posted
PE_Sharp mentioned using italics on the fragments and feedback topics board and I drafted a reply which I cancelled and decided to put over here. As it turns out I have strong feelings about italics, and I was wondering what everyone else thought.
I know lots of people use italics in different ways. They are most often used to emphasize a single word, but they are also often used to indicate some form of thought. Since the form of communication I am using in my novel is akin to thinking out loud (not exactly, go look at the other thread if you really want to know ) you might think I should use italics in my work.
Why didn't I?
I can't read italics! Even when reading large print books I have to stop, get out extra magnification, and *study* the italics to figure out what they say. I thought this was because of my low vision, but then I did some research and found out that most people struggle with italics. They are meant to draw attention, but they actually do the very opposite! They take extra time to read, slowing the forward motion of the work and sometimes people just skip over them alotgether.
I only use italics occassionally, to emphasize a single word, and even then I wish a new literary trend wuold allow me to use something else. When I've seen italics used throughout a piece I tend to put it down in frustration.
What does everyone else think about italics? Do you skim them or does it take longer to interpret them? When do you use them in your own work?
posted
I don't mind them at all. Whenever I see them in a novel, the impression sent to me is that a character is doing some internal thinking/introspection and I usually welcome that because it allows me to understand a character more. Other times I see italics when the author introduces a (new)word that isn't in a dictionary like OSC's <I>jeesh</> or Herbert's <I>sietch</I>. I welcome that too so that I know not to panic and scramble for a dictionary, that the word will be explained in due time .
When it comes to being able to read italics, I can read them like I can read regular print. Maybe my peepers won't be so good to me when I get "mature in years" ....
posted
Wow. I guess it is almost too obvious to say that I have never minded italics. I have never even heard any one express a dislike, or perhaps uncomfortability is a better word, with italics before.
Damn this is putting a proposed solution of my own into major question. If Christine is the only one who feels this way, I may continue with my planned formating. However I for one would simply like to second her question.
1. I've had problems with italics longer than I've had problems with vision.
2. I first discovered that I was not alone when doing research on on-line design principles. This is where I've seen most of the research on readability, if anyone's interested. Most sources tell people to stay away from italics if possible.
3. There is a serious difference between using italics to emphaisze a few words or phrases here and again and using them all the time. I've seen entire paragraphs (often introductory) done in italics. This says to me..."This isn't really part of the story just skip it." and I do.
posted
I hate to take up this entire thread...but a friend just said something that made this all clear to me.
Italics are *supposed* to slow you down. They're supposed to make you spend extra time on the word or phrase, because it's important.
Ooooohhhh! I had an epiphone.
Anyway, I still think I was right, but for the wrong reasons. Overusing italics is still an obnoxious problem. As authors, we have to understand the effects using italics has on the reader and use them appropriately. That's not to say they don't have their uses.
posted
I think Italics are a very useful tool. When I read them, I think immediately to myself that the character is having some very internal mental thought. This is better, in my opinion, than the author needing to constantly adding superfulous explanations that the character is thinking. It is much better to see them and immediately be aware. But that's only my opinion.
quote:I did some research and found out that most people struggle with italics. They are meant to draw attention, but they actually do the very opposite! They take extra time to read, slowing the forward motion of the work and sometimes people just skip over them alotgether.
For the record, I have never experienced any difficulty with italics, in any notable way whatsoever. So I found this quote of interest.
posted
I don't mind italics on single words and phrases within a sentence. But on the rare occasions when writers italicize an entire chapter or scene to indicate it is taking place at another time or in a dream or whatever, I find italics to be tiresome. I also frequently encounter them to convey page after page of internal character thought and almost always skip over that. In my experience, nothing significant or important is ever conveyed in sections like this.
posted
I don't find italics hard to read, but I do get annoyed if entire paragraphs are italicized. I do tend to get impatient with them and want to skip ahead.
