Do's and Do Not's Three | Formatting

Formatting is a big deal. You want your work to look easy to read, pleasant, pretty, etc. So here are things you should try to do and avoid.

1. Consistent font and color

Keep a font and stick with it. I'm using Times New Roman because I've used it my entire life. It's very easy to read. I like Georgia as well but I'm sticking with Times New Roman for Writing Therapy. Do not change your font; it should never change. Doing so creates inconsistency and shows your lack of technical skills to stick to one font.

Have you ever tried reading something like this? Does it hurt your eyes? Because it sure hurts mine.

Use black. Don't change the color to dark blue, purple, red or anything else. Black is the standard and the standard it shall stay. There is no "orange is the new black". Whatever made you think that is wrong and deserves to be hit with a cactus. You will not read published stories in neon orange. You will read it in black. So let your readers read in black.

Do not change the size of the font. It will again show inconsistency.

2. Alignment

Stick with left alignment. You will see no other alignment elsewhere in English literature. Or use justify, as publishers will do to their stories.

3. Space your paragraphs.

This irks me to no end. Put a damn space between paragraphs! I'm reading your story on my phone at 3 AM; for goodness sake, give me a space! I may not be blind but I don't have the best eyesight. It helps readers point out where they in the story. Also, trying to read one long indiscernible paragraph is a daunting task that I would never attempt. Paragraphs provide organization and one long paragraph is not enough organization. My English teacher told me he once read a chapter that was one sentence long. That sentence was three pages long, with multiple dashes and commas in between. It sounds so frightening to read anything like that.

If your story is not made up of paragraphs but rather one long paragraph, expect fewer readers. Your monster paragraph is frightening your poor readers. Defeat the monster by taking the time to create multiple paragraphs and adding spaces.