And Now for Something Completely Different.

You see that? That is an actual punctuation mark. However, you have probably seen it like this:
?!

That little mark there is actually called an interrobang (sometimes interabang). If you type that into the comment box, it will probably tell you that it is not a word. However, according to Merriam-Webster, it is.

Most information I can find on it says that it is an nonstandard punctuation mark, and has no role in academic prose. This means, pretty much, keep it out of your stories. However, feel free to use it just about anywhere else in text. Really, it's up to what you define as formal or informal writing. Myself, I would keep it out of any of my stories. However, in something like my blog posts (excluding my RisingRants), I'd use it as much as I feel like. You got a problem with that?!

(See what I did there?)

Well, that's all for this blog post. Now, I shall go work on A Seed in the Wind
-RisingOne
P.S. For more information, check out these websites:

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/question.htm (I haven't looked around it a whole lot, but it actually looks like a good source for all things grammar.)

http://www.interrobang-mks.com/ (Mostly about the history of the interrobang.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interrobang (Yeah, it's Wikipedia, you can just hush if you don't like that.)

Comments

[DaemoN67]

Oh Faust, that is AWESOME!
How did you first learn of this‽

[Jayellow]

955352

I've always wondered if using that was okay, so I googled "is it okay to use a question mark and an exclamation mark?" The first result was the Wikipedia article on the interrobang.

[DaemoN67]

955360
There's no way I'm not using this from now on

[Showmare Trixie]

and has no role in academic prose.

... Really?

955352
How do you not know what an Interrobang is? I say this, primarily because I know you've been exposed to the explanation at least twice now.

[Jayellow]

956361

Taken straight from the first site I listed for more information:

...but the interrobang currently has no role in academic prose.

Like I said, it is really up to what you define as formal and informal text. If you want to use it, go ahead. I'm not going to say anything about it. I'm just putting the information out there.

[DaemoN67]

956361
Well... I probably forgot.

[Showmare Trixie]

956375
Oh, should of checked that... I was just kinda going over all the books I've seen that used it, in my head.

Sorry.