Breath & Shadow

This document will help make the publication of your work a faster and smoother process.

We use the Chicago Manual of Style as our reference for correct English writing. However, if you are not familiar with the Chicago Manual of Style, you should still be able to do most of the editing and formatting we require by using this supplementary style sheet. We will take care of any additional proofing or formatting issues in–house.

If you are in doubt about how to edit a section of your piece, and you don't find the answer below, try consulting your dictionary. In addition to helping with the spelling and meaning of words, there is usually a short style manual at the beginning of dictionaries that explains common grammatical rules, including the use of punctuation, capitals, etc. If you're still uncertain, please indicate the possible problem area on your revised document when you resubmit it.

Note: Even if you are a grammar whiz, please read this style sheet, particularly the listings near the end, because there are a few usage differences that crop up frequently, even among seasoned writers (namely, how we use dashes, hyphens, and ellipses). There are also formatting issues that are unique to Breath & Shadow – for access and web–publishing reasons or just because we want things the way we want them. (We're picky, but we're not ornery about it.)

Please put only one space between the end of a sentence (after the period) and the beginning of the following sentence.*

Right: I am only putting one space after this period. Then I am starting the new sentence.

Wrong: Oops, I accidentally put two spaces after this period.   I'll use my "find/change" feature to search for other mistakes like this.

There should never be a space before a comma. Commas always come right after the word:

Right: I ate apples, bananas, and pears.**

Wrong: I ate apples , bananas , and pears.

Likewise, there should only be one space after a comma.*

Right: I ate apples, bananas, and pears.

Wrong: I ate apples,   bananas,  and pears.

Quotation Marks and Punctuating Dialogue

Commas and periods that are part of the sentence(s) or phrase(s) being quoted go inside the quotation marks:

Right: I heard her say, "I ate apples, bananas, and pears."

"I never heard that," I retorted.

Wrong: I heard her say, "I ate apples, bananas, and pears".

"I never heard that", I retorted.

Question marks and exclamation points go inside the quotes if the speaker is asking a question (or making an exclamation) and outside the quotes if you, the writer, are asking a question or making a strong point:

Right: "Did you hear that noise?" Rita asked.

I couldn't believe that Rita asked, "Did you hear that noise"!

Wrong: "Did you hear that noise"? Rita asked.

I couldn't believe that Rita asked, "Did you hear that noise!"

Two more common mistakes:

"Did you hear that noise" Rita asked?

I couldn't believe that Rita asked, "Did you hear that noise?!"

Em Dashes

We prefer an em dash, with a space before and after it, to indicate a break in the sentence (rather than a single hyphen or an em dash without spaces on either side) where sometimes a comma, parenthesis, or colon might also be used. (Em dashes are long hyphens. On a Mac you make one by pressing shift–option–dash, all at once. In MS Word on a pc it's ctrl–shift–dash.) You can also use space, hyphen, hyphen, space if you don't know how to make an em dash on your computer, or if you think the em dash won't come through properly via email.

Right: And hey — at least I'm not arguing with soup!

Or

And hey – – at least I'm not arguing with soup!

Wrong: And hey—at least I'm not arguing with soup!

Or

And hey– at least I'm not arguing with soup!

Em dashes (or double hyphens) are also used to indicate an interruption in dialogue. In this case, the em dash (or double hyphen) immediately follows the last word in the sentence, with no space before it. There is also no space between it and the quotation marks following it:

Right: She was interrupted before she could even say, "I was only—"

OR

She was interrupted before she could even say, "I was only– –"

Wrong: She was interrupted before she could even say, "I was only–"

OR

She was interrupted before she could even say, "I was only – "

Finally, an em dash (or double hyphen) is used to cite the source of a quote. In this case, it immediately precedes the name of the person being quoted — there is no space after it.

Right: "['Eat Bugs for Money' is] still in the conceptual stage. . . . I'd like to produce a pilot episode of "Eat Bugs for Money" with an eye toward — call me a Cultural Pioneer — advancing the frontiers of my income."
           –Dave Barry

Wrong: "['Eat Bugs for Money' is] still in the conceptual stage. . . . I'd like to produce a pilot episode of "Eat Bugs for Money" with an eye toward – call me a Cultural Pioneer – advancing the frontiers of my income."
          – Dave Barry

Ellipses

These are the series of periods that indicate a trailing off of a thought or an interruption of a thought. If they're part of a sentence (and not the end of the sentence), they go space, period, space, period, space, period, space. That's three (3) dots with spaces on either side of them. As in

"I just feel . . . I don't know, like something's wrong."

But if they are at the end of the sentence, then the first period (or a question mark or an exclamation point, depending on what the terminal punctuation at the end of that sentence is) is right next to the final word. This period (or question mark or exclamation point) is followed by three periods with spaces on either side of them. See examples below [and Dave Barry quote above].

She'll be here in April. . . . I don't think that's a good time of year to travel.

What is the new number is? . . . I have no idea what the new number is! . . . Oh, forget it.

One, two, three. . . !

Curly Quotes and Apostrophes

When you send us your work (pasted into the body of an email), please make sure all your quotations marks (both single and double) are the straight up–and–down kind, and not the "curly" kind. (Single quotation marks indicate a quote inside another quote: Joseph asked, "Did you really mean it when you said, 'I've never loved you'?")

Curly double and single quotes often come through email as electronic garbage or weird characters.

Our preferred double quotes look like this: "Blah, blah."

Our preferred single quotes look like this: "I said, 'Blah, blah.'"

Apostrophes (the punctuation used in contractions and to indicate possession) should also be the non–curly type, such as

Don't walk

we'll go to

I've never seen

Sharon's hair

Paragraph Spacing/Indentation

Please do not indent the first line of your paragraph. Instead, put an extra line ("Enter"/"Return") between each paragraph. This means TWO carriage returns. We don't want paragraphs running into each other.

Right:

At 9:00 the triage nurse came in to take my temperature. This seemed positive — things were moving along.

Or not. I sat in my wheelchair, wondering if it was permissible for me to lie down on the gurney. Laurel balanced on a diminutive, wheeled stool. We took turns looking at the clock.

Wrong:

     At 9:00 the triage nurse came in to take my temperature. This seemed positive — things were moving along.
     Or not. I sat in my wheelchair, wondering if it was permissible for me to lie down on the gurney. Laurel balanced on a diminutive, wheeled stool. We took turns looking at the clock.

Also wrong:

At 9:00 the triage nurse came in to take my temperature. This seemed positive — things were moving along.
Or not. I sat in my wheelchair, wondering if it was permissible for me to lie down on the gurney. Laurel balanced on a diminutive, wheeled stool. We took turns looking at the clock.

Italics, Bolding, etc.

Sometimes formatting such as italics, bolding, or unusual spacing doesn't come through the email. For this reason, if you are NOT on AOL, please put _underscores_ around words and phrases you want italicized, and *asterisks* around words and phrases you want in bold. This will ensure your formatting does not get lost. If you are an AOL user, you can format as usual and it will all come through. If you have other unusual formatting in your piece, please write a note at the top of the email describing how the piece should look.

*This applies to straight prose. If you're using extra spaces to create a look or feel of space in poetry or prose poetry, well us'ually go along with it — as long as it's consistent and clearly done with intent.

**Note that there is a comma after "bananas" and before "and" in this sentence. We prefer this structure for sequences, i.e., when you list three or more things, use a comma after the second–to–last thing.

Return to Writing for Breath & Shadow: Submission Guidelines