Submitting story without manually putting line breaks between paragraphs?

[purpleswordpanties]

I use Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word automatically puts spaces (NOT carriage returns) between paragraphs.
If I copy the text to the Literotica submission form, those spaces between paragraphs are lost. And I end up with this wall of text if I don't manually add carriage returns between each paragraph.

How are people handling this? I absolutely refuse to submit a story that is poorly formatted. But there needs to be a line break between each paragraph, otherwise it looks awful. Surely there's a better way than manually inserting those line breaks?

 

[mynameisben]

Rather than copying the text from Word, have you tried uploading the Word file itself? Try it. That may solve your problem.

 

[purpleswordpanties]

Problem with trying it is that I have no way of knowing whether the formatting is correct until the story is actually up. Preview doesn't work. By then, it's too late to fix.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I use Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word automatically puts spaces (NOT carriage returns) between paragraphs.
If I copy the text to the Literotica submission form, those spaces between paragraphs are lost. And I end up with this wall of text if I don't manually add carriage returns between each paragraph.

How are people handling this? I absolutely refuse to submit a story that is poorly formatted. But there needs to be a line break between each paragraph, otherwise it looks awful. Surely there's a better way than manually inserting those line breaks?

Get into the habit of hitting return twice, every time you end a paragraph. It's just what has to be done. I guess for me it's automatic, I don't even think about it - but then, I've submitted a million words or so.

Someone clever will know how to find one para break and replace with two (like a word replace, but for formatting), but I just got into the habit whilst drafting. I draft in rtf, incidentally, which seems to avoid Word html stuff going wrong. The file sizes are bigger, which I don't understand, but it works.

 

[oggbashan]

I use Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word automatically puts spaces (NOT carriage returns) between paragraphs.
If I copy the text to the Literotica submission form, those spaces between paragraphs are lost. And I end up with this wall of text if I don't manually add carriage returns between each paragraph.

How are people handling this? I absolutely refuse to submit a story that is poorly formatted. But there needs to be a line break between each paragraph, otherwise it looks awful. Surely there's a better way than manually inserting those line breaks?

Use Word to set a format that inserts hard line breaks.

 

[purpleswordpanties]

That did it!

Rather... I used the Replace function to replace all paragraph breaks with 2 line breaks.

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-insert-a-line-break-in-MS-Word

 

[TarnishedPenny]

That did it!

Rather... I used the Replace function to replace all paragraph breaks with 2 line breaks.

https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-insert-a-line-break-in-MS-Word

Or - if I understand your issue - go to Paragraph, then Line and Paragraph Spacing, then Line Spacing Options, then set Spacing, before and after, to Auto. That should give you a double paragraph spacing every time you hit Return.

I write in Word myself but I simply hit Return twice - learned on a typewriter a gagillion years ago.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

Or - if I understand your issue - go to Paragraph, then Line and Paragraph Spacing, then Line Spacing Options, then set Spacing, before and after, to Auto. That should give you a double paragraph spacing every time you hit Return.

I write in Word myself but I simply hit Return twice - learned on a typewriter a gagillion years ago.

I think that was the issue OP was having in the first place; Word showing whitespace where there was no actual line break. Newer versions of Word automatically have lines spacing set up so even if you only hit return once after a paragraph you'll still have whitespace separating that paragraph and the next. I haven't uploaded a Word file yet, but I am pretty sure that whitespace does not transfer to Lit when you submit your story, as it's not a line break but just fancy formatting.

Personally, I paste my story into my code editor and do a search and replace to duplicate every newline character. I guess Word can do it too, but I don't write in that program so this is just as easy for me. Additionally, it also gets rid of all special formatting for me, which is also nice. Then I copy and paste that text into the submission text box. I do add HTML tags into my writing manually as I write, so those will already be in place.

 

[KeithD]

I use Microsoft Word. Microsoft Word automatically puts spaces (NOT carriage returns) between paragraphs.

