do your work in the format you'll send out?

Kharisma · Sep 21, 2006

I have been working on my first novel and just reached the 18,000 word mark (aiming for 60,000 when complete) and up until this point I have been working in double spacing. Does it matter? Just changed it to 1.5 spacing and I like that much more. I will of course change it to be whatever the submission rules are but I am just wondering what other writers do.

thanks! I know this is a silly question and the answer most will think to give is "what ever works for you" but I was curious none the less.

-sherry

DeadlyAccurate · Sep 21, 2006

Well, my first drafts are handwritten, but yes, when I type them in, I keep it in Courier New, double-spaced. I've gotten so used to it that it's easier for me to read than anything else.

TheIT · Sep 21, 2006

Work in whatever format is comfortable for you. On screen, I use Times New Roman single spaced so I can see more of the text on the screen, but when printing I make a copy of the file and reformat to Courier New and double spaced. The important thing is to make sure whatever you submit conforms to publisher guidelines.

ChaosTitan · Sep 21, 2006

For a long time, back in my *gasp* fanfic writing days, I wrote stories single spaced, double return between paragraphs. I got so comfortable writing in that format I didn't realize anything else existed.

Then I got serious about writing original stuff. It took a while to get used to writing double-spaced, indented paragraphs for fiction (most of my writing in high school and college was essays or research papers). But now it's the natural thing.

Write in whatever manner is comfortable. Write it in 1.5 spaces, Corsiva font, if you really want to. Just make sure it's in proper format when you submit.

Soccer Mom · Sep 21, 2006

My eyes have just gotten used to seeing Courier New so now I write in that with ragged margins and double spacing. I put my header on it early and then just forget about it. I use the # for breaks, but I don't usually try to break it into chapters until at least the halfway point. I need to see the overall structure before I can judge where the chapter breaks belong.

blacbird · Sep 21, 2006

No. I work in a format that is easiest for me to read on a screen. My eyes aren't so great. For me, what works best is 14-pt. Garamond, at 150% magnification, single-spaced. It's a snap to reformat to a standard submission format, so I see no point in working at a submission format unless you prefer how that works visually on the screen. I don't.

caw.

aadams73 · Sep 21, 2006

I do exactly the same thing Soccer Mom does.

MidnightMuse · Sep 21, 2006

In my early years I wrote in Times, singled spaced so I could see more on-screen, too. But now, in order to avoid actually getting those reading glasses that I need so badly, I bought a larger monitor AND switched to composing in the Courier double-space format. It's just so much easier on my eyes, and when printed and being worked over, it's much easier to jot down notes and put in editing marks.

Do whatever makes you happy, of course.

JanDarby · Sep 21, 2006

I work in the final format usually. Just makes it easier for me to keep track of how many total pages I've got, how many I've written in a given scene, that sort of thing. Without having to do unnecessary math. I've got the 250-words-per-page thing so firmly in my brain, that I use it for my own estimates, rather than the actual word count that I'd use for submissions.

Oh, and it helps that I have a good-sized monitor, or I'd probably kick up the Courier font size to 14 (which I do whenever I'm working in TNR).

JD

TheIT · Sep 21, 2006

Zoom function in MS Word is a wonderful thing. Rather than playing with font size, I usually adjust the zoom to Page Width to be able to see the words without using a magnifying glass.

Akiahara · Sep 21, 2006

I was wondering this, too. Good to know... when I started my WIP I was working in small fonts... Abadi Condensed, to be specific, in size 11.

I just reformatted to Courier New, double spaced... but I haven't done much writing since I reformatted it. We'll see how it works.

smiley10000 · Sep 21, 2006

I work in final format so that I know it is done when I am finished.
I have actually created templates on my computer that I open up whenever creating a new story. That way I don't even have to format, it is there right in front of me.

10000

Eric Summers · Sep 21, 2006

Times New Roman 12 point double spaced for writing. That's what I use at work so I just got used to it.

For editing I reformat to 12 point Courier and print. Courier leaves a lot of room for editing being mono spaced.

When it's submission time I just print it all out and put it in the trash to save everyone a whole lot of time.

Jack_Roberts · Sep 21, 2006

Once I learned the proper formatting (after I had finished book one!) I changed book two (what there is of it), the Who's Who (I created it to keep my cast straight) and the Timeline to the correct format.

That way everything is the same and I know what it will look like.

RG570 · Sep 21, 2006

I write single spaced so I can get a better feel for the rhythm of the paragraphs. It takes nothing to double space it once I'm ready to submit.

Perks · Sep 21, 2006

do your work in the format you'll send out?

No. I hate looking at Courier New 12pt more than I hate finding a hair in my sandwich.

Shadow_Ferret · Sep 21, 2006

I have a template called "Fiction" which is all nice and formatted according to industry standards and I just load that when I start a new document and forget about it.

Papa'sLiver · Sep 21, 2006

I use courier new, 12, double spaced. I do that because it's closest to a typewriter for me.

I usually have 4 space chapter breaks, but have no damn idea if that is okay or not.

John61480 · Sep 21, 2006

I always wrote with courier for screenplays. In my 2006 Writers Market book, they suggest Times New Roman for manuscript font. I just thought I should share that.

Phouka · Sep 21, 2006

Changing formatting to print things out is so easy that I just write in 10-pt something-or-other, single spaced because I can get more on the page (to both see the "flow" of things and to make myself feel like I did a whole bunch of work! Look at all those blocks of text!).

I do have a slightly different question, though -- do you write fiction in a single, large file, or do you break it up in chapters/sections? I've only ever written non-fiction (for publication) and it's logical to break things out by chapter and have multiple files. In fiction, is that common? I don't think I'm organized enough to manage it!

Marlys · Sep 21, 2006

I work in the same format in which I send my manuscripts out: Times New Roman, 12, 1" margins all around, double-spaced, header with title/name on left and page number on right, chapters started between 1/3 and 1/2 way down the page, justified left, unjustified right.

The same usually works for short stories, but it's easy enough for me to change if a venue wants something different.

John61480 · Sep 21, 2006

I write with size 14, Times New Roman.

I find it helps keep me from writing many ridiculously loooong sentences that occasionally screw up the reading rhythm.

Rob Gregory Browne · Sep 21, 2006

I absolutely work in format, that's how I know if my structure is working properly. And once I type THE END, I'm done. Straight to the mailbox.

Courier, double-spaced, 250 words a page.

batgirl · Sep 21, 2006

I write in single-spaced TNR and revise in double-spaced Courier. The change of font works for me like a fresh eye, and I spot the repeats and the clunks much more easily.
No idea if that works for anyone else, of course.
-Barbara

blacbird · Sep 21, 2006

Rob Gregory Browne said:
And once I type THE END, I'm done. Straight to the mailbox.

Me too, once I reformat to Courier, double-spaced. Then I type THE END, and then it's straight to oblivion.

caw.

do your work in the format you'll send out?

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