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Different fonts

FlickFlick
edited October 2007 in - Writing Problems

Comments

  • FlickFlick
    I know that manuscripts are best offered to publishers/agents in 12pt New Roman unless they say otherwise but anyone any knowledge or ideas about how I could tackle the following?

    I use italics for inner thought but my character also has a sixth and a half sense talking to her. How can I differentiate between the two? To make matters even more complex I have another character who talks inside her head later in the story. Do you think I need to show that in a different font too?
    What I want to do is to avoid any confusion over the different voices but I'm not sure how?
  • StirlingStirling
    I don't think you should use different fonts.  Unfortunately, it comes down to how skillful a writer you are.

    I suspect you are writing in third person so you can 'get in the head' of several different characters?.  I would suggest you write in a first person multi-view point so the reader can hear what your character is thinking, this is what I do.

    Also, the 'telepathy' bit.  I don't think you should change the font here either.  Christopher Paolini in his Eragon novels doesn't change font, but conducts telepathic conversations.  Maybe you should have a look at one of his books, or I'm sure other fantasy writers have done this too.

    You've definitely set yourself a hard task, but I'm sure you can do it.  Good luck.
  • Stan2Stan2
    Some writers use italics to indicate a person's thoughts.
  • BetsieBetsie
    Would it work if you inset the sixth-and-a-half sense - inset left and right so it sat in the middle?
  • FlickFlick
    It's still romance, Nenastew but paranormal!!
    Betsy, that's a good idea. I hadn't thought of that. Anyone got any feelings as to whether that would  work?

    I don't generally have the inner thoughts and the 'sixth and a half' sense together so that's something. Although some of my characters can talk inside one another's heads, its only intermittent. I've tried to show the difference by using pain associated with the sixth ... blah bit. BUT later in the book when the hero speaks inside her head there won't be any pain so I'm just wondering how to show his voice in her head Followed by her internal thought. Theoretically that should all  be in italics? Right?
  • StirlingStirling
    I think it should work Flick.

    If Cecilia Ahern (wash my mouth out with soap!) can do it, then so can you.
  • FlickFlick
    Ha ha - I'm washing mine with you!!
  • dorothyddorothyd
    no different fonts, no centralising. You need to rewrite to show the difference, I think.  Don't confuse the issue with different fonts, that would be a definite no-no for an editor.  It would for me.
  • FlickFlick
    Thanks Dorothy. Maybe the difference is clearer than I think. I'll go back to the start and recheck.
  • Jay MandalJay Mandal
    For a story of mine, we used ordinary for e-mails; italics for telephone conversations; and bold for face-to-face dialogue.

    It's in the middle of a second edition now, and I expect it'll stay the same. And we also had a mix of UK and US spellings, as the two characters were from different countries.
  • VericaVerica
    Publishers and magazines don't like many different fonts, but italics and bold is fine. 
    Although I usually use Times New Roman, I've recently tried Arial and quite like it.     
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