Not if you have the spacing set up otherwise. If I've zeroed out the spacing marks (which I always do), it doesn't provide any spacing I don't give it. I have no trouble putting the extra paragraph lines in manually and Lit. has no trouble posting my stories in their standard format. Stripping all of your own special formatting out is the best way to go with any online publisher.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Just set word paragraph setting as follows...

 

[ChloeTzang]

I go thru and manually insert lines using return. It’s foolproof, works every time. I should do it the easy way, I know, but setting up all those format things is a pain.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I go thru and manually insert lines using return. It’s foolproof, works every time. I should do it the easy way, I know, but setting up all those format things is a pain.

I just use the double enter/carriage return twice at the end of a paragraph. Much simpler then going through at the end.

 

[OneAuthor]

I just use the double enter/carriage return twice at the end of a paragraph. Much simpler then going through at the end.

Indeed, and also the way I do it. It's how I was taught in typing class...on an actual typewriter...36 years ago.

 

[KeithD]

Just set word paragraph setting as follows...

Yep, this.

 

[purpleswordpanties]

Just set word paragraph setting as follows...

Although I solved my problem, I will say that you misunderstood my issue. The issue wasn't making everything single space. It was figuring out a way to add a line break after every paragraph without needing to manually insert it (which in a long story would be very time-consuming and annoying).

 

[KeithD]

That's not what you asked. And several of us have given you what works (and I noted that it's best not to use special formatting for submissions). Zeb provided how you should set the paragraph style at the basic level for best use and manually hit the paragraph key twice between paragraphs. It's not onerous to learn to do this and it works. It's also not a Word problem.

 

[eroticstoryspinner]

Interesting thread. I do my first draft in Google Docs, and have never run into this.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Although I solved my problem, I will say that you misunderstood my issue. The issue wasn't making everything single space. It was figuring out a way to add a line break after every paragraph without needing to manually insert it (which in a long story would be very time-consuming and annoying).

Not if you do it as you type...

Like I just did here...

... and here.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I just use the double enter/carriage return twice at the end of a paragraph. Much simpler then going through at the end.

I hate the gaps when I’m writing. Really throws my focus on what I’m getting out when I see gaps and I like no spacing
.

 

[ThisNameIsntTakenYet]

I hate the gaps when I’m writing. Really throws my focus on what I’m getting out when I see gaps and I like no spacing
.

Same here, I prefer using indentation rather than an empty line beforehand to separate paragraphs.

 

[BelleCanzuto]

I hate the gaps when I’m writing. Really throws my focus on what I’m getting out when I see gaps and I like no spacing
.

Same here, I prefer using indentation rather than an empty line beforehand to separate paragraphs.

Indeed, and also the way I do it. It's how I was taught in typing class...on an actual typewriter...36 years ago.

And I hate gaps that I didn't put there on purpose. But that might be because I also learned to type on an actual typewriter, twenty years ago.

 

[ElectricBlue]

It was figuring out a way to add a line break after every paragraph without needing to manually insert it (which in a long story would be very time-consuming and annoying).

An extra key stroke every time you end a paragraph, time consuming and annoying?

Bloody hell, that's a first world problem of the first order, if ever I've seen one .

 

[ElectricBlue]

Same here, I prefer using indentation rather than an empty line beforehand to separate paragraphs.

That's not going to work on Lit.

 

[Voboy]

Just upload straight from Word.

I proof my stuff on Word before uploading, and I've never had a submission post that way that wasn't EXACTLY what I'd typed on my Word document. There's just no need for that final, "peace-of-mind" run-through during the upload; Laurel's conversions of Word to Lit are pretty much debugged.

With that said, I've just gotten used to hitting enter twice for a new paragraph. It's really not that hard, though I know I could set up Word to do it for me.

 

[KeithD]

though I know I could set up Word to do it for me.

There's no guarantee that Word being able to set it up means the Lit. system is able to replicate it. The most assured way of meeting Lit. format standards is to use absolutely no special formatting styles of your own. You're the author, not the book designer.