Forum: Author Hangout

I think it goes without saying that italics are preferred when referring to the name of a book, a ship, or foreign, non-Americanized/Englishized words (i.e. where the spelling doesn't change to make it easier for us to pronounce).

Likewise, bolding, like all caps, is the preferred form for someone shouting. I also use it when signs are bolded (The signs, as non-spoken dialogue, is represented via indented text). As far as adding multiple exclamation marks to reflect someone's level of excitement, that's not recounting what someone's said in dialogue. Instead, it's akin to adding a "he shouted loudly, at the top of his longs for a really, really long time" tag on the end of a sentence. Since it doesn't reflect what's actually said, I don't consider modifications to standard punctuation marks to be justified, but … it is fairly common, at least among SOL authors.

And, since I write a LOG of paranormal sci-fi, which often encorporates variations on telepathy, I use a combination of single quotes (quoted text within a quote) and italics (internal thoughts). Though, with many independent text readers, italics are read in a hurry, making detailed scientific discussion difficult to comprehend. :(

Given that I am posting on SOL, I make use of SOLs block feature (indent and different typeface) for quotes from songs or other sources which I think is fun.

Technically, that's considered an epigraph, where an author incorporates either a famous quote or song lyrics to summarize what the chapter is about, and yes, that is the recognized form for epigraphs (though SOL typically italicizes the text, while leaving the source (i.e. creator's name) in normal text), outside of the author's individual formatting.

I do not use bold, all caps, or more than one exclamation point, and use the exclamation point sparingly.

Yeah, I prefer using punctuation sparingly, though I also cheat occasionally, dropping punctuation when it improves the flow of the sentence/story, or helps link two sentence fragments into a single coherent thought, so those are more of a form of pacing for sentences.

My editors hate whenever I do that, but they'd resigned themselves to it, and no longer complain nearly as much as they once did. (It's another good reader to listen to your text read by someone/something else.)

I suggest consistency in your writing style and ignoring those that complain. Consistency is more important than opinion. Your readers will expect and agree with certain things. The people that won't are not likely to read many of your stories anyway.

While I agree with your summary, I disagree (somewhat) with your conclusion. Often, the harshest (in terms of creativity) are when faithful, dedicated readers point out story inconsistencies which require you to toss out entire chapters or subplots. That's always difficult to take, and authors tend to take it personally. Yet, those readers offer them (generally) as suggestions only, and will continue reading whatever you do with it.

Generally, they only STOP reading when it becomes a fight between those offering advice, and those resisting or refusing to consider it. That said, I've had MANY 'suggestions' that somehow twist into political dictims (this character's view are idiotic, and are clearly your personal view, so until you retract them, and only write things that echo what I believe, I'll refuse to read anything you write). This especially happens a lot when a subject like homosexuality comes up in a story.

In those cases, where someone tries to dictate what I write, I calmly suggest some other stories they might prefer over mine, gently suggesting they quit reading mine entirely. ;)

9/30/2019, 1:09:26 PM

I tend to use italics when the character is having an internal monologue(rant), because using " or ' tends to imply (in my mind) that what ever has been said, has been said audibly.

Actually, the most commonly accepted standards are that double-quotes flag spoken dialogue, while single-quotes signify unspoken dialogue or internal thoughts (though these are often reversed for British writers). However, single-quotes or italics are roughly used equally for internal dialogue (no direct stats available), so use whichever you're more comfortable with.

I occasionally use bold for emphasis; Exclamation points, always alone, I mostly restrict to dialogue.

Yeah, when the narrator gets out of breathe, you've gotta wonder just how impartial he really is! :)