Improving Style Through Syntax, Part 11: Placing Interjections

After 15+ years (5,549 days and 915 posts, to be exact), I have finally decided to write something about interjections, those emotional expressions of surprise. Since we generally accompany interjections with exclamation points, old-time stylists urge us to avoid them except in rare instances. But rebellious millennials, in their singular way, have endowed our literary landscape with enough exclamation points—to their elders' puzzlement—to populate a forest!

I try limiting exclamation points to one per message at most, and I use them only in positive contexts, avoiding "How could you!", "You really messed this one up!", and "Don't you dare!" and preferring "Congratulations!", "What a great job!", and "How thoughtful of you!" So by extension, I use interjections sparingly as I want readers to take them interpret them as intended.

When using interjections, consider where you place them to create a greater element of surprise. Examples:

• Congratulations—again!—for winning a second Employee of the Month Award.
• Some of this work will take endless—no kidding!—perseverance.
• I wanted to write you early, but—alas!—again!— unreliable memory got in the way.
• Some expected us to cancel the company picnic—yeah, right!
• Ouch! I never spent that much for a pair of eyeglasses.

Remember: use them sparingly, positively, and surprisingly! Wow! That's enough exclamation points for a lifetime—phew!

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Read previous posts in this series:

Part 1: Grouping and Dropping Prepositional Phrases

Part 2: Dropping Pronouns for Clarity

Part 3: Dropping Pronouns for Conciseness

Part 4: Avoiding—No, Managing—the Comma Splice

Part 5: Remedying Run-ons

Part 6: Freeing Fragments

Part 7: Placing Adverbs
Part 8: Placing Adjectives

Part 9: Placing Prepositional Phrases

Part 10: Placing Conjunctions