Spacing after periods.

[Jada59]

Since I'm older than dirt, I was taught in typing class to put two spaces after a period and I still tend to do that today. I am trying to break myself of it. Whenever I take a typing test, I get a very bad score because it counts everything after that first period as a spacing mistake.

Based on what published playwright and singer song writer told me, I seriously needed to stop doing this or I'd never get published.

Obviously I am published here and I'll bet you dollars to donuts that I did put the two spaces after every period, just like I'm doing in this post. It's a very hard habit to break.

What spacing do you use? Do you think my two spaces matter?
They seemingly don't here but if I was to try to get one of my novels published, do you think it would matter?

 

[AlinaX]

It's a typewriter thing, and I still see lots of people doing it. In documents I find it really annoying, myself, but understandable. For HTML it generally makes no difference, however, with multiple whitespace usually counting as one.

 

[Salacious_Scribe]

The reason for the double space on typewriters was that the font was mono spaced. All characters took up the same amount of space, so a double space was used after a period to make it obvious where a sentence ended.

With the advent of word processors and computers the double space is no longer needed (unless you use a monospace font).

In 1982 the Chicago Manual of Style stopped recomending two spaces on compters but it was okay on typewriters. In 2003 a single sapce was recomended even for typewriters.

I didn't learn to type until college and that was after my time in the Navy. So I never learned the double space. Before I submmit a story I do a find and replace for double spaces to single spaces.This way if I did any double spaces by accident they are fixed.

 

[Jada59]

It's a typewriter thing, and I still see lots of people doing it. In documents I find it really annoying, myself, but understandable. For HTML it generally makes no difference, however, with multiple whitespace usually counting as one.

Ohhh! Thanks!

 

[Jada59]

The reason for the double space on typewriters was that the font was mono spaced. All characters took up the same amount of space, so a double space was used after a period to make it obvious where a sentence ended.

With the advent of word processors and computers the double space is no longer needed (unless you use a monospace font).

In 1982 the Chicago Manual of Style stopped recomending two spaces on compters but it was okay on typewriters. In 2003 a single sapce was recomended even for typewriters.

I didn't learn to type until college and that was after my time in the Navy. So I never learned the double space. Before I submmit a story I do a find and replace for double spaces to single spaces.This way if I did any double spaces by accident they are fixed.

Thanks!

 

[SimonDoom]

I first learned typing on a typewriter and I double space as well. I wasn't quite sure how much I did it so I just checked on my latest draft story, and -- yikes! -- I did it almost every time. It will take some un-learning.

Fortunately, I use MS Word, and it's easy to fix with a global find and replace. But according to AlinaX, it may not matter anyway.

 

[Jada59]

I first learned typing on a typewriter and I double space as well. I wasn't quite sure how much I did it so I just checked on my latest draft story, and -- yikes! -- I did it almost every time. It will take some un-learning.

Fortunately, I use MS Word, and it's easy to fix with a global find and replace. But according to AlinaX, it may not matter anyway.

Sounds like it. I think I went through one of my novels and painstakingly corrected each sentence. I didn't know any other way to do it.

 

[Enchantment_of_Nyx]

When I learned to type, the ONLY place anyone ever used a typewriter was typing class. Of course, the ONLY reason anyone took typing was because it was either that or some other business class of interest only to those going into accounting or agriculture. Everyone knew how to type already, but we had to learn the "right" way, which included double spacing after periods.

Double spacing is just what my fingers--or thumbs, rather--automatically do. It takes too much time to go back and fix it. I find the changeover annoying. I'd rather see it be either/or. Visually, I prefer double-spacing, but I really don't see why it makes a difference. However, if you need to get rid of double spaces, the easiest way is to do a search and replace in your document. In Word, you'd do it like this:

1. Press Control+H.
2. Enter two spaces in the "Find" box.
3. Enter one space in the "Replace" box.
4. Click "Replace All" to do them all at once, or click "Find Next" to do them one at a time.
5. Repeat to eliminate anything that was originally triple-spaced after periods.

 

[_Lynn_]

I took typing because my mother said my only options for a job after high school would be a secretary or to go to nursing school. That was a long time ago (back in the days before electric typewriters) and I learned as little as possible to pass because it didn't interest me. When I started writing in 2007, I used a single space after reading several threads on the topic.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Since I'm older than dirt, I was taught in typing class to put two spaces after a period and I still tend to do that today. I am trying to break myself of it. Whenever I take a typing test, I get a very bad score because it counts everything after that first period as a spacing mistake.

Based on what published playwright and singer song writer told me, I seriously needed to stop doing this or I'd never get published.

Obviously I am published here and I'll bet you dollars to donuts that I did put the two spaces after every period, just like I'm doing in this post. It's a very hard habit to break.

What spacing do you use? Do you think my two spaces matter?
They seemingly don't here but if I was to try to get one of my novels published, do you think it would matter?

Seriously? Somebody was pulling your leg. Publishers use editors to correct far worse 'errors' than that.

 

[jaF0]

Less than two is wrong. Period. (space space)

 

[Zeb_Carter]

Seriously? Somebody was pulling your leg. Publishers use editors to correct far worse 'errors' than that.

This. ^^^^^^

From what I was told editors actually have to rewrite whatever an author sends them.

As for here at Lit. Double space away, once Lit gets a hold of your text, the double spaces will disappear like magic.

It took me a long time to stop the double tap on the space bar. I learned to type so long ago and then the only typing I did was with punch cards for so long, then computer code. Although my first real typing came in the Air Force when I was the desk sergeant and that was on a very old manual typewriter.

 

[astuffedshirt_perv]

As for here at Lit. Double space away, once Lit gets a hold of your text, the double spaces will disappear like magic.

