The first paragraph of your manuscript should look like any other
When it comes to indentation, keeps things as simple and uniform as possible. Don’t take your cues from the way published books look.
IndentationA collection of 5 posts
Indenting paragraphs without the tab key
Set up paragraph styles in your word processor to handle pesky tasks like indentation. Your editor and her staff will thank you for it.
Quotations at the beginnings of chapters
A reader writes to ask: I'm finalizing a manuscript and your templates are so helpful. One thing I can't seem to find addressed is the use of quotes - a poem or...
Long quotations within your text
A reader writes to ask: Is there a guideline for when you want to include the text of some other text within your story? I'm thinking of something like Barry Malzberg's Herovit&...
Setting off a new paragraph
A reader writes to ask: Why not have a triple space between paragraphs? (Because of the double space between the lines, the paragraphs are not distinguished.) I infer from your question that you're confused...