blacbird said:
Most writers, I think, prefer not to mess with odd typographical formatting, even if they have the clout to do so, preferring instead to write stories.
caw.
You don't need clout, you need to know when to do it, and when not to. Even rank beginners are allowed to use formatting techniques for certain things. Writers, new and old, have often used formatting techniques for signs, for letters, for notes, for police reports, for clues, and for a hundred other things. Stephen King is a pauper when it comes to doing such things.
And anyone, new old old, rank beginner or old pro, would likely have used the same formatting technique King did in Bag of Bones. If they were smart, that is.
I think you need to read more. There's nothing uncommon about odd formatting for certain things in a novel. Never has been. Just because you use them doesn't mean you're telling any less of a story, and often means you're telling more of a story. That's really an odd statement.
It seems odd someone should complain about something so old and time tested in this age of interactive novels, novels with hyperlinks, novels with sound, novels with a hundred fonts, novels that drip blood, etc.
