Hi everybody.
I'm a new member here. I bought the hard copy of the Yearbook yesterday and decided to join the site so I could enter the competition.
I am currently working through my first novel and would like some advice, if possible, on the use of italics.
Basically, I am writing the novel in the first person, past tense. I want to introduce a character who the reader would be looking over the shoulder of. He's going to be an integral part of the plot, but there is no connection between him and any of the other characters, except for their reactions to his actions (if that makes any sense). I will be writing about this character in the third person because the 'narrator' of the story can't see his actions.
What is the best way to write about this character:
1. Write all of his story in italics? This would mean that there would be lots of text, sometimes whole chapters, written in italics, but would also mean that the reader could discern straight away that it is someone different they are reading about.
2. Write using the normal font, hoping that the reader picks up on the change from first to third person themselves, and therefore realise that they are reading about someone else entirely?
I'm sure people like Wilbur Smith uses italics to convey a difference in his works, but I have also read online that the use of italics is now frowned upon.
If it is a good idea to go with the italics, what is the best way to show this when I submit my manuscript? Should it just italicise the text, or underline it as I've also heard?
Sorry for the length of my first post.
Many thanks in advance for any information you can give me.
I tend to agree with Asuntha, although I've seen a similar thing in published work. Here a narrator (actually the spirit of a dead character) was italicised, though as he didn't appear very often, and in short passages, it wasn't intrusive.
I'd avoid writing pages of italics - it's wearing on the eyes, for one thing. And some publishers seem to dislike them. I used italics in my last story both when non-English phrases or speech were included, which was sort-of okay though I did get grumbled at, and also to emphasise words in speech, which wasn't, even sparingly.
It's a difficult one, when all you're really trying to do is make things clearer for the reader.
Ok, Warning - if you are going to put it on THIS site, be warned: Ittalics don't work here!
Moving on to your actual book... yeah, I've seen stuff like that- In Skulduggery Pleasant, the bad guy's scenes are always italic-ed. I find this sort of distracting, but I've forgiven the book. However, I prefer option two, where the reader has to find his/her bearing.
Maybe I'm just a sadistic author, but I like to see if my readers get confused or not - if they don't, then I've got an awesome bunch of fans! (This, mind you, is just wildly hopeful dreams. It's not like I'd get a fandom, unless you count my friends...)
So stick to non-italics is my conclusion. If, by chance, you are not as sadistic as me, then you can use '*' in the center of the page, before moving on to the new point of view. Do you get it?
ps: Don't apologize for lengthy questions. In my opinion, you know how to ask them well- leaving spaces between the lines always helps my eye ;)