Confused on how to punctuate "what"

Gregg Bell said:

To me, "What" isn't always a question. Of course not. It can also be an exclamation! It would be easy to use the default question mark, but sometimes "What?" (What do you want?) = "What!" , to show annoyance. Or even "What?! Pluto is no longer a planet?? "can be confused with "What?" (I didn't understand what you were saying, could you please clarify?) Not any more, we shed some light on that just above

The most typical situation (for me) is this sort of dialogue:

"Joe." (He's just addressing Joe.)

"What?" (Joe saying, 'yeah i'm here, what do you want?) Or, "What!" if he's a bit miffed.

or that could be:

"Joe?" (Could be interpreted 'Are you Joe?')

"What?" But you're saying the same as above...

Personally I think the first example is better than the second.

But it could also be:

"Joe."

"What." (as in more of an acknowledgment of being contacted with less 'what do you want?' Nope. Judgement has nothing to do with punctuation. Punctuation is there to tell the reader how to "hear" the words, the tone of voice, the emotion and stuff. If your character sounds like "What." then by all means put it down like that, but in the reader's head that will sound like a character who's half asleep, or overly lazy, or distracted. It's not just "an acknowlegement", there's more to it. "What?" is your regular, every day "acknowledgement".


The monitor was still flashing, blinks of red strobing Geoffrey’s face. He frowned, sighed, then he said, “Blow up the roads.”

“What.” As above.

“Blow up the roads. The targets won’t be able to flee. Then wait for one hundred percent confirmation.”


That "What." says the speaker isn't asking for clarification. It could also be "What!" More like "What?!"


Or this example:


“Mary.” He looked straight at her. “I heard what you said that day.”

“What. No. That’s impossible.” "What?"


"What." in this example is not a question. Depends. It looks like a question at first glance. Unless distracted/see above.


Or:

“They’re going to know who I am from the Mazda’s plates. I’m no good to you now.”

“What. Wait a minute.” She clutched Chase tighter. “I mean, I’m sorry I got you into this and all, but I hope you’re not going to bail on us now.” Definitely "What?"


Again "What." there is not a question. Sounds very much like one, tho. It could be but the writer's intention is that it is not. Depends on how the character is portrayed.


Or:


“Well, this is the hard part.” He looked at one of the devilish masks as if to gather courage from it. “I’ve had to combine your job with Ramon’s—he’s been here longer. I’m sorry, Phoebe, I really am, but I’m going to have to let you go.”

Phoebe said nothing. What. But you said cut back…

I can't fathom that one, which means the writer hadn't managed to put their meaning through to the reader

Again that "What." just seems like an acknowledgment or a statement of surprise. Again it could be a question.

So much of "what" is in the tone of voice as to what it means. But in writing it seems to me it's up to the writer to decide what "what" means and punctuate accordingly Sort of, but not quite. In order to achieve understanding, that is. The reader would have some expectations about standards and generally accepted stuff.

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King Neptune said:

I agree in general. You should punctuate "what" with whatever is appropriate, and expect that someone will say that you are wrong.

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