Quick question; Italics or quotation marks?

[Lovepotion69]

Hi all,
If someone in the story is thinking, what is the Lit style guide for that? Should I use normal quotes or Italics. Personally I'd go for italics and that seems to be the norm here, but thought I'd ask.

Working on my first story, hopefully it'l be done soon (just need to stop procrastinating etc!)

 

[SexyChele]

You should not use quotation marks to contain thoughts. Italics sets it apart to help he reader, and would probably be the best use. Plus, it is what you normally see here at Literotica.

Good luck with the story!

 

[KillerMuffin]

Quotation marks are used for spoken dialogue and it's disconcerting to read thoughts in quotes. Not totally wrong, but not totally right, either.

Personally, I don't use anything to separate thought out.


She tried not to stare when he stepped onto the elevator, pressed the button for the tenth floor, and the did the usual--stood facing the doors with his eyes on the slowly creeping numbers. She just couldn't help herself. She looked straight at his butt. Oh my, what a sweet, sweet ass. It took most of her willpower to keep her hands off of it.

Or

She tried not to stare when he stepped onto the elevator, pressed the button for the tenth floor, and the did the usual--stood facing the doors with his eyes on the slowly creeping numbers. She just couldn't help herself. She looked straight at his butt. Oh my, what a sweet, sweet ass, she thought. It took most of her willpower to keep her hands off of it.

Did the second one add anything for you? Did it further the story? Were in any doubt who was noticing a sweet ass in the first one? The most important consideration: as the reader, which one felt better to read? Which one flowed?

I think that if you find it necessary to delineate thought, you're doing it wrong. But that's just my humble opinion.

If you must, use italics, not quotation marks.

 

[Lovepotion69]

Thanks for the comments. I think that at times italics seem ok, but in other instances it really isn't necessary. I can't come up with any specific examples right now though. I'll look through the story and see what works better.

/LP

 

[MathGirl]

Quotes

I use quotes for dialog and italics for the narrator's personal thoughts.

 

[Pookie]

Reading text in italics is disconcerting for me as a reader. It breaks my concentration, which can only hurt the story. To me, changing from normal to italics is not much different than changing fonts on me.

As a reader when I see italics, I begin wondering why it was necessary to use italics, instead of just reading the story. That's not what I would want as an author.

Also, text in italics is harder to read. Take a story you have in Word and change the entire thing to italics. Now read it from beginning to end. I think you will agree with me then.

Avoid doing anything to break the reader's concentration. It will only hurt your story.

Pookie

 

[Pookie]

I have seen thoughts put inside single quotes at times. But I would recommend KM's way. Readers will know it is thoughts if done the right way by the author.


Pookie

 

[openthighs_sarah]

Personally, I don't use anything to separate thought out.

I agree with KM... You can usually get away with not using italics for internal dialogue in first person stories a lot easier than in third person narratives. Another method is to just describe the character's thoughts (in third person), rather than transcribe them. (He wondered if... she realized that...)

I think I would make an exception and use italics if the character was possessed and actually had another person in his head, and the other person was doing the thinking.

 

[TheEarl]

I like being different...

Personally I use both italics and single quotation marks. The quotes separate the thought from the narration and the italics separate the thought from the speech.

But then again, I always was strange.

'Damn fools,' he thought to himself.

The Earl

 

[KillerMuffin]

Well, I suppose it's better than thinking to someone else, no?

'Damned amateur,' she thought to him.

Thought and narration are frequently the same thing. When they aren't, you begin mucking about in that absolutely horrid descriptive narrative business.

Of course, you format in accordance with the guidelines of the market you're submitting to. Things like delineating thought can only be found by reading their publication(s).

Lit flat doesn't care.

Most paying publications do. So when you run with general convention you don't teach yourself bad habits that you must eventually unlearn.

 

[TheEarl]

True KM. Looking throuhg my stories, I find that my thoughts tend to go straight into the narration, esp when writing in the first person. Can't remember the last time I used "she/he/it thought."

Italics and quotes are just my preference for when it's unavoidable. On the 'thought to himself' business, I maintain that 'to himself' isn't redundant words as it indicates internal speech, rather than just bog-standard thought.

The Earl

 

[Guest]

Of course you can use italics for "thoughts" of a person or (a.k.a. interior discourse). There is no "house style" (even at Literotica) that prohibits or even discourages the use of italics.

The choice, especially in modern fiction, is not to enforce a 'house style', but in fact, defer to preference of the author. The common-sense caveat is that the author should be consistent in the use of the italics, or quotation marks, or no quotation marks for interior discourse when you select and apply your favorite convention of choice through your story submittal.

My personal preference is to use italics for internal discourse, and I have no problem reading it. I just finished Robert Ludlum's The Sigma Protocol, by St. Martin's Press, that was used the italic-interior-dialog convention, a very easy read.

The are several general conventions used in modern literature at least, and there are general guidelines for. I cite the The Chicago Manual of Style, Section 10.43--Interior Discourse, which provides several examples for interior dialog: 1) with quotation marks, 2) dialog without quotation marks, and 3) dialog with italics.

The examples below, therefore, are acceptable forms (in the US, at least), but there are no other "combinations."

Edgar looked at her in despair and thought, "Now what have I done?"

Edgar looked at her in despair and thought, Now what have I done?

Edgar looked at her in despair and thought, Now what have I done?

As an aside, TheEarl, your use of italics and quotes for interior discourse (is that really an acceptable British convention?), at least in the US, would have other meanings (like emphasis), and could be ambiguous.

 

[TheEarl]

I don't know whether it's an acceptable English custom. No-one's ever complained before; it's just the way I tend to do it.

