posted
I apologize, this is a newbie question. Feel free to make me google something. I can't figure out appropriate search terms for this question, I swear I usually google things first. A link to a quick-and-dirty stylesheet or formatting guidelines would be wonderful, if such a thing exists.
All of my questions are currently about short stories, however, if the rules are different for novels, that would be helpful to know.
In formatting a story, I remember reading that each new paragraph should be indented.
1) Is this correct? 2) Does this apply even to quick dialogue exchanges? It seems like it would be overkill. 3) Can the tab key be used with whatever the default tab stop is set at in my Word doc, or should I use spaces? So much of manuscript formatting seems to be fixed-size (courier font, etc.) that I'm thinking the indents should be 5 spaces, not a tab. 4) Blank space between each paragraph?
Any other things that a newbie should be careful about or are common mistakes? I've got the page number, title of work header down...title page w/my contact info, approx word count, etc.
posted
In this age of computer word processing, it's best to set things up so that it can easily be adapted to the specs required by the publisher.
Indent new paragraphs 1/2". Don't use a blank space between each paragraph. Use a # sign to indicate a change of scene. Start a new paragraph when you switch dialog between characters.
The link mommiller refered to is to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: http://www.sfwa.org
posted
Well, I used whatever my word processing program was set for. Can you change them?
From the perspective of an old-timer who started with typewriters...
...yes, your paragraphs should be indented, five letter spaces...
...every time one person speaks it should be a separate paragraph, one paragraph per speaker...
...no blank spaces between each paragraph, blank space with an indicator (usually an #) between scenes...
...but, importantly, the spacing between lines should be set at two...
In my Internet Fan Fiction period, I learned to put stuff in a variety of formats. But I found that (1) all my paragraph indentation and two-line-spacing magically disappeared, and (2) blank space between my paragraphs magically appeared. I gathered you could get it back, but it seemed kind of a round-robin way to do it. Over the years, I've gotten used to reading things that way, but I've never really reconciled myself to losing it.
posted
Sorry, ignore - was going to post a sample (made-up) but the posting interface doesn't maintain spaces. Thanks everyone. Off to formating land I go...lalala.
[This message has been edited by KayTi (edited April 06, 2007).]
I have a short story template (in Word) that has all the settings for correct manuscript format (including preset paragraph indent so you don't have to tab every time you start a new paragraph). If you'd like a copy, email me.
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