I also get very annoyed at multiple layers of italics. For a moment, it looks like it's jumping back to normal text. Annoyingly, not even TeX seems to support multiple levels of italics.
You're never forced to use italics, though. I've seen telepathy done in bold (Belisarius Series) and <<big Spanish quotes>> (Ender's Saga). Use whatever you want. Except in a footnote being submitted to a pedant, no one will really object.
posted
I'm with Shawn. My characters do some thinking, and I've got fighter pilots who speak Chinese. Originally I did thoughts in italics and the Chinese was . . . well, Chinese. I spelled it with English letters, but the dialogue was Chinese. Because they were fighter pilots all their lines were one or two words: "Lock missiles!" and "Break right!" and "Eject!" Stuff like that. I thought it added authenticity and gravitas.
As hard as I worked on my two-word Chinese sentences, all they really did was slow down my best action scenes. So I re-wrote them as italicized English. That worked great, but then all my characters' thoughts looked like Chinese!
So now my characters think in normal fonts, and my Chinese pilots speak in italics. The fact that italics are a bit harder to read actually adds to the feel of my fighter pilot chatter. I recommend this solution to everyone.
posted
I generally use italics very sparingly. I use them for the names of ships (I don't know where I picked this up from, but my recently acquired Oxford Manual of Style agrees with me that it is typographically correct to do so. I don't very often use them for emphasis, although occasionally I will put an entire paragraph in italics to highlight that it is in some way separate from the surrounding paragraphs (maybe if it is a flashback, or happening to a different character in a remote location).
On a separate issue, I've heard that when submitting a typescript to a publisher, you should never use italics, but instead underline the text you wish to appear in italic in the final form. I believed this to simply be a tradition to allow for the fact that typewriters cannot generally print italics, but is it still a good idea to avoid them in this situation anyway?
posted
When submitting a ms you underline what should be in italics. Goes back to non-computer days when you couldn't do italics, I think, and also becasue---italics can be hard to read.
Since most modern stories are told in third person limited point of view, we are inside the head of the point of view character already. In a way, everything mentionedin the chapter is his or her thought, so why would we want to italicize specific thoughts? I've seen this done and found it did nothing but slow down the forward motion of the story.
If you are doing an omniscient point of view, I can see using italics for character's thoughts.
posted
Italics are a useful tool. I find they're handy to differentiate between actual, exact thought (in italics) and deep background thought (normal print):
Tom nodded at the confirmation of his assumptions. She's the one. He noted the burns on her fingers. Either she was inept with cigarettes or someone had done some wicked things to her.
In my project, I have a character who goes into a delirium for some time, but to keep him in the reader's mind till he recovers -- actually, to satisfy some of my wise readers' desire to keep tabs on him -- I have a few one-page chapters of him in his delusions. Problem was, the next wise readers weren't sure if he was recovered and back fighting or simply out of it. By putting those short chapters entirely in italics, it gives a good clue that something different is taking place.
Of course, I don't have to worry about anyone speaking Chinese....
[This message has been edited by Kolona (edited June 24, 2003).]
posted
I like to use italics to try to add a flare to dialogue. I leanred this from reading J.D. Salinger's NINE STORIES. Several of these stories are 90% dialogue, and he would use italics to effect emphasis of a word or part of a word. For example:
quote:"Oh, you can tell them stuff. But never honestly. I mean never honestly.
Or,
"I mean you didn't really know Walt."
I'll also use italics (and CAPS) during an argument to effect shouting and screaming. Stephen King does this very effectively (at least sometimes), and you avoid the dialogue tags, "he/she shouted, screamed, cried, etc."
I agree with James -- long segments of italics can be very hard to read. I wonder if, as an author, you can request that that part of the book or story use a different font, like the pre-chapters (is that what they're called?) in ENDER'S GAME.
[This message has been edited by Balthasar (edited June 24, 2003).]
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) you might think I should use italics in my work. 
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