Exclamation!!!

I'm reading a charming book by Georgette Heyer, who wrote over fifty novels and died at the age of seventy-one, two years before I was born. This particular book's original copyright seems to be 1965. I'm mentioning her name because, quite obviously, her books have stood the test of time and nothing I say here will detract from her loyal following--nor would I want it to. The book is a very fun Regency from the "Queen of Regency romance." I heartily recommend it to any fans of that genre.

But, apparently, the rumors are true: they really were enamored of the exclamation point back then.

Observe:

Nothing had ever been known to disturb the saintliness of Mrs Dauntry's voice and demeanour; she replied, as she sank gracefully into a chair: 'Dissembler! I know you too well to be taken-in: you don't like to be thanked - and, indeed, if I were to thank you for all your goodness to me and mine, your never-failing support, your kindness to my loved ones, I fear I should become what you call a dead bore! Chloe, dear child, calls you our fairy godfather!'

'She must be a wet-goose!' he responded.

'Oh, she thinks no one the equal of her magnificent Cousin Alverstroke!' said Mrs Dauntry, gently laughing. 'You are quite first-oars with her, I assure you!'

'No need to put yourself in a worry over that,' he said. 'She'll recover!'

'You are too naughty!' Mrs Dautry said playfully. 'You hope to circumvent me, but to no avail, I promise you! Well do you know that I am here to thank you - yes, and to scold you! - for coming - as I, alas, could not! - to Endymioun's assistance. That beautiful horse! Complete to a shade, he tells me! It is a great deal too good of you.'

I'll save you the trouble of counting. There are exactly three sentences of dialogue that end in something other than an exclamation point. There are thirteen exclamation points--and one sentence that hosts two of them. Kind of sounds like they're yelling at each other, doesn't it? This continues throughout the book. Every time a character is the least bit excited, angry, upset, laughing, or fearful, they express themselves with an exclamation point.

I think I understand how we got the current wisdom of being sparing with our exclamation points. I don't remember who said it, but I've heard that writers now-a-days get one per career. I'm pretty sure our characters (and our blogs!!!!) (!!!) get more than that, but still. That's not much.

Remember the 70's? The extremes of fashion? Followed by the backlash where no one wanted to be extreme at all? Welcome to the backlash, folks.

If you like exclamation points, don't despair. Wait a generation or two, and they're sure to come back in style.

So what do you think? Are exclamation points like bell-bottoms?

Gearing Up To Get An Agent Blogfest: "I just had to ask...."

This is the first week of Deana Barnhart's Gearing Up to Get an Agent Blogfest, and this week we're doing random writer questions!

So this is probably the lamest question ever, but, I've been wondering for a long time: What the heck is a semicolon good for?

Now, I'm pretty good at google, and I've found an awesome website that actually has a rather helpful poster about it (you can view it and even BUY it). After reading the poster tips, I think I have a better grasp on the semicolon (sorry--attorneys never ask questions we don't already know the answers to), but now I'm wondering if I'm using it correctly. So here's some semicolons I've forced into my WIP. Please let me know if this is a correct usage of that dreaded punctuation mark:

It had been taped to her desk in biology—marked over with devil horns and a forked tail; stuck to the bathroom wall—with bat wings and fangs; and slipped inside her English book—with blacked out teeth and crossed eyes.

The website really wasn't much help on the above: it didn't cover semicolons being used with em-dashes. (Em-dashes I love. Probably too much.)

He had no idea why they so stubbornly lived where no one wanted them; but as long as they were here, he, his three older brothers, and the rest of the San Antonio pixies were forced to mingle with the humans.

I'm pretty sure this is right... right? How about this one?

All in all, it might have been mildly pleasant if not for three things: his lips slammed into hers with the full force of his teeth behind them, pressing with bruising, one-directional force; the arm around her waist caught her lower right wing, folding it back at a painful angle until she almost cried out; he was so much taller than Brina, her head was forced backward until her skull rested on the back of her neck.

See, I think this one is good, too. I'm mostly including it because I like it. ;) I really do wonder about the next one:

Pixie scientists worked with the human variety to develop soon-to-be-essential drugs: Yellow anti-depressants; Orange energy supplements; Red-enhanced testosterone (quickly outlawed in competitive sports); Purple sleep-aids; Blue erectile aids; Green-enhanced vitamins; and White-enhanced psychotropics.

Should those semicolons be commas? I think commas would work, but there's the parenthesis... which I should probably get rid of, huh?

Here's more em-dashes:

Moira’s mother was always pulling her away to have mini-lessons on court politics—also known as gossip; fashion—also known as how to look like a slut without being labeled one; and eligible crown princes—also known as future husband possibilities.

Should those semicolons be commas?

Help?

UPDATE: To answer some easier questions (maybe--no promises), visit this list of blogfest participants.