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Help Me Understand Why The Change?

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Poppet
Cheeky Chick
I have a small question and slight concern. I've only been here on Lush for almost four months and have been writing the entire time. I started out not using Italics but then someone suggest that I use them when I have my characters speaking.

E.g

“I could totally go for a blowjob.”

“Well then drop your pants baby.”

And found that I really liked it better with the italics however the last two stories I have done they've asked me to take them off. I've also heard other authors tell me the same. We like using the italics but now we’re not allowed to have them? I have looked all over but can’t see where it says we can’t. I’m wondering why the sudden change? Can someone please explain this to me?

Thanks for your time.
Poppet

I hope this is the right place to ask this question.
Guest
Lurker
Italics are used for emphasis. If you have all your dialogue in italics, it looks like your emphasizing everything that your characters are saying. A few italics scattered through the story are quite fine though.

Quote by nicola


My understanding is that italics convey emphasis. In dialogue, the conversation itself should carry the impact and the character, situation etc. Used sparingly, it is usually ok. If all dialogue is in italics, then for me it's a style issue.

The same goes for underlining and bold. I'd rather not see them at all in stories.
Poppet
Cheeky Chick
Quote by one_winged_angel
Italics are used for emphasis. If you have all your dialogue in italics, it looks like your emphasizing everything that your characters are saying. A few italics scattered through the story are quite fine though.



Okay I guess I get that. However I have been doing it through a lot of my stories. It's just to show the difference from speaking parts to the typed parts. I know we use the "these" things when speaking but "Doing this" makes it more obvious that you're speaking the part.. No? It does to me anyways. I might be wrong?


Edited
Alright.. Thank you then. I'll stop using them from here on out.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
so, you won't let me write my story in all wingdings either?

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Guest
Lurker
Quote by Poppet


Okay I guess I get that. However I have been doing it through a lot of my stories. It's just to show the difference from speaking parts to the typed parts. I know we use the "these" things when speaking but "Doing this" makes it more obvious that you're speaking the part.. No? It does to me anyways. I might be wrong?


Edited
Alright.. Thank you then. I'll stop using them from here on out.


Quotation marks should be enough. When I use italics, it's usually if the speaker is thinking something.

E.g:

Shit! He already knows. I struggled to keep an innocent face as I gazed up at him.

Or if it in the dialogue:

"I don't particularly care what Mr Duboir thinks," I sneered, making a face as though his name left a disgusting taste in my mouth.
Poppet
Cheeky Chick
Quote by one_winged_angel


Quotation marks should be enough. When I use italics, it's usually if the speaker is thinking something.

E.g:

Shit! He already knows. I struggled to keep an innocent face as I gazed up at him.

Or if it in the dialogue:

"I don't particularly care what Mr Duboir thinks," I sneered, making a face as though his name left a disgusting taste in my mouth.



I can see both points. I guess I just got in the habit of doing it and now like it. If it's an issue though and will cause my story to fail I'll just not bother with them. I'll let the few I have spoken to know also.
Guest
Lurker
Quote by sprite
so, you won't let me write my story in all wingdings either?


This made me laugh! That should be an interesting...erm..read! Lol
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
a serious reply. The rules on Lush are an evolving creature - as the site grows, as the number of submissions grows, as the bar is raised for what is acceptable and what is not, we try to take a hard look at guidelines on a regular basis. in the recent past, we have tightened up what is acceptable writing and what is not - this also means loosening up some of the acceptable site content to allow scenarios that were not allowed in the past - part of this is having a really solid mod team at present, part of this is keeping up with writer's requests or questions. in your case Poppet, at one point we decided to allow your used of italics, simple because it was a stylistic issue and you were consistent with it - thing is, we get questions along the line of... "well, you let so and so do it, why not me?" so it was decided that an across the board ruling was needed on this particular issue to be fair to all our writers.

i hope this makes sense? smile

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Poppet
Cheeky Chick
Quote by sprite
a serious reply. The rules on Lush are an evolving creature - as the site grows, as the number of submissions grows, as the bar is raised for what is acceptable and what is not, we try to take a hard look at guidelines on a regular basis. in the recent past, we have tightened up what is acceptable writing and what is not - this also means loosening up some of the acceptable site content to allow scenarios that were not allowed in the past - part of this is having a really solid mod team at present, part of this is keeping up with writer's requests or questions. in your case Poppet, at one point we decided to allow your used of italics, simple because it was a stylistic issue and you were consistent with it - thing is, we get questions along the line of... "well, you let so and so do it, why not me?" so it was decided that an across the board ruling was needed on this particular issue to be fair to all our writers.

i hope this makes sense? smile


This makes perfect sense to me. Between what OWA said and this it makes all the sense now. I understand and will follow Lush guidelines.. I can't deny I won't miss my Italics though.. lol Thanks Sprite!
Guest
Lurker
Quote by sprite
so, you won't let me write my story in all wingdings either?


Only if you let me see yooour wingding *naughty eyebrow wiggle*
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by one_winged_angel


Only if you let me see yooour wingding *