How to Add Emphasis to your Writing

There are various ways to add emphasis to your writing, which will bring importance to the words and phrases in your novel. Italics, CAPITAL LETTERS, Capital Initials, exclamation marks (!), interrobangs (?!), bold and underline will all add emphasis to your writing. But which way is best? And are there any concerns to be aware of?

As with most things fiction, there are many ways to add emphasis to your writing, and there are no “rules”. However, there are conventions and – more importantly – reader expectations. And which method you choose can have an impact on reader engagement, which in turn will have an impact on your book sales.

Italics

A common way to add emphasis to your writing is to use italics. This is probably the first choice for many fiction authors, but there are a couple of caveats. Firstly, what else are you using italics for? Frequently, italics are used to indicate a character’s thoughts or inner dialogue, and they are often used for flashbacks or quoted text. Some authors still choose to italicise words that are not English (although this custom is becoming less common).

So be careful not to confuse your readers by using italics for too many different things.

Also be aware that large chunks of text in italics can be wearing on the eye, and italics doesn’t always translate well on e-readers.

CAPITAL LETTERS and Capital Initial Letters

Using capital letters does certainly bring emphasis, but it can also bring irritation. Frequently, readers see capital letters as a way of indicating that a character is SHOUTING. Which, in itself, is absolutely fine. However, a character who’s CONSTANTLY SHOUTING can undermine their credibility, and (worse), the credibility of your writing. When used judiciously, capitals can work well – particularly when just the Initial Letter is capitalised. Capitalising just the initial letter(s) adds a layer of importance, giving the word equal weight with a Proper Noun.

But again, capitals can get a little shouty, and again, they should be used judiciously.

Exclamation Marks!

Exclamation marks are used to indicate moments of high tension, drama and humour, and they are fantastic at indicating to your reader that they need to bring a degree of energy to the sentence they are reading.

However, it’s really hard to maintain a high level of energy for a prolonged period of time, so try to avoid having multiple consecutive sentences ending in an exclamation mark! Some readers are also irritated by the use of exclamation marks, and I always recommend they are limited where possible, and used only for really intense/dramatic moments. This can mean using exclamation marks only once or twice per chapter, or even once or twice per book.

Where a character is exclaiming something, then it’s only necessary to use either an exclamation mark, or the “she exclaimed” dialogue tag. Not both.

If overused, exclamation marks will start to lose their impact. So again, judicious use is recommended.

Interrobangs ?!

The combination of the question mark and the exclamation mark is known as an interrobang. The interrobang is a little like the baddum-tish at the end of a bad joke – it wouldn’t be necessary if the joke was better. Interrobangs are like a pumped-up exclamation mark that comes along to smack you in the face. If this is the effect you are looking for, then of course please go ahead. But if you want a more subtle emphasis, then definitely choose a different option.

Bold text and Underlined text

Publishers rarely use bold text in the body of a book – generally it’s reserved for titles and headings, and underlined text can make things look cluttered.

So how should you add emphasis to your writing?

Where a character is having an extreme reaction to something, this should be clear from the words they are using, the length of their sentences, the way their body moves and the way other characters are reacting to them.

When you want your reader to have a reaction to something in the text, the same conventions apply. Manipulate their responses using a different sentence structure – like this one – that brings emphasis to words or actions purely by the way it’s put together.

Show your readers moments of intensity with careful vocabulary and thoughtful writing craft rather than telling them about it with punctuation.

And if you do choose to use italics, capitals, exclamation marks or interrobangs, make sure to only use them one at a time. Avoid sentences that Include Capitals, WORDS THAT ARE ITALICISED, and that end in an exclamation mark! Because these are just plain irritating.

Don’t forget that your editor can help you with this as part of their line editing or developmental editing services, and please do get in touch with any questions.