Writing Tip - the Ellipsis

The ellipsis is a series of three -- and only three -- full stops used to mark missing words, an uncertain pause, or an abrupt interruption.

Avoid the temptation to use more than three dots -- it looks amateurish. For example, we write:
We asked Miss Savage her age but there was no answer . . .

But we do not write:

We asked Miss Savage her age but there was no answer . . . . . . .

Similarly, the same thing applies with excessive punctuation: Only one exclamation mark or question mark should be used at a time. Consider the following over-punctuated examples:

• Buy now!!!
• Great bargains!!!!!!!!!!

Excessive punctuation looks too much like hysteria and detracts from your credibility. Professional writers avoid it.