What I mean by that is, say, you have dialogue in a dream, or there is some sort of telepathic communication going on in someone's head, and you need quotation marks but you also use italics to tell the reader that this is not normal, spoken dialogue. It is something that I like using in specific instances. But my main question is this: Should I be just italicizing the dialogue? Or italicize dialogue + punctuation? Or all of it, including the quotation marks? Is it... 1.) "Run away!" 2.) "Run away!" 3.) "Run away!" Thanks for any clarification you can give!
Firstly, all three of your examples are identical. Secondly, this question has been knocked around since the beginning of time and is likely part of the answer to the Higgs Field. In short, all possible permutations are findable in some for or another in some book or another, and people have Very Important Opinions™ on the topic. The only thing anyone will agree on is consistency. Whatever you pick, make sure you're not flippity flopping between that, standard internal thought, standard dialogue, etc. Be consistent in your presentation. ETA: I see there is a difference between #1 vs #2 and #3. I would include the punctation as part of your presentation. Don't seperate it as different.
Yeah, depending on the font, italics are either more or less obvious when it comes to quotation marks, so I can understand why they might have all looked the same upon first glance! Your suggestion is that #2 or #3 would be preferred? I will be consistent about my use, I just have always wondered if there is one way that is considered "correct" by professionals.