The Earl

 

[pop_54]

Hi

Single quotes or nothing, I too find breaking a line of text up with a different type style distracting, apart from that quotes are quicker to insert than style changes. At the end of the day if a reader can't fathom speech from thought or narrative we're doing something wrong in the writing.


pops.........

 

[jon.hayworth]

Italics if the thought is written in the voice of the thinker. -If I have done it correctly you should see the difference in the example below.

A tall leggy blond sauntering along the sidewalk attracted Tony's attention I wouldn't kick that out of bed!

"I asked if you wanted to go for a beer man?" The exasperation at having to repeat his question showed in Pete's voice.

Tony's thought is what is going on in his mind from his pov, whereas it is the omnipotent narrator who tells the reader how Pete feels about his friend Tony's inattention.

jon

 

[Guest]

Of course you can use italics for "thoughts" of a person or (a.k.a. interior discourse). There is no "house style" (even at Literotica) that prohibits or even discourages the use of italics.

The choice, especially in modern fiction, is not to enforce a 'house style', but in fact, defer to preference of the author. The common-sense caveat is that the author should be consistent in the use of the italics, or quotation marks, or no quotation marks for interior discourse when you select and apply your favorite convention of choice through your story submittal.

My personal preference is to use italics for internal discourse, and I have no problem reading it. I just finished Robert Ludlum's The Sigma Protocol, by St. Martin's Press, that was used the italic-interior-dialog convention, a very easy read.

The are several general conventions used in modern literature at least, and there are general guidelines for. I cite the The Chicago Manual of Style, Section 10.43--Interior Discourse, which provides several examples for interior dialog: 1) with quotation marks, 2) dialog without quotation marks, and 3) dialog with italics.

The examples below, therefore, are acceptable forms (in the US, at least), but there are no other "combinations."

Edgar looked at her in despair and thought, "Now what have I done?"

Edgar looked at her in despair and thought, Now what have I done?

Edgar looked at her in despair and thought, Now what have I done?

As an aside, TheEarl, your use of italics and quotes for interior discourse (is that really an acceptable British convention?), at least in the US, would have other meanings (like emphasis), and could be ambiguous.

*jumping up and down in vindication*

I knew that Miss Murphy had taught us to enclose thoughts in quotation marks! Phew!

*hugging proofreadmanx*

b

 

[Octavian]

a solution

I found the ideal solution.
I make sure my characters never think!
And it saves a lot of work, too.

Octavian

 

[MathGirl]

Italics

I love my italics. I can't write without italics. I dream in italics. They will have to pry my italics from my cold, dead hand.

 

[Guest]

Re: Italics

I love my italics. I can't write without italics. I dream in italics. They will have to pry my italics from my cold, dead hand.

_____

I love your italics too, MathGirl. So supple and soft.

 

[Pookie]

My italics are small. I wish mine were bigger. Maybe that is why they are so hard to see.

*looking at MG with italics envy*

Pookie

 

[Guest]

My italics are small. I wish mine were bigger. Maybe that is why they are so hard to see.

*looking at MG with italics envy*

Pookie

______

Gotta keep telling myself, size doesn't matter . . . size doesn't matter . . .

Pookie? Ahem . . . size doesn't matter. In fact, I love small italics. Mind you, not a mouthful is wasted!*






*I'm going ahead (out of my better judgment) and apologize for my use of italics in this post. But I wanted to convey the point of emphasis and thought without using the dreaded asterisk, (i.e., *Gotta keep telling myself, size doesn't matter . . . size doesn't matter . . .*), which, as you can see in this particular context, could be confusing as a footnote.**

**Sorry for the explanation above, but it seemed necessary, and purposeful, and important, and anal.

 

[Guest]

*jumping up and down in vindication*

I knew that Miss Murphy had taught us to enclose thoughts in quotation marks! Phew!

*hugging proofreadmanx*

b

______

Bridget, I actually heard your erect nipples rubbing against the fabric of your blouse as your breasts jiggled up and down.

 

[Guest]

bad manx!

______

Bridget, I actually heard your erect nipples rubbing against the fabric of your blouse as your breasts jiggled up and down.

PRManx-

I never go without a bra.... I could hurt myself!

b

 

[Guest]

Re: bad manx!

PRManx-

I never go without a bra.... I could hurt myself!

b

______

Now, Bridget, I'm pretty sure that was the sounds of a nipple rub against a buttoned blouse or halter top.

I recognize that sound anywhere! Especially from my fond memories on college campus during the summer as the female coeds pass me with the three most visually and audibly important things to a guy: beautiful eyes, an innocent smile, and engorged areolas!

 

[Pookie]

Gotta keep telling myself, size doesn't matter . . . size doesn't matter . . .

Pookie? Ahem . . . size doesn't matter. In fact, I love small italics. Mind you, not a mouthful is wasted!*






*I'm going ahead (out of my better judgment) and apologize for my use of italics in this post. But I wanted to convey the point of emphasis and thought without using the dreaded asterisk, (i.e., *Gotta keep telling myself, size doesn't matter . . . size doesn't matter . . .*), which, as you can see in this particular context, could be confusing as a footnote.**

**Sorry for the explanation above, but it seemed necessary, and purposeful, and important, and anal.

I certainly like your attitude when it comes to the size of italics. So many authors are afraid to show off their italics out of fear that they won't satisfy the readers looking at them.

I have heard of this "wonder font" that makes your italics look larger without having to actually enlarge them. But I hate trying to fool people into thinking that my italics are bigger than they really are. I would be so embarrassed the first time someone took off the wonder font I had put on and saw the real size of my italics.

It's refreshing to know that there are readers who appreciate what an author has to offer, especially me.

Pookie