Is this proper punctuation?

Papaya · Feb 28, 2013

‘The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry...’ Red Mulberry…Mulberry Tree.

Is this proper punctuation? The single quotes show the character reading silently from a book. She breaks off to think about what she's just read. I've been searching for the answer, but only found a thread on reading out loud. Searching outside AW yielded even poorer results. Punctuation isn't usually an issue for me, but I'm just not sure I'm remembering this correctly.

Chase · Feb 28, 2013

Papaya said:
‘The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry...’ Red Mulberry…Mulberry Tree.

Is this proper punctuation? The single quotes show the character reading silently from a book. She breaks off to think about what she's just read. I've been searching for the answer, but only found a thread on reading out loud. Searching outside AW yielded even poorer results. Punctuation isn't usually an issue for me, but I'm just not sure I'm remembering this correctly.

I see you're in northern California. For U.S. publications of fiction, single quotation marks are only for quotes within quotes:

"I'm telling you, he said, 'I'll kill you!' He said it loud and clear," she cried.

My understanding is there are no exceptions.

Papaya · Feb 28, 2013

Thanks, Chase. I don't remember single quotes being that rigid, but it's been a while since I was in school.

Chase · Feb 28, 2013

You might consider italics for unspoken words, something like:

She read: The Morus rubra, more commonly known as the red mulberry... "Hmmm, red mulberry" she said. "The mulberry tree."

Papaya · Feb 28, 2013

She doesn't say the words out loud, and she is in a situation where I can't change it so she does. I was also trying to avoid the tags, but maybe I'll have to put them in to avoid confusion.

Chase · Feb 28, 2013

Sorry I couldn't be more help. I don't know about rigid, but U.S. rules are different from U.K. rules. The following pretty much follows Chicago Manual of Style.

Single Quotation Marks—A Reader’s Question, May 7th, 2011 by Fiction Editor Beth Hill:

A reader recently asked about using single quotation marks. I answered in a comment on the article, but since I’ve not addressed single quotation marks before, I thought I might as well make an article out of my answer.
This is an expanded version of my answer when reader Sara asked—

Can you give me any suggestions for the use of single quotes– besides their use ‘inside’ a quotation? I’d like to use them to add emphasis to single words within text.
Are there any hard and fast rules?

In fiction, at least with American English, there’s really no other use for single quotation marks than a quote within another quote (typically when a character is speaking and quoting someone else). Note: British English can use single and double quotation marks in the reverse, with singles for dialogue and doubles for quotations within dialogue.

Papaya · Feb 28, 2013

Thanks for the info, Chase!

What I meant by rigid is not allowing for any exceptions outside of quoting within quotes. That seems to be a favorite word choice of mine at the moment. I'm thinking it's time to let that one go.

So does that mean I need to use italics and a tag to show her reading? If I can't use single quotes, I'm stumped as far as another way to go.

Chase · Feb 28, 2013

Papaya said:
So does that mean I need to use italics and a tag to show her reading?

My protagonist is deaf (like me) so I use italics for the ASL he signs and sees.

Other writers use italics for thoughts, so I think you're in good company.

I've seen others use the tags you want to avoid:

Oh, just fine! she thought. Mulberry trees look all alike. She threw the book.

Papaya · Feb 28, 2013

What I'm trying to do is differentiate between her reading the quote from the book, and the thoughts she has about what she's reading. Both are done inside her head, so I"m thinking without single quotes, a tag is going to be necessary.

guttersquid · Feb 28, 2013

"The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry ..."
Red Mulberry … Mulberry tree ...

Papaya · Feb 28, 2013

guttersquid said:
"The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry ..."
Red Mulberry … Mulberry tree ...

I don't think quotes will work, because she's reading to herself, not out loud. As far as I know, it's a bad idea to use quotes unless a character is speaking out loud.

absitinvidia · Feb 28, 2013

Papaya said:
I don't think quotes will work, because she's reading to herself, not out loud. As far as I know, it's a bad idea to use quotes unless a character is speaking out loud.

You're going to need a tag here, I'm afraid, if for no other reason than to distinguish between what she reads and what she thinks:

The Morus rubra, more commonly known as the Red Mulberry, she read. Red Mulberry…Mulberry Tree.

You might even need two tags, to make clear that one italicized portion is from the book and one's her thoughts.

ETA: FWIW, this is the kind of thing a copy editor wrestles with, so if you're hoping to publish this, I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it since it'll be someone else's problem anyway at some point ;-)

guttersquid · Feb 28, 2013

Well, if you do decide to use italics, consider that Morus rubra should already be italicized (I think. Is it Latin?), which means that it wouldn't be if the rest of the sentence is.

The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry ...

or

The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry ...

Papaya · Mar 1, 2013

Okay, guess I'm going to have to use tags. Yes, it's the Latin name, and it hadn't occurred to me yet that I need to use italics for that as well, but now that I think about it, you are right. :e2smack:

I'm going to take your advice and let the copy editor worry about this. It just so happens to show up within the first 100 words of my book. Plus, the perfectionist in me really wants it to be right. :gaah

Anyway, thanks for the help! Time to start focusing my energy on something else.

BethS · Mar 1, 2013

Papaya said:
‘The Morus rubra, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry...’ Red Mulberry…Mulberry Tree.

Try this:

The Morus rubra, the text read, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry...

Red Mulberry. Mulberry Tree.

Papaya · Mar 1, 2013

That works for me. Thank you, Beth!

guttersquid · Mar 1, 2013

BethS said:
Try this:

The Morus rubra, the text read, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry...

Red Mulberry. Mulberry Tree.

Beth, I believe your example should be:

The Morus rubra, the text read, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry ...

BethS · Mar 2, 2013

guttersquid said:
Beth, I believe your example should be:

The Morus rubra, the text read, or more commonly known as the Red Mulberry ...

I had to read that three times to figure out what the difference was between your example and mine...

Is this proper punctuation?

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

guttersquid

I agree with Roxxsmom.

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

absitinvidia

A bit of a wallflower

guttersquid

I agree with Roxxsmom.

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

BethS

Papaya

Unfold your own myth. - Rumi

guttersquid

I agree with Roxxsmom.

BethS