Paragraph spacing

[uksnowy]

I write as it flows and do insert para spaces when needed. How reading works in here, there seems to be a space after a single line, sometimes dialogue. I can't write like that - who can? are they edited somewhere after submittal - can't imagine so.

I think some time ago when I was last active in here I read that the works are being read on different devices and not just a computer screen and needed to suit such. I read on my screen, I haven't got a device.

Am I losing out when I submit because my pages are not 50/50 blank spaces for paras?

 

[oggbashan]

If you copy and paste, a carriage return after each piece of dialogue and at the end of any paragraph will usually give the correct spacing for most devices.

If you have difficulty with the paragraphing, when you review your submission go to Make Changes and insert carriage returns where necessary.

Dialogue should be spaced like this:

Did he? I thought he lived on instant meals, take-aways and eating out."

"He might have done that once or twice, but most of the time he cooked as you would have done. He even invited Bill and I round for dinner - twice. I too was dubious, but his cooking was nearly up to your standard."

"He doesn't cook while I'm around, Heather."

"Do you let him? Or ask him?"

"Well, I suppose not. I'm so used to doing it myself..."

"...and reluctant to share your kitchen. This is YOUR space, isn't it?"

 

[uksnowy]

Thanks for responding, but I can't agree, spaces like that after each sentence or utterance????
Can you explain why please? Or is it a regulation on this site?

 

[Zeb_Carter]

As each person speaks a new paragraph is generated. Even if the person says one word, it's a paragraph in itself.

Thus, if you have a lot of dialog you also have a lot of white space, which is a lot easier to read than a wall of text.

Also, long narratives should be broken up into four or five sentence structures. It's easier to read if a long narrative is broken up.

Hope this helps.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's standard in fiction for each new utterance to start on a new line. It's easier to read and it's clearer who is speaking.

I write and space my paragraphs as I go rather than doing it later. I think it's useful to do this because it forces me to "write in paragraphs" -- meaning, using paragraphs as coherent units of narrative, which makes writing clearer and easier to follow.

It's also useful and pleasing to the reader not to let paragraphs get too long, and to mix up their length. Sometimes it's good to have one-sentence narrative paragraphs, especially if it's a narrative point you want to emphasize.

If you read stories on this site on a mobile phone using the app a long paragraph will fill the whole page. That's not fun to read.

 

[oggbashan]

Thanks for responding, but I can't agree, spaces like that after each sentence or utterance????
Can you explain why please? Or is it a regulation on this site?

If you DON'T do it like that your story may be rejected.

That is the standard method.

 

[uksnowy]

Zeb, sorry but disagree. Do you see books like that?
Simon, thanks that's the way I write
Ogg, standard where, only in here?

 

[sr71plt]

I write as it flows and do insert para spaces when needed. How reading works in here, there seems to be a space after a single line, sometimes dialogue. I can't write like that - who can? ?

Everyone who writes for publication can and does. The length of the line doesn't determine when a new paragraph starts. The content does. Dialogue by separate people is separated into different paragraphs. They don't have to talk in multiline segments for this to be the case.

Go and see how it's handled in published books.

 

[CarlusMagnus]

Thanks for responding, but I can't agree, spaces like that after each sentence or utterance????
Can you explain why please? Or is it a regulation on this site?

There are two standards (for the publication industry in general)—one for material to be read from print, and one for material to be read from a screen. For printed material, each new paragraph begins with an indented line but there are no spaces between paragraphs. For screen material, each new paragraph is preceded by a blank line but there are no indents.

And, yes, the standard for writing dialogue—whether you like it or not—is to begin a new paragraph every time the speaker changes.

But you may have multiple sentences in a paragraph—just not multiple utterances by two or more speakers.

It's probably wise not to compose paragraphs of more than a half a dozen sentences for electronic media, though. A screen full of unbroken text can be very difficult to read.

Not following the standards for dialogue makes life very difficult for your readers—who then have a lot of trouble knowing who has said what. (Even people who don't know these rules explicitly are nevertheless accustomed to them and use them unconsciously when they read.) Using quotation marks correctly is almost as important, but that's another topic for another time.

