You may have noticed.
You may even be planning an intervention.
When I look back through my blog, emails, correspondence and even my thoughts, I take note that I am obsessed with the “dot, dot, dot”.
They are so cute, round and multiple. They are a perfect circle design element repeated three times. They are so dramatic in their effect. They are thought inducing, subtracting and multiplying. They are compact and can be taken almost anywhere. Oh, how I love the …. (the fourth one there is the actual period at the end of that sentence which I probably should have replaced with an exclamation point…((see how great that pause is there?)))
Which brings me to admit that this isn’t the first time I have been in love with punctuation…(stop me, now)…
My first crush was with the exclamation point!
I am perky by nature so the exclamation point and I really hit it off. Oh, how I could just bring any sentence more umph, visibility, and sass by just adding one of those!
It was easy! It was effortless! It was a trap…
…because too much of a good thing depletes its value. I was over-exclaiming!
Suddenly all those really important points were lost with all the other really important points.
I just had to start saying “no” to the exclamation point. I couldn’t go cold turkey. I couldn’t avoid my first love completely. I have had to go on punctuation limitation.
I have self-imposed a one exclamation point rule. Only one per event. Only one saved for the most important point thoughtfully and lovingly placed.
Oh, I have flirted with the ALL CAPS and the bold. I have even been known to use the –, or in extreme cases the italics. But for now, it will be the dot, dot, dot until…
I get help.
PS: A special thanks to JCK, Meg, Madge, Burgh Baby, Rachael and Amy who may have suffered through that post twice. It originally appeared 12-7-07.
And here I thought it was just me…
I lurve the ellipses. !!!!
FOR REALS, YO!!
Oh the … is SO addictive!! I use it ALL. THE. TIME! (and the exclamation point too!) I think we could have quite the support group… (there I go again)
I thought I was the only one…love…the…dot…dot…dot!
I have an obsessive habit of overusing the exclamation point. I’m seeking help. I’m glad to know I’m not alone out there. 🙂
OK, now I think I’m REALLY losing my mind! I commented this morning (would have been #3 on the comments), but I checked and it’s not there. Sooooo….
I swore I’d seen this post too, & thought I was having a severe case of deja vu! 🙂 Glad you clarified at the end that it was a reprinted post. Whew. I thought I was losing my mind…or that I’d been caught in the Matrix.
Holly…
really… is there something wrong with this kind of adiction?? Because then… I too, should seek help from it. I love the “…” … I use it all the time. lol
great post.. made me giggle!!
xoxoxxo
I’m a fan of the ellipsis myself. I also like parentheses and semicolons (because semicolons are often neglected in favor of a period). See my parentheses?
I have a problem with dot dot dot (…) as well – but I can happily say that I’ve kicked my semi colon (;) habit. It was the fix I needed to come down from my run on sentence high. I can’t say that I’m totally clean this days, but I’m definitely off the hard punctuation – I’ve switched from the semi colon to the dash (-). I’ll never do emoticons though – that stuff will kill you.
i … uh … have the same … issue …
complicated by a severe case of italics and CAPS and even CAPS ITALICS.
or … is that … ITALIC CAPS???
i’m so confused!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!