Why? To keep track of odd spellings or words that you make up. You’ll be entering words based on their first letters into these boxes. Put A/B or A/B/C at the top of the first box, C/D or D/E/F in the second box and so on until you’ve covered all the letters and used all the boxes. Mark the eight boxes on the first page and those on the top of the second page with groups of letters in alphabetical order. (The setup is virtually the same for a spreadsheet done on the computer.) The bottom section may have two or three or four different-sized boxes. Divide the top section into three or four boxes. Draw another horizontal line across the page, yet do it a little higher than center on this side (you’ll need more room in the boxes at the bottom of the page). Then draw three vertical lines from top to bottom to divide the page into eight boxes.įlip the paper over. If you use the paper method, simply draw a horizontal line across the center of one side of the paper (think landscape view rather than portrait). (I do, however, copy the details to a spreadsheet when I share them with clients.) Use whatever method, paper or computer, that works for you. Since I edit from hard copy, I create a style sheet on a sheet of paper rather than using a spreadsheet on the computer. But even plotters can benefit from a style sheet.Ī style sheet can help writers and editors maintain consistency and help them reduce errors in story details. If you’re a plotter, you may have written a detailed spreadsheet listing scene layout, plot threads, and character traits, physical description, and history. Instead, they can put together their own style sheet for their manuscripts. Yet writers and editors don’t have to rely solely on a publisher’s style guide. Style sheets inform writers and editors about spelling, punctuation, and capitalization practices so a manuscript can be consistent within itself as well as match the style of the publication. These recommendations, both in-house and not, make up the publisher’s style guide or style sheet. The writer or editor can always ask or challenge a standard practice. A writer or editor might be able to make a case for a usage contrary to the publisher’s recommendation or accepted practice. But both may have special rules and recommendations for specific instances, in-house rules that they recommend for their writers.ĭepending on the publisher, some items from a style sheet might be absolute rules and some might be strong recommendations. One publishing house may adhere to recommendations from the Chicago Manual of Style and a newspaper may follow the Associated Press’s guide. You may or may not be familiar with style sheets, but you might find them beneficial as you write or edit.Ī style sheet is simply a statement and a reflection of the style standards and practices of a publisher of newspapers, books, or magazines. Jby Fiction Editor Beth Hill last modified July 12, 2011
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