 

[oggbashan]

...

Ogg, standard where, only in here?

Standard almost everywhere. Here are two guides. There are many saying the same thing. Space between speakers.

http://edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_33_85.html

http://firstmanuscript.com/format-dialogue/

If you don't space between speakers Laurel has to do it for you, by hand. If she gets fed up with doing that your story could be rejected for punctuation.

 

[oggbashan]

If you write for publication, whether on the internet or in print, the publisher/site owner has specific requirements for a work to be accepted.

On Literotica, all stories are in the same font. There are a few variations that can be used sparingly - mainly bold and italic.

What your story looks like will vary according to the device on which it is read. You can get some idea by changing the style for the Authors' Hangout. If you are used to one format it looks weird when you change to another. I have different bulletin styles for me as oggbashan and me as jeanne d'artois. That helps me to avoid posting as og when I'm signed in as jeanne.

BUT - any long piece of unbroken text whether dialogue or description will deter readers if it takes up too much or all of whatever screen they are using. That is the difference between writing for the internet and for a book.

I could have written all that as one continuous paragraph but who would want to read it like that:

If you write for publication, whether on the internet or in print, the publisher/site owner has specific requirements for a work to be accepted. On Literotica, all stories are in the same font. There are a few variations that can be used sparingly - mainly bold and italic. What your story looks like will vary according to the device on which it is read. You can get some idea by changing the style for the Authors' Hangout. If you are used to one format it looks weird when you change to another. I have different bulletin styles for me as oggbashan and me as jeanne d'artois. That helps me to avoid posting as og when I'm signed in as jeanne. BUT - any long piece of unbroken text whether dialogue or description will deter readers if it takes up too much or all of whatever screen they are using. That is the difference between writing for the internet and for a book.I could have written all that as one continuous paragraph but who would want to read it like that?

 

[Hypoxia]

Such paragraphing has been standard in Ænglish-language publishing for nearly three centuries. I scanned Project Gutenberg and found Swift's 1727 GULLIVER'S TRAVELS without breaks when dialog changes, and Cleland's 1749 FANNY HILL *with* such line breaks, so the practice dates to around then. Look at published contemporary writing; you'll see exactly such spacing.

"La di da," said Fred, "that's real blah blah blah."

Wilma grunted, "I dunno, seems more like blech de blech or whatever." She dropped her knickers. "But here's a taste treat for you!"

"Looks more like a terrible trap."

"Is not."

"Is so."

"Well then blah blah blah," she hissed.

The sky darkened ominously. A strange ovoid craft bearing lights and tentacles swooped over them.

Wilma cringed. Fred stood resolutely.

"Blah blah blah," he shouted to the alien presence. The craft circled a few times, then vanished. Fred turned to Wilma. "See, nothing to get hung about." A tight, bright heat ray beamed down from a dark cloud and seared off his little toe, right foot, last joint. "Ouch," he muttered, "I hate this shit."

"Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

"Start higher up."​

Each speaker's utterences are set off in a new paragraph. Hit ENTER after each paragraph in the text you submit to LIT and its formatting warez will handle the rest.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Zeb, sorry but disagree. Do you see books like that?
Simon, thanks that's the way I write
Ogg, standard where, only in here?

Mine are. If you adhere to the block paragraph standard, which is what they require here, you will too.

Most books(print) are the indent five spaces for each paragraph. Some ebooks use this style also.

Take a look at some stuff here at lit, you'll notice they use the block paragraph style.

 

[SimonDoom]

It's also useful to keep in mind that this is the Internet. This isn't book publishing. People don't come here wanting to read Faulkner. My impression is that the authors who connect best with the readers on this site are mindful of the need to appeal to short attention spans. I like Faulkner, but that's not what I'm looking for when I come to Literotica. I appreciate authors on this Site who write in a way that's easy to digest. Reasonably short paragraphs are easier for the reader to digest than long ones.

