Seperating Text

Since you double space between lines, you can quadruple space between scenes. Some people use # between scenes, and ## at the end of the entire story. I don't, though.

Text

Lel513 said:

Just wondering how other people seperate their text when they want to move onto a different scene, yet aren't starting a new chapter. Do you use just a few empty spaces or do you add a short line? Such as

He walked out the door and went home.​

------​

The next day he walked over to her house.​

I know its a minor thing but was just curious how other people approach this.

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The best way is to use a single # centered on the page. This is the proofreader's mark that editors, copyeditors, and the equivalent of typesetters look for.

Editors use proofreader's marks when editing your manuscript, and it helps to be able to read them when going through your copyedited manuscript. You will also use them yourself when making any changes in the copyedited manuscript.

You can find a list here: http://www.m-w.com/mw/table/proofrea.htm

There are some downloadable lists around, and most good grammar books will have a list of proofreader's marks somewhere inside. So does the AP Stylebook.

No extra line spaces. And see the link, it will end all questions.

Shawn

Thank you Jamesaritchie for that link. It proved to be very interesting.

If you're not publishing online your paragraph's can be indented so you don't need a blank line between those, so a time pass can be signified by a blank line.

That's how most professional authors do it Although perhaps a # is good for the manuscript?

JohnLynch said:

If you're not publishing online your paragraph's can be indented so you don't need a blank line between those, so a time pass can be signified by a blank line.

That's how most professional authors do it Although perhaps a # is good for the manuscript?

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# means blank line.

There's no blank lines between paragraphs.

#

JohnLynch said:

If you're not publishing online your paragraph's can be indented so you don't need a blank line between those, so a time pass can be signified by a blank line.

That's how most professional authors do it Although perhaps a # is good for the manuscript?

Click to expand...

The # is for use when you change scenes within a chapter. It just means "Put an extra space between these two sentences so readers will know the scene has changed."

And the # space is useful when you add or delete things from the manuscript.

The extra space by itself can move off the page or to the top of the next page where it is easily missed.

Just my .005 cents...

Karen

Several ways

Lel513 said:

Just wondering how other people seperate their text

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As has been said, proofreaders use a centered hash-mark "#". I use three centered asterisks "***", and some people use an extra set of blank lines with no intervening characters.

So long as the break is understandable, any reasonable method is fine, although you may wish to stick to the centered hash "#" if you're getting started.

When you sign with an agent, be sure to ask about formatting details, and then create a new master copy using the suggested changes.

Or, if you sell directly to a publisher, or when your agent sells your book, make sure you get in touch with the publisher contact and find out precisely what format they prefer. Then make the changes so you can submit a new, fresh master copy (both on paper and electronic) with the exact formats that the publisher prefers.

By the way, you wrote "seperate" three times. It's "separate". Good grammar and spelling skills are essential, so I suggest that you "Brush up your Shakespeare..."

Traditionally in newspaper copy ### means 'the end.' I always use 3 centered asterisks to separate text.


Theye're called dingbats.

Newspapers

Sassenach said:

Traditionally in newspaper copy ### means 'the end.' I always use 3 centered asterisks to separate text.


Theye're called dingbats.

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You can do that, but it means the copyeditor is guessing at what you mean. The # actually means "leave a space" and the copyeditor knows this because she was trained to see it. It's actually in most seventh grade English books, in grammar books, and in the AP styleguide. If you use asterisks, you're taking a chance that what you mean will be misunderstood. And if it is understood, it just means the editor will have to put the # in for you.

In newspaper work, -30- was what we always used to mean "The End." If I recall, this started with teletype operators and meant "End of message."

#

katdad said:

As has been said, proofreaders use a centered hash-mark "#". I use three centered asterisks "***", and some people use an extra set of blank lines with no intervening characters.

So long as the break is understandable, any reasonable method is fine, although you may wish to stick to the centered hash "#" if you're getting started.

When you sign with an agent, be sure to ask about formatting details, and then create a new master copy using the suggested changes.

Or, if you sell directly to a publisher, or when your agent sells your book, make sure you get in touch with the publisher contact and find out precisely what format they prefer. Then make the changes so you can submit a new, fresh master copy (both on paper and electronic) with the exact formats that the publisher prefers.

By the way, you wrote "seperate" three times. It's "separate". Good grammar and spelling skills are essential, so I suggest that you "Brush up your Shakespeare..."

Click to expand...

Using a blank line without marks almost guarantees the copyeditor won't know what you mean. Copyeditors see extra spaces between lines all the times. It's something many writers do accidentally. The copyeditor automatically closes them.

This is another one of those times when I really don't understand why writers risk being misunderstood. The # is what the ciopyeditor is trained to see, it's the correct symbol, it's the symbol she'll have to put in if you don't, and it's the only symbol where misunderstanding isn't possible. So why not use it?

It's like arguing about the font, or double spacing, or any other convention. It just strikes me as really odd when writers go against the convention, go against what the editors want to see, when doing it the correct way is so simple.

James,

What if you number your scenes?

Mari