Hi All, I'm just wondering, when you have got through your outlining and plotting and you start to write your novel, do you have a preferred font type and font size you go for? Do you add margins to the page too? I am just wondering if you set the font/font size and margins so that you get a rough idea of how it would look on the page, if printed? Thanks, M
I use Scrivener, so the font size and layout that I use on screen is one that I have chosen for its ease of reading on these old eyes. Because the screen font and the end output font in Scrivener have nothing to do with one another, I leave the standard Shunn manuscript format alone and unaltered for output. http://www.shunn.net/format/novel.html
Ah, Scrivener! I'm new to novel writing myself, but this is now the second time I've heard Scrivener used. I saw someone use it in a video once, and it seemed very good indeed for helping organise and write a novel! Thank you for the link, I shall check it out soon
I used to have a "first draft" format that was some stylized serif font, 1.5 spacing, standard margins, justified text. Something to that effect. It would help with readability and with keeping me paced--I typically did about 10 to 12 of those pages per chapter. Recently, though, I've just been going with double-spaced Times New Roman, ragged-right style. Too much effort to set the other one up. But I still insist on getting rid of widows and orphans. Of course, second draft and onward always converts to standard manuscript format.
Usually I just go with Word standard, but remove the space after the paragraph. That makes it easier for me to write. Then after it's finished and edited, I'll format to (what I hope) is industry standard. I'm going based on articles I've found online, but they can usually agree on the basics of formatting.
Here's a wikipedia link that explains it pretty well: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widows_and_orphans Basically it's that thing in Word (and probably other word processors) that happens when you have a single line at the start or end of a paragraph that's on a different page from the rest of the paragraph. It'll automatically rearrange the spacing so that the single line isn't isolated. Sometimes it can be so bad that it leaves a ton of white space at the bottom of a page. Can't stand it. Have to turn it off on any Word file I create with more than one page, manuscript or otherwise. I also misspoke--I don't like to "get rid of widows and orphans." Rather, I turn off the feature that automatically rearranges my typesetting to avoid them. So, basically, the opposite of what I originally said!
Ah. See, that makes that sentence a lot less creepy. xD I'm not a fan of those either. I also hate the sentence that's just long enough to have one word on the second line, but it's hanging out right beneath the indented space of the first line.
I use a "typewriter" style font, either Courier or Monaco. I was struggling for months to get myself to use Scrivener instead of bbEdit, because while I adore bbEdit I wanted Scrivener's file management capabilities. When I changed my Scrivener default to Monaco 12, I was suddenly able to use it, no problem. I don't think I'm even aware of margins, but I do demand ragged right rather than justified right. And I absolutely don't want to be aware of pages. (Which means that I don't care the least bit about widows, orphans, or any other aspect of wrapping.)
I'm with you here. There was a time, way back in the Pleistocene, when I used a precursor to Scrivener called Liquid Story Binder and I did let myself get a little obsessed with "pages looking like real book pages". It distracted from what I was doing in a big way.
I'm not thinking publishing when I style my document, at all. That's a later issue and it's easy enough to change to whatever is the standard. I usually have about a centimeter extra margin on both sides, a font like Times New Roman in size 11 or 12 with 1,5 in line space. I want it to be as airy as possible when I write (and read it back). I think my need for space comes from my time studying graphic design. We were supposed to have enough air to fill a room of balloon in ever piece we did!
I change the font often when editing as it helps to prevent the fatigue of critical faculties that sometimes comes from frequent re-reading.
It can be formatted later for industry standards, but I go with Arial or Times New Roman because that's what I'm familiar with. I make it size 12 because apparently that is industry standard, and I like to see what size it will be in the end. Of course size depends on font, so this might not actually be showing me the right size. lol
Best font I've come across, is Elegant Garamond from Tilde. It'll cost you $79 for Regular/Italic/Bold, but well worth the price.
Thanks for all the responses, loads to think about! I don't want to get too hung up on it if it's not done, and probably makes sense to wait until editing to get it sorted properly! Definitely think I'll go for Times New Roman / Arial, font 11/12 and 1.5 line spacing. At least I'll be working towards something useful. Is Scrivener used a lot/worth the money? I saw it on a Youtube video and it did look good, from what I saw...
I use TNR size 12, 2.0 line spacing. Scrivener is pretty Marmite. I didn't like it at all, but from what I see it depends on how you write. If you have lots of ideas and bits and pieces and worldbuilding and research and write out of sequence, it seems to be a godsend. If you write more simply and linearly, it adds a layer of complication you don't need.
Seems TNR and font size 12 is coming up quite a bit! I may stick with this for now. Thanks for the information on Scrivener, that's really good to know! I normally write, or have been at the moment, very linear, but I guess that's because I haven't gotten a plot fully outlined at the moment and so I cant write what happens down the line, when I don't know what's currently going on with the protagonist and how he'll get there. I do however, do research here and there and have other documents open to document the plot I've developed/amend as I go, and also other random ideas that pop into my head that may be useful...
Show's how tired I am, I actually didn't think about looking for a trial version - duhh! That's a great idea though, I'll give it a go later on. I've got until Monday to work on an outline/plot/character development before I start my "get some words down" challenge in May, so I'll probably have a look at it this week!
I write in Times New Roman because it's standard in most formats and is very easy to read. I bump it up to usually 14 or 18-point while I'm writing. I write on an old-fashioned non-widescreen Formac Oxygen desktop monitor (for physical comfort, as it's set low and I don't need to crane my neck.) That works for me. I can also export my manuscript to Kindle in that font (not for publication, but for private reading) so it's a good font to use for writing purposes. It's a font that was originally created for newspapers and magazines, however. Some people don't like it, and think it looks old-fashioned as a printed book font. Whatever.
Like @Tenderiser said, Scrivener is Marmite—some love it, some hate it. I tried it out and it wasn't for me. Partly because it organises things that I already organise differently. However, the main difficulty is that it doesn't really function as a wordprocessor. It's strictly for creative writing. It's apparently a database that allows you to write on it, which is why it seems odd to work with, if you're used to a wordprocessor. It's not good at interacting with your old manuscripts, for example. I looked into importing my old manuscripts into it, and gave up. Apparently you can't export to Kindle or desktop publishing with it either, so you'll still need a wordprocessor for final formatting and export. It might be great for somebody who doesn't already have a writing system already set up. For me, though, it was a million-dollar bridge over a 10-cent river. The free trial download of the entire application is an excellent idea, though, and they are very good about letting you go if you decide not to use it. It's risk-free. So give it a whirl. You might end up being one of the people who loves Marmite!
Oh really, another hater of marmite! ha. This doesn't sound very good though, and I guess I'll probably fall into the pattern of you two, and not enjoy it as I'm used to Word Processors and the freedom it gives you! It looked good to organise chapters and all that, but then I can quite easily have 1 x Word document bullet pointing my plot, then docs for each chapter.... easily done!
I used to use Arial because I was used to it at work (points for the most use of 'use' in a sentence ever?) Then I started using TNR for a change, and my manuscripts felt more manuscript-y so I stuck with it. I'm currently reading a manuscript in Calibri and it feels... weird... unfinished, somehow? It's strange how fonts can change the way words feel.
Aha, yes, award awarded! I agree, it's weird. Like TNR to me is often a bit too 'harsh' and too... I don't know the word, but the font I'd expect manuals to be written in, whereas Arial just seems much softer and nicer to me. Weird.
