a paperback copy of his book. I was delighted for him until I opened the book on the first page.
I found 23 mistakes on the first page.
I could tell at a glance his book hadn’t been properly proofread. These were glaring mistakes, jumping off the page and stinging my eyes. A conversation he’d written went like this —
“Put your gun down!”
“You put your gun down first!!”
“No. You put your gun down or else…..!!!”
“This is your last warning!!!!”
In the first line, everything is correct. The exclamation mark is there to indicate a command. In line two, he has unnecessarily used two exclamation marks. In line three, there are three, and he finishes line four with four exclamation marks.
By increasing the number of exclamation marks as the exchange takes place, Brian was trying to highlight the growing tension. It’s a rookie mistake. Extra exclamation marks are unnecessary. His word choice should convey the stress of the situation.
Brian won’t mind me telling you he went with a vanity publisher. Even after reducing their initial quote by half, he paid them a lot of money to print off 200 copies of his book. They did not proofread or edit his work. Most of his books languish unsold in his bedroom.
Exclamation marks
People overuse and abuse exclamation marks all over social media. They are fairly common in articles on Medium.
Editors will remove multiple exclamation marks from formal or literary writing. They’re rarely used in academic prose and almost nonexistent in journalistic writing. Overusing them makes your writing sound breathless and childish, exaggerated and amateurish.
“Why hasn’t anyone told me this before?!!!”
Overusing exclamation marks happens because amateur writers see it as a shortcut to creating drama. Writers should know word choice, sentence structure, and context that make a piece exciting or emotional, not punctuation overload.
A single exclamation mark suffices to convey powerful emotion or emphasis. Multiple exclamation marks are a rookie mistake and detract from the writing. If emphasis has to rely on how many exclamation remarks you use, I’d be shocked!!!!!
Exclamation marks express strong emotion, but more than one is unnecessary. And even then, use them sparingly.
In line three of Brian’s exchange, he uses five full stops. This is aposiopesis, but he has incorrectly applied it.
Aposiopesis
Aposiopesis is from the Greek word aposiōpan, meaning ‘be silent.’
Writers use this figure of speech when deliberately breaking off a sentence. The ending is left to the reader’s imagination, giving an impression of unwillingness or inability to continue. It can convey the character’s passion (fear, anger, excitement) or modesty.
Aposiopesis can be a powerful tool in the right hands. It consists of three dots like this … (an ellipsis) directly after the text of the speech. Some writers substitute an em dash instead of an ellipsis. Like this —
With aposiopesis, writers can create dramatic, emotional pauses that enhance their storytelling. Dickens, for example, was a regular user of aposiopesis.
‘You are always insinuating. You revel in it. And when you talk of Mr. Murdstone’s good intentions — Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
The common thread I found in Brian’s book was his overuse of aposiopesis and his misuse of it. An ellipsis comprises three full stops. He added more for dramatic effect. The more dramatic he wanted the statement to sound, the more full stops he added.
How many times do I have to tell you…? It’s only three ……………….!
Misuse of aposiopesis is a tell. It is a device overused by amateur writers. Too many can distract the reader and adding more full stops to the ellipsis does not increase the dramatic pause, it only identifies the writer as a newbie.
I spent another afternoon with Brian at his computer. I was curious, why didn’t his grammar checker pick up on these errors? I tried multiple exclamation marks and rows of full stops, and the algorithm didn’t blink. It let these errors float by, unchecked and unabashed. It didn't know any better, and thus, neither did Brian.
Brian used aposiopesis an awful lot. Every one of his characters used it in their speech. Often he used it without enough context for the reader to infer the meaning.
“If only you knew what I … never mind.”
We changed it to, “I’d tell you, but explaining won’t help.”
He was prone to using it in mundane speech, making it feel out of place.
“I’ve already eaten, thank you …”
A page full of unnecessary punctuation can be distracting. The author’s job is to tell the story and leave the emphasis to the reader.
If you use aposiopesis, use it sparingly. The reader shouldn’t be able to open a page and spot their overuse at a glance.
Exclamation marks can enforce commands or convey increased joy, disbelief, surprise, urgency, anger, excitement, shock, and enthusiasm. In life, this is rare. We don’t wander around shouting, ‘Awesome!’ ‘Mega!’ ‘Out of this world! Not unless you are my brother-in-law. He’s prone to hyperbole.
Use an exclamation mark when appropriate: "Run, Forrest, run!” or “Your house is on fire!” Unless being served by Hannibal Lecter, “Your dinner is served!” doesn’t require an exclamation mark.
If you want your characters to be pensive, ruminative, or lost in thought, fine, use aposiopesis, but if you can think of some other way to convey those emotions, all the better. Too much, and I’d tell you the same as I told Brian.
Aposiopesis is best used by characters who are so angry the words cannot come, so pensive they don’t know what to say, or so sorrowful they have no strength to finish.
What a weary path you lead when you long for an end to your melancholy and trail off into silence …
Malky McEwan
Malky McEwan is a born storyteller. Born curious. Fascinated with what makes people tick and how the world works. Malky had a mischievous career in the Scottish police. After writing his funny memoirs, he has continued to read, learn, and write. You would never regret following his escapades on Medium (his current writing home)—you’ll learn a lot and laugh a lot.
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Yeah, the smiley face--the epitome of professional communication.
Malky is one of the best of the best. I'm grateful to him for guesting on Pen2Profit.