Yes, although I once got a rejection on Lit for using 2 spaces! Anyway, just like two returns after a paragraph, the Lit algorithm takes care of all that.

One issue keeping double spaces after a period alive, I think, is that (at least on the iPhone) when texting, if you hit double spaces it autocorrects to period space.

 

[RejectReality]

I still use two spaces because I learned on a typewriter, but it's almost irrelevant on the internet. HTML removes the additional space by default. Someone has to override that default in order for the additional space to appear.

Just look at this. One space after the first sentence. Two spaces after the second sentence. It's still there in the edit screen, but when it's displayed, they're exactly the same.

 

[Ian_Snow]

I single space now, but it took me a long time to break the habit of double spacing. Still occasionally catch myself doing it years on after I stopped.

 

[Handley_Page]

Less than two is wrong. Period. (space space)

agreed

 

[PeytonMirabelle]

Reformed double-spacer

I single space now, but it took me a long time to break the habit of double spacing. Still occasionally catch myself doing it years on after I stopped.

This.

I don't sweat it for Lit, or for personal projects. For stuff that goes commercial ... I try to stick to standardized formatting for my genre, which is one space. Depending on your intended readership, your mileage may vary as to whether formatting conventions are that important.

I guess it depends on what your end game with your work is. If it's here, I wouldn't worry too much.

 

[NotWise]

I single space now, but it took me a long time to break the habit of double spacing. Still occasionally catch myself doing it years on after I stopped.

I used the double space until I started publishing here and learned that it was considered incorrect. I haven't had any trouble breaking the habit, because the "Language Tool" in Libreoffice highlights double spaces as an error.

 

[Emirus]

One or two? Does it matter?

Whatever you want to do out in the big wide world is up to you but we are talking about stories being published in Literotica not anywhere else and the simple truth is it doesn’t matter if you have one space of two spaces. Because if you use two spaces it’s automatically changed to one. I assume if you had three or four spaces the same would happen.

I write using Word and Pages and I use two spaces on both for a very simple reason. I find it easier to read and easier to check my work.

So if you want to use one space (because that’s what the “experts” say you should do) then do it and if you want to continue to use two spaces (like me) then carry on because on this site it doesn’t make a ***** of difference.

Just get on with writing the damn story. That’s what we’re here for and it doesn’t matter what anyone else does or says.

 

[Haulover]

Here's the good news for people on Lit:

It makes no difference!

HTML (i.e. the format we all view when reading web pages) will automatically compress double-spaces into single-spaces.

Try it here, in this thread: Write a sentence. Insert a double-space after the period. Write a second sentence. Click "Post Reply". Now - you'll see that your double-space has been compressed into a single space. (Just for grins, I inserted 4 spaces after each period in this paragraph. But HTML has compressed them.)

That works on your published stories too.

So - put in as many spaces as you like - they'll be compressed into single-spaced.

 

[KeithD]

Fortunately, I use MS Word, and it's easy to fix with a global find and replace. But according to AlinaX, it may not matter anyway.

Yes it does. If you put two spaces in after a period in computer text, it will keep the two spaces and one of them will have to be taken out in production if your work gets published. Actually, it will leave more than two spaces, because type setting for print doesn't use just one space after terminal punctuation (and never did). It has always added a little extra leading (which is why the typewriter went to two spaces after terminal punctuation). So, if you still give two spaces after terminal punctuation in computerized work, you'll get more than two spaces of blank space.

As was noted, it's not a big deal to take them out in the production process (and when I'm preparing a manuscript to go into production at a publishing house, I have to check and correct for this), but the question is why not learn to do it as it was done throughout history except for the brief period in which typewriters ruled and couldn't manage to do it as printing did. Even in the typewriter era, when a manuscript went to print it didn't do so with two spaces, it did so with one space plus a smidgen of extra leading.

Later: I don't know where this "HTML takes care of it" comes from, but I do know that as recently as two days ago I had to make a run through a computerized manuscript going into publisher production to take out the unnecessary extra spacing after terminal punctuation. So, at least in that Word manuscript, the computer wasn't adjusting anything.

 

[stickygirl]

I've had the task of editing a club newsletter for a few years and have to correct all kinds of grammars and typos. Gotta say it like it is, double spaces in typeset are a royal pain in the ass and have to be swatted one a time. If I don't do it, the page looks like it's been attacked by moths.
I get that it was needed for mono-spacing clunk-writers, but sheesh - it's a nightmare for print people who are trying to fit text to tight spaces.

 

[sweetandeasy]

What spacing do you use? Do you think my two spaces matter?
They seemingly don't here but if I was to try to get one of my novels published, do you think it would matter?

I'm still a two spacer. With texts or twitter I've gotten better but it's mostly to keep the length down. Still feels wrong though.

It won't keep you from getting published.

 

[Haulover]

Yes it does. If you put two spaces in after a period in computer text, it will keep the two spaces and one of them will have to be taken out in production if your work gets published...

...I don't know where this "HTML takes care of it" comes from..

I was referring to items being posted on Lit - or on any web format.

What a publisher does in the hard-copy and ebook worlds is a separate conversation.

If you submit a story to Lit with double-spaces after the period - the double-spaces will automatically disappear when the story is published.

 

[KeithD]

I was referring to items being posted on Lit - or on any web format.

What a publisher does in the hard-copy and ebook worlds is a separate conversation.

If you submit a story to Lit with double-spaces after the period - the double-spaces will automatically disappear when the story is published.

So, the Lit. system handles that conversion? Good to know, thanks. There still isn't any real reason to hold to a need that hasn't been a need for twenty years and even when it was needed it was because of what a particular device couldn't do.