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Discussion Font Size and Spacing Preference

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction and Writing Resource' started by Beaker416, Nov 20, 2012.

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  1. Beaker416

    Beaker416 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 2004
    Hey all, I'm working on a story and was wondering if there's a preferred font, font size and paragraph spacing when it comes to stories that get posted here? Thanks!

    Edit: I mistakenly labeled this as a resource thread instead of a discussion thread.
     
  2. CmdrMitthrawnuruodo

    CmdrMitthrawnuruodo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 1, 2000
    I dunno. Most of my stuff gets posted to the boards default font and size automatically. Which is 3 I think. Don't know which font is used by the boards though. As for paragraph spacing, I'd imagine single line spacing is preferred by everyone. Its what I see mostly used. As long as there are paragraphs and not a wall of text. :)

    Basically what I'm typing now is what I've seen all over. I know, from experience, that if you use an uncommon font and size in your word program and then copy and paste, you will sometimes get some markup issues with the font here. But that is easily fixed by adjusting the board's font.
     
  3. Beaker416

    Beaker416 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 2004
    Makes sense. Appreciate it.
     
  4. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    I find reading a long story in font size 3 is a strain on my eyes. You might want to step it up to 4 for people with glasses or who are old like me. ;) I think this default font family type is fine. I am not sure if it is arial or not.
     
  5. Beaker416

    Beaker416 Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    Nov 4, 2004
    Is there any popular places aside from here of course, to publish a PDF version so that a person could publish with pictures and folks can zoom in if they have a tough time seeing or is that a faux pas?
     
  6. Briannakin

    Briannakin Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Feb 25, 2010
    Generally the default settings are fine - size 3 or 4, and pretty much any font the boards allow. Just remember to put a blank line between all paragraph. Just click on almost any story and follow by example.
     
  7. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    In terms of word processing programs, I use 10 pt Times New Roman font, single spacing, one-inch margins, default kerning. The forum default of 3 is what I use, as I'm too lazy to change it, other than to use size for added effect. Paragraphs are double-spaced, as I can't use tabs, so I've gotten into the habit of double-spacing my paragraphs in word processors, as well. However, each line within the paragraph is single-spaced. I wear glasses and have poor eyesight, so I lean in close to my screen to read. I actually find larger text to be harder on my eyes, as it's too thin.

    As I had just exemplified, paragraphs are double-spaced, which helps to separate them and provide contrast. Also, if you are able to, try to vary the length of your paragraphs. It helps to add contrast when the paragraphs aren't all the same length.

    When transferring a fic from the file to the board, I find it helpful to type the fic with all of the forum markup included. It takes a bit to get into the habit of doing so, but you do save quite a bit of time when you don't have to go through and make sure that you had gotten all of your formatting. Even if I plan to post it on Star Wars Fanon, I still use BBCode in the text document. At a glance, I am able to spot what is to be italicized, and then I can format it quite quickly with wiki markup.
     
  8. CmdrMitthrawnuruodo

    CmdrMitthrawnuruodo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 1, 2000
    Other than personal sites? None that I know of. You can post pictures here.

    Btw, for those who need larger text for poor eyesight, like myself, CTRL +/- will increase/decrease your browsers Font size. CTRL 0 will return it to default.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  9. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    CTRL +/- doesn't work for me. Is it 'cause I have a mac, or perhaps it doesn't work for Firefox?
     
  10. CmdrMitthrawnuruodo

    CmdrMitthrawnuruodo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 1, 2000
    Likely because you have a Mac. For Mac it would be CMD +/- and CMD 0
     
  11. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    I'm screwed then. I have a Mac computer with a MS keyboard! :oops:
     
  12. mavjade

    mavjade Former Manager star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 10, 2005
    I agree that the default font and size is a good one, if not one size larger and single spacing. I think the important point is to double space between paragraphs. I know this is technically incorrect, but on the net if you do not it looks like one giant wall of text and makes it very hard to read.

    Alexis_Wingstar - You should be able to make things bigger from the menus of your browser as well. For instance, I use Firefox, I go to view, Zoom, then you can go in or out, does the same thing as CMD+/-
     
  13. Alexis_Wingstar

    Alexis_Wingstar Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2006
    mavjade - thanks, that did the trick :)
     
  14. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    Nobody likes an intimidating Great Wall of Text. It may serve to defend your fic from invading Mongol hordes, but it also scares away the readers.
     
    benknobi1 and Thumper09 like this.
  15. Jedi_Lover

    Jedi_Lover Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 1, 2004
    Every time I paste a story into these boards the paragraph spacing disappears. Does this happen to anybody else?
     
  16. CmdrMitthrawnuruodo

    CmdrMitthrawnuruodo Force Ghost star 6

    Registered:
    Jul 1, 2000
    Sometimes. It has to do with the formatting settings of your word program. I have this problem when I transfer from my phone to email to Open Office and then to JC. To fix it, when I paste it to OO, I select the whole document and then set the formatting to Default. It erases all formatting caused by the phone or email. Then I skim through looking for the special markings I made to indicate where I wanted to bold or italicize. It's a little work but it saves me the headache of wrestling with the boards formatting features.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  17. TrakNar

    TrakNar Jedi Grand Master star 5

    Registered:
    Apr 4, 2011
    I haven't had a problem. I use an older version of Microsoft Works. If I am transferring a document from an e-mail, and if I know that the formatting will be screwed up, I will painstakingly transfer it paragraph by paragraph. I haven't done that for a while, though.
     
  18. Valairy Scot

    Valairy Scot Manager Emeritus star 6 VIP - Former Mod/RSA

    Registered:
    Sep 16, 2005
    Yup.

    I copy from Word - Times New Roman 10 pt, single space lines, double space between paragraphs. Sometimes (!) it looks fine whenI've pasted, so I post it - then the spacing disappears and I have to manually go thru and add paragraph spacing. Blech.
     
  19. ardavenport

    ardavenport Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Dec 16, 2004
    Does the paragraph spacing still look fine after you paste and then preview, and then post?

    The problem might be that you have automatic extra spacing between paragraphs in Word, without an actual extra blank line between the paragraphs. Check under 'Format' and 'Paragraph' and see if there is any spacing set either before or after the paragraphs. That kind of automatic spacing won't show up an extra space between paragraphs when you paste it here. You could set those to '0' and force yourself to type the blank line so it will show up here.
     
  20. jcgoble3

    jcgoble3 Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Nov 7, 2010
    Indeed, Word 2007 has that extra spacing set by default on every new file. You can turn it off by doing a "select all" (Ctrl+A) and then clicking "No Spacing" on the "Styles" section of the ribbon.

    I've also found in Word that if you accidentally insert a line break (Shift+Enter) instead of starting a new paragraph (simply Enter), the boards will strip the line break out. This is easy to do when typing dialogue very fast if you hold the Shift key down too long after typing the closing " and accidentally hit Enter before releasing the Shift key.
     
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