Use of ?!

[FifthView]

Do keep in mind, though, that you are passing up an opportunity to sharpen your prose.

This, 100%. The use of "?!" is a shortcut, right? I think everyone can agree with that. The combo might be fine with some types of writing, like YA and light/comedic, but using it means foregoing use of a sturdier, more creative prose. Think of the many ways you could convey to the reader the same thing that "?!" is meant to convey and subtract those; what's lost?

 

[Laurence]

This, 100%. The use of "?!" is a shortcut, right? I think everyone can agree with that. The combo might be fine with some types of writing, like YA and light/comedic, but using it means foregoing use of a sturdier, more creative prose. Think of the many ways you could convey to the reader the same thing that "?!" is meant to convey and subtract those; what's lost?

This was my initial reaction to my own example (I simply used '?!' to speed through a draft) but then I considered whether, if it's a commonly used practise, I could clean up my dialogue.

I'm quite keen on cutting down on unnecessary prose but whether certain prose is unnecessary or not is another subject I suppose.

In this situation I'll definitely lose the '?!' as my WIP isn't YA.

 

[Phantasy]

It's a term to mean a question of wonder and suspense

 

[idknull]

I actually find '?!' useful for portraying a kind of enthusiastic irony. I'm not entirely sure whether it's actually used in literature, but like you, I imagine not.