tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post3887130615747878973..comments2023-10-14T06:54:41.793-06:00Comments on Julie Coulter Bellon: First Page FridayJulie Coulter Bellonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07695605817809301518noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-6685926876338747802011-05-29T00:05:09.289-06:002011-05-29T00:05:09.289-06:00Frequent italics are the typographical equivalent ...Frequent italics are the typographical equivalent of an elbow in the ribs. "Did you get it? Did you?" Romance novels make frequent use of them and italics have, sadly, spilled over into other genres. But I'd only ever use them when you are actually referring to the word in italics, like Bill Clinton was famous for saying, "It depends on what the meaning of the word is, is." All the other uses are cheap excuses for not doing the harder work of developing the view point of your character.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-914241110070649902011-05-27T21:35:30.290-06:002011-05-27T21:35:30.290-06:00At the publishing house where I work, it's hou...At the publishing house where I work, it's house style to italicize thoughts. This may vary from publisher to publisher, but it's pretty standard practice (particularly in third-person narratives, as thoughts will often necessitate a switch to first-person). The variation in font style helps to eliminate confusion as the perspective shifts gears. <br /><br />You're right on about the bolding. Bold font isn't typically used in fiction unless there's an extenuating text design circumstance that demands it. You see bold font more often in nonfiction in subheads and in main text to highlight key terms. Travel books, for instance, often bold place/attraction names to facilitate quick scanning for desired information.Ms. Shreditornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-13606952410825417862011-05-27T18:59:27.626-06:002011-05-27T18:59:27.626-06:00I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi however my intere...I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi however my interest is picqued by the medical centre backdrop. To each their own, but you already know your audience. I agree with the confusion over the names. In another popular novel series, Ihad to wait for the movie to know how to pronounce "hermione" so I just heard "h" in my head.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00203893525713482889noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-48443383399281280812011-05-27T16:18:03.817-06:002011-05-27T16:18:03.817-06:00Jon, feel free to edit your submission. :) I'...Jon, feel free to edit your submission. :) I'm excited to see what Ms. Shreditor has to say about it.Julie Coulter Bellonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07695605817809301518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-45154107521773385432011-05-27T16:10:59.998-06:002011-05-27T16:10:59.998-06:00I have a question about the "thought as itali...I have a question about the "thought as italics." I thought I read somewhere that you shouldn't submit italics, but should find some other way of conveying it. (Or maybe it was that you shouldn't use bold.)<br /><br />Regarding the OP, the use of "centre" makes me think British English. Was that intentional?<br /><br />(Um, Julie, I may need to edit my submission to add italics!)Jon Spellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13283068961865370674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-4261647224939328122011-05-27T10:55:05.849-06:002011-05-27T10:55:05.849-06:00Sometimes I can go through a whole book without ev...Sometimes I can go through a whole book without ever pronouncing the main characters names, which is a terrible thing to admit. I love historical romances, and Sci/Fi's, and strangely enough these two genres seem to inherently have, um, the most unique sounding names. <br /><br />I learned a lot from this post, Ms. Shreditor. Good luck Melanie! It sounds like a fascinating story. I love telepathologo. . . telepathical. . . people who are telepathic. lolDebra Erferthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08239033133090036826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-37264829625772111352011-05-27T09:50:11.659-06:002011-05-27T09:50:11.659-06:00Great insights and advice, Ms. Shreditor! Good lu...Great insights and advice, Ms. Shreditor! Good luck, Melanie! It's a great start!Kimberly Vanderhorsthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01653757517652257445noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-34732464567375421192011-05-27T09:46:45.908-06:002011-05-27T09:46:45.908-06:00LOL Well, stories seem to take on a life of their ...LOL Well, stories seem to take on a life of their own, don't they? :)Julie Coulter Bellonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07695605817809301518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-75286142504426052862011-05-27T09:43:44.789-06:002011-05-27T09:43:44.789-06:00Julie, I did notice that, but thank you for pointi...Julie, I did notice that, but thank you for pointing it out again. *beams happily*<br /><br />But sadly, I haven't completed the story yet. I'm still having trouble with the ending, and the fact that although I want to compress this idea into 5000 words, it wants to escape my bonzai plans and become a novella, or even a full-length story.Melanie Goldmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00270135660110676225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-26931948322554236192011-05-27T09:37:53.168-06:002011-05-27T09:37:53.168-06:00Melanie, I hope you saw that Ms. Shreditor called ...Melanie, I hope you saw that Ms. Shreditor called your work intriguing and thought it was really clean copy. :)<br /><br />I thought it was a great story starter as well. Do you have the whole thing complete? I was just curious.Julie Coulter Bellonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07695605817809301518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-54303601938060817402011-05-27T09:36:56.908-06:002011-05-27T09:36:56.908-06:00I want to weigh in on the name issue, too.
I lov...I want to weigh in on the name issue, too. <br /><br />I love, love, love the name Niana. Speculative fiction almost demands unique names, it's part of what sets the tone for the "other-world-ness" in the story.<br /> <br />Niana is unique without being so far outside our contemporary conventions that I can easily read and pronounce it. Geminiana is a mouthful. Anytime I have to mentally "sound out" a name (Gem-in-i-an-a...Gem in i an a... Geminiana), it's frustrating. Super weird ought to be relegated to secondary characters. <br /><br />I am intrigued by the start of this story, though!Ginahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02739830983426330836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-39929994455130217362011-05-27T09:29:09.313-06:002011-05-27T09:29:09.313-06:00Oh, and maybe I should explain that my first page ...Oh, and maybe I should explain that my first page was longer than normal because I have become used to writing so that I can just copy and paste directly onto the internet, which means I didn't double-space or indent, I only put a line between paragraphs. My mistake, I do apologize, and thank you again for critiquing despite its length.Melanie Goldmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00270135660110676225noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4421706587311875668.post-71732017936428546852011-05-27T09:24:51.164-06:002011-05-27T09:24:51.164-06:00Thanks for the critique, Ms. Shreditor! I'll ...Thanks for the critique, Ms. Shreditor! I'll definitely do better next time because of your help!Melanie Goldmundhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00270135660110676225noreply@blogger.com