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Saturday, January 16, 2010

Random News & Extra Contest Entries

Hey everyone!

The new school semester is now underway, so you might see me a bit less than before. I'm still reading though and have lots of fun stuff (including contests and interviews) planned for the upcoming months! There are so many great 2010 books that I can't wait to chat with all of you about!

Don't forget that I currently have three contests running!
  • Win BLEEDING VIOLET here!
  • Win CAPTIVATE here!
  • Win THE DARK DIVINE here!
In other news, I had the chance to speak with a great group of kids the other day at the local public library where I live! I was invited to come and speak about blogging, reading, and what I think makes a great review. The kids, though I really shouldn't call them kids, as I'm not very much older than some of them, were a wonderful audience and they asked some wonderful questions. Questions that prompted me to actually think, like which book or books sparked my love of reading. I always have tons of fun when I get to talk to other book lovers, but this group was unique because they are part of a galley program that reads and reviews books before they are released as well! Of course, I'm terribly jealous that they had this opportunity while in high school, as my library from back home had a sad YA collection and there were definitely no arcs to be found... Some of the participants were even budding authors, much like many bloggers I know! In fact, I was asked an interesting question by one writer, which I'll ask all of you other readers out there:

    How do you feel about exclamation points?

That is, as a reader, how do feel about the usage of exclamation points? Should they be used sparingly? Or at all? What do you think?

If you answer the above question in the comments, you'll get 2 extra entries into one of the three contests that are currently running (see above). I'll add the entries into the spreadsheet, simply comment.

22 comments:

  1. I think they should be used whenever there is some excitement for you personally in a statement. For example, I love this book! It helps convey feelings a little better I think. That statement would be completely different if it ended in a period. So, no I don't think they should be used sparingly, whenever you feel a statement deserves one.

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  2. Oops forgot to say which contest I wanted those added to, The Dark Divine please, I'm pretty sure I entered that one! )

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  3. I think they should be used. because it is a way to express emotion :) I wouldn't want to see exclamation points every other line though. It is fine as long as it doesn't get overused.
    Extra points to Captivate please.

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  4. I have to say - I use exclamation points a little much. I don't however, think they detract from a good read. They set a playful mood in my opinion.

    Thanks!

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  5. I tend to use exclamation points...a lot. It's a good thing to use them, though, as they bring out the emotions that should be felt at that particular moment. And whenever I read and come across an exclamatory sentence, my imaginative voice becomes completely different, switching up the tones. The bottom line is, it's very useful :)

    The extra entries go to the Bleeding Violet contest. :D

    Anyway, lucky you for getting the chance to talk to other kids about blogging! It must have been fun talking about the things you love doing. I've always wanted to do that with books, which is kind of the reason why I started a blog. And I, too, envy those students who get to review books before their releases. I've yet to accomplish that.

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  6. It just depends on the mood of the book. If it's intense and people are yelling, go for it!!!!!!! lol, but if it's just OMG! WOW! YO! Yeah, no thank you.

    Extra entries into Captivate please :D

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  7. Good question.
    I think it should be used whenever someone's speaking in a loud tone, showing excitement, surprised and anger.

    I think it should be used each time it's needed.
    It helps us to read it in a right tone as well.

    Oh, and I entered The Dark Divine contest. :)

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  8. It sounds like the discussion was a blast and a great learning opportunity for everyone.

    As for exclamation points, I tend to use them a lot, but I feel that they should be used as needed. If an author is trying to convey that a character is very excited or is yelling or something, then I think it's fine to use them. I don't think I've ever seen them used too much, but as Book Addicts Girl said, if it's for something like OMG! then I don't see the need for it.

    I'd like the extra entries to be for the Bleeding Violet contest. And I changed my username from Nikki (A Haunt of Ancient Peace) to Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books). Thanks and sorry if there's any confusion.

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  9. I don't use exclamation marks that much, but when I do it's usually to express how much I liked something. They don't really bother me when they're used to express how you feel, but if it's with every other sentence then that's too much.

    I'd like the extra entries to go towards Captivate. :D thanks

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  10. As a writer, I love using exclamation points. As a reader, too many exclamation marks get very annoying and make the text lose it's effect.
    Those kids you spoke to sound wonderful!

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  11. Oh wow, what a great opportunity for you! It sounds like it was a lot of fun and what an awesome way to share your love of blogging and reading with others!

    As a chronic user of exclamation marks, I don't have a problem with seeing them in books. Especially when they're used to convey certain statements or emotions. It adds to reading experience if you have a clearer idea of what the author is trying to put across. So exclamation marks for the win!

    Points to go toward The Dark Divine, please :D

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  12. I think exclamation points are helpful when writing things online like short blog comments to help emphasize that what's being said is positive.

    However, if a book narrator ended every sentence with an exclamation point, I would probably stop reading because I'd find that really annoying. In novels, exclamation points should be used sparingly because a constant tone of excitement or surprise would get tiring.

    [I entered the contest for The Dark Divine.]

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  13. How do you feel about exclamation points? - Well, I use them a lot! So I have to say that I like exclamation points, makes the text funnier I think! :)

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  14. I think exclamation points in reviews are effective only when used sparingly. If I see sentence after sentence ended with them, I tend to just skim the review and assume it's a positive rave. If there aren't any at all, then it sounds kinda textbook and boring.

    Extra points to The Dark Divine contest please :)

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  15. - I use exclamation points a little much. I don't however, think they detract from a good read. They set a playful mood in my opinion.

    Work from home India

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  16. Yeah, I exclaim a lot, so personally I don't think exclamation points are overused, unless you are the type of person who rarely exclaims!!

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  17. I don't have a problem with exclaimation points. I use them a lot when writing. And when reading passages with exclaimation points I know that the author is trying to get across something that either exciting, yelling or just some surprise.
    (Can I get extra points to the Bleeding Violet Contest)

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  18. I regularly abuse exclamation points when I talk on the internet so I don't think I notice it being overused. But I love the use of it so I completely support showing the exclamation point some love. I guess as long as you have a reason in using it (to add more emphasis or show some high emotion such as happiness or anger) then it's all right to use it as much as you want to. :D

    (I'd love it if my extra entries were added to the Dark Divine contest, please. Thank you!)

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  19. I think exclamation marks definitely serve a purpose. It's easy to overuse them (like in blogging!) but that's fun and different than a novel.

    That's so great that you got to speak to the kids. It sounds like you all had a fun discussion. I'm jealous of the teens that are in the program to review galleys too! I would have loved that in high school!

    Hope you're enjoying The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove. I'm reading her book Fallen now. I can't wait to hear what you think of Undead Much? I can't wait to read that one!!

    Please put my extra entries towards The Dark Devine. Thank you!

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  20. So cool that you got to speak with the kids at the library about blogging. That's so super cool!!!!
    And as you can see, my feeling about exclamation points: I LOVE THEM!! I feel like there can be too many, but it's really hard to get to that point! :-)

    Oh, extra entries for Bleeding Violet, please. :-)

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  21. I was always taught that exclamation points should be used in moderation or else everything would sound a little exaggerated.

    I would like my extra points to go toward Bleeding Violet.

    Thanks

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  22. Haha, well I use exclamation points very often when commenting on people's blogs, though not a lot in my reviews. I use them occasionally in reviews when I have something I really want to stress, but I generally shy away from them because it just seems weird in the middle of a review, if that makes sense. And I'm glad you had a great meeting! That program sounds extremely envy inducing!!... Case in point with exclamation marks here.
    And, err, I don't think I've actually entered any of your contests yet, but I'll remedy that situation soon. :D

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