 

[sr71plt]

It's also useful to keep in mind that this is the Internet. This isn't book publishing. People don't come here wanting to read Faulkner. My impression is that the authors who connect best with the readers on this site are mindful of the need to appeal to short attention spans. I like Faulkner, but that's not what I'm looking for when I come to Literotica. I appreciate authors on this Site who write in a way that's easy to digest. Reasonably short paragraphs are easier for the reader to digest than long ones.

Yes, but that has nothing to do with the formatting of dialogue one liners. That's universal whether in print or electronic form.

 

[uksnowy]

I read books - Lee Childs, David Baldacci, but only in book form from the library.
I don't read from this site because of the half page format with a load of blue logo on the right and irritating para space.
Maybe I am missing a trick - is there a way of seeing stuff on here full page? Otherwise I have to copy and past to my OpenOffice Writer word processing as I don't like Word.

 

[Weird Harold]

Maybe I am missing a trick - is there a way of seeing stuff on here full page? Otherwise I have to copy and past to my OpenOffice Writer word processing as I don't like Word.

Lit uses an 80% of screen width for text because that is what the reader's eye expects -- roughly the same as book margins or typed text standards. You probably are bothered by the almost the entire 20% margin being on the right of the text.

You can probably use Ctrl-+ to zoom in on Lit page to push the right margin off-screen and expand the text to full-screen width. You'll probably zoom pack out a bit when the full-width text starts to give you a headache.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Lit uses an 80% of screen width for text because that is what the reader's eye expects -- roughly the same as book margins or typed text standards. You probably are bothered by the almost the entire 20% margin being on the right of the text.

You can probably use Ctrl-+ to zoom in on Lit page to push the right margin off-screen and expand the text to full-screen width. You'll probably zoom pack out a bit when the full-width text starts to give you a headache.

Or move the right hand side of you browser so all you see is the text on the left hand side. Then you'll see that the test width is the same as a page in a book or ebook.

 

[Handley_Page]

I read books - Lee Childs, David Baldacci, but only in book form from the library.
I don't read from this site because of the half page format with a load of blue logo on the right and irritating para space.
Maybe I am missing a trick - is there a way of seeing stuff on here full page? Otherwise I have to copy and past to my OpenOffice Writer word processing as I don't like Word.

Snowy, I fear you may simply have to bite the bullet and get used to the layout.
I took me a little while to get used to the page layout on my (PC) screen, but I no longer find it difficult.
Word & Open Office are similar enough not to cause too much of a problem. There are other Word Processors (tried Kingsoft Writer? A simpler one is JARTE).
As to the spacing, you've not much choice. Either do it in the conventional (Lit) way or don't bother. This latter might be a bit of a problem; if you are a "good" author.

Welcome to the chaos that is the Authors Hangout.

 

[sr71plt]

I don't see why an author should care to see exactly how it turns out on the Lit. page. The author isn't the book designer and Lit.'s specifications are very basic. Paragraph openers flush left (that's the way Lit. will do it no matter what you want). Put an extra return between each paragraph and try not to use any coding other than italics. Couldn't be simpler. The author shouldn't have to be involved in margins at all. It all flows into the Lit. template.

As far as each separate dialogue line being in a separate paragraph, the Lee Child and David Baldacci books do this like everyone else (I have edited for both of them).

 

[uksnowy]

Thanks fols nit I am well piseed on Xmas daya ater luncch see aya

 

[holliday1960]

Thanks fols nit I am well piseed on Xmas daya ater luncch see aya

Does anyone have a batman decoder ring?

 

[TxRad]

Does anyone have a batman decoder ring?

Mr Snowy is drunk.

 

[holliday1960]

Mr Snowy is drunk.

No way...Not on Christmas. It's the fallout from the magic dust Santa gives his reindeer! It's a whole new way to fly!

 

[TxRad]

No way...Not on Christmas. It's the fallout from the magic dust Santa gives his reindeer! It's a whole new way to fly!

That magic dust will make you do more than fly.