The DOs and the DO NOTs

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Font Selection

Many writers, including myself, have been prey of this problem. They don't choose the right font for their paragraph lengths. This causes the reader to become dizzy, and less likely to want to read your story.
 

Here are some examples of a five to seven sentence paragraph, and the different fonts available. 
 

• Arial:
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had choose was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 

• Comic Sans MS
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 

• Courier New
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 
     
• Georgia
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 
     
• Lucinda Stans Unicode
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 
     
• Tahoma
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 
     
• Times New Roman
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 
     
• Trebuchet MS
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 
     
• Verdana
  • I walked around Earth, taking in the new sites. Everything was different from my home planet. The attire I had chosen was uncomfortable. I pulled at the things called tights. They stuck to my skin, and made me kind of itchy. I walked into the shop where he worked. I took a seat, and waited for him to show up. "Miss would you like something to drink?" A tall man asked. I shook my head. "I'm Shim, Changmin, and I'll be here if you ever need anything." He said still smiling. That named sounded familiar. I searched my memory for that name. Ah, yes. He is a friend of Kim, JaeJoong. 

All of the previous text fonts are at a size 14 font. You can see which ones cause your eyes to strain a little. I am a font Junkie, so I know how tempting it is to put the font that appeals to you artistically. Even though a font looks good as a header, intro, or in small sentences it does NOT mean that it is the best choice for your story.

When you are creating a story you must think of your readers. What would get them to return to your story, and what puts them at a more comfortable level? Times New Roman is one of the SAFEST fonts to use. Although (in my opinion), it may look boring, it is the default for many professional essays for a reason. The text doesn't cause that much stress on the reader's eyes because the letters are not too close together, or run into each other. However, if you are still adamant about choosing a pretty font play around with the font size. This will be discussed later. 


Remember: Attune your story to the READERS liking, NOT your own.

DOs

DO think of your reader's eyes when selecting your font. If it hurts your eye then DO NOT use it! If you MUST use a particular font, find the right text size.

DO NOTs

Do not just use a font because it is "pretty." Test it out before you publish your chapter. Feeling dizzy? Choose something else :)