CAPS FOR YELLING!

I know that caps have been used for yelling while posting on the internet. I think either would work while writing a story.

No. I just say "he yelled."

I've seen writers do use CAPS (JK Rowling, for example). That's fine by me, but personally I don't. I guess it depends on your genre. I write mainstream/literary so all CAPS just look stupid.

I consider caps an internet tool only and even then I don't have that in my tool box.

The best use of caps, ever, is in John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany.

And the second-best use of caps is Terry Pratchett's.

Personally, I find caps to be jarring (in books and internet posts), but I've read lots of books where they were used, so apparently it's accepted practice. But I think if you develop the scene and character well enough, you don't have to rely on font formatting to show your character is raising his/her voice.

Pretty amateurish in my opinion, not to mention patronizing and unnessecary.
Reminds me too much of chat rooms. Which do you think reads better?

"OH MY GOSH!!!!!" bellowed Sarah. "WE'RE ALL GUNNA DIE!!!!!"

OR

"Oh my Gosh!" bellowed Sarah. "We're all gunna die!"


I think the second one. The first one is a bit insulting to me as a reader. We already get the idea that this person is yelling.

EDIT: If you find the "all caps" lame, then don't use it. It's probably lame to the readers too.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOOU PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT!!! THAT"S WHY I'M ADDING EXTRA EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!

P.S. HEY! REMEMBER THAT ALL_CAPS THREAD? WHERE"D IT GO?

I hadn't noticed this trend in books (on-line, sure, but then usually I'm at the receiving end of them) so I guess they can't be TOO annoying to read - seeing as I'm guilty of reading several of the authors mentioned in this thread.

I wouldn't use all caps. I would hope I could set a scene well enough and write my dialogue in a way that would convey the yelling without resorting to all caps. If not, then I need more practice.

Constantine K said:

What are your thoughts on this?

When a character is yelling in a novel, sometimes I'll see something like:

"WHY AREN'T YOU LISTENING TO ME??"

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Just my own taste but if I read dialogue in caps I think it should have a balloon around it - looks kinda cartoony.
Linnea

My editor says no. Never use all caps. Italics will get the same meaning across.

I say--only for emphasis and only extremely rarely. Say, for example, as the final word in a long-running argument.

Ex:

T: Why can't I?
B: Because I said so.
T: That's not an answer!
B: It's all the answer you're going to get!
T: Can I go to the store--
B: No.
T: Can I go take the dog for a --
B: No!
T: Can I borrow the car--
B: No!
T: Can I at least have five dollars--
B: NO! Now go to your room.

That sort of thing--the culmination of an escalating confrontation. But, having said that, no I don't use all caps.

IceCreamEmpress said:

The best use of caps, ever, is in John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany.

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I second that. That is the only book full of caps I have ever read in which I was amazed at how well it worked. Frikkin beautiful book!




-Michelle

It just has to work, like pretty much every device. When in the hands of unskilled writers, caps are jarring and comic, and they come across like a shortcut. In the hands of John Irving or Terry Pratchett, they're exactly right. Which one are you?

I might occasionally use caps as Maryn suggests, for the text of a sign. For dialogue, no. It should be unnecessary.

I would use them once every 200 pages. Maximum.

Owen Meany excepted, if I opened a book and saw all caps, I'd probably assume it was below my age level. (IE, for kids.)

I agree that Pratchett used them beautifully. Death speaks in all caps.

J.K. Rowling gets away with it, and I would never say never do it -- just make sure you have a VERY GOOD REASON

I've used all caps for exactly one line in all the writing I've done so far. That's at the start of the final battle scene in my fantasy series, when the villain yells using a combination of magical voice projection and telepathy, basically making her words reverberate both through everyone's ears and inside their heads. Nothing short of caps seemed to convey this. Otherwise I use italics for emphasis, or just an exclamation point. I think caps are too extreme for normal spoken dialogue, and too difficult to read (I do read a lot of books that use caps the way I use italics, though, so obviously it doesn't bother me very much). I think it's mostly a style choice.

I think Stephen King does that too. I remember seeing that in Carrie, but he doesn't use it everytime someone yells.

Yeah, Rowling got away with it, sort of. To me the way she did the all caps was very awkward and distracting. In fact, it was the most distracting part of the book, but that's just me as a reader who tends to get too focused on details(mostly the most trivial) rather than the full picture.

As for all caps, I say go for it if you want.

mscelina said:

My editor says no. Never use all caps. Italics will get the same meaning across.

I say--only for emphasis and only extremely rarely. Say, for example, as the final word in a long-running argument.

Ex:

T: Why can't I?
B: Because I said so.
T: That's not an answer!
B: It's all the answer you're going to get!
T: Can I go to the store--
B: No.
T: Can I go take the dog for a --
B: No!
T: Can I borrow the car--
B: No!
T: Can I at least have five dollars--
B: NO! Now go to your room.

That sort of thing--the culmination of an escalating confrontation. But, having said that, no I don't use all caps.

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This is about the only time when I'd use them, but it's just an opinion, style choice, whatever...