How would you correctly represent that something is being read by a character? If it were small is could be contained within the main body of the text but I imagine a longer piece would stand alone? If it were an exit sign that would be small, how about an extract from a newspaper or a web article? How would this be written into a story and shown? In different type face? Speech marks? Itallics? Your advice please.
I've seen it done in a block indent, two spaces above and below, indents maybe 1" to segregate the article. Hope my "formatting" shows up. Paragraph, yada yada yada space indent (Quote) quote quote quote quote quote quote... space Paragraph, Yada yada yada nope the indents did not show up--- not in this format.
Thanks. and FYI (courtesy of Wikipedia) Indentation in typesetting There are two main types of first-line indent: normal and hanging. A "normal" indent indents the first line one centimetre. The other kind, a hanging indent, indents the rest of the text while leaving the first line in place.
I couldn't tell you what type of indent you want, I'm just looking at a few of my books. And I made a mistake, all readings are in italics.
He snatched the card eagerly and read the message, which was in fine print. Jamie Hulligan, We hereby invite you to the party to be held at the Bruque Memorial House, on St. Edmund’s Day. Be sure to present yourself in a respectable manner. Present this to the doorman on arrival. His eyes were lit up and his face positively aglow. That is how I do it at least. I treat reading on the rare occasions I use it the same as the rest of the writing except I italicise it and put a line gap from the main body of the text. I make sure also that readers are aware somethings being read.
it's best to use the hanging indent and regular font for longer pieces and leave it up to the publisher whether they want to add italics or not...
It is always best to find out which STYLE GUIDE is acceptable in the area where you are doing your writing. There are many. MLA, AP, New York Times, Turabian Manual (dissertations), various others (Re: your own country or place where you wish to publish). If you start with one style guide, stick with it throughout. Style Guides tell you things like what to italicize, capitalize, format and so forth. I have a whole stack of style guides. They are something you tend to collect as a writer, along with dictionaries, slang and idiom phrase books, usage guides. I just looked around some more and the only thing specific is that if it is over 4 lines you block indent.
