This is my first time being here on the forums I just have a couple of questions. Speech is one of the most difficult parts of writing for me. I just started to write my first book and have found it to be rather troublesome, my first question, if a character is yelling angrily, would it be appropriate to use ALL CAPS in order to signify the intensity of the dialogue? Or would it be better to use a description after the text. "DON'T EAT THAT HAMBURGER THERE'S POISON" bla bla or "Don't eat that hamburger there's poison" Ben said angrily at Jeff. also, if a character is kind of lingering in thought after a statement, could i use a succession of "." after to signify? "this is not a good situation....." Jeff said to Ben. I've grown up around the butchering of the written English language due to chat rooms and text messages and even though im 24, I've learned some bad habits thanks!
I would never consider using all caps in any sort of decent writing. Use an exclamation point when absolutely necessary.
Never use all caps to indicate yelling. Sometimes it might appear if you are quoting a sign like 'NO ENTRY'. Use three dots, but no more than three, to indicate someone's voice trailing off, but don't do that too frequently. It gets annoying and is the sign of a novice.
I definitely agree with not using capital letters in any case. As the poster above said, maybe in regard to signs or the like, but even in simple blogging I would advise staying away from them. Atmosphere while writing is a lot more effective than making it clear someone is yelling. As for the dots...really it comes down to seeing the difference...While it can be a useful, the dangerous thing is the fact that...well...they work in so many places...and it's very easy to not understand where to put them...and then you find yourself with a great big dotted mess...tread carefully.
Use context to convey emotion, intensity, etc, not caps lock, bolding, engorged fonts, lurid colors, and the like.
I would forego saying that someone said something angrily. Use a word like "shouted" or "yelled." Another doozey is to whisper quietly. Isn't whispering in itself... quiet to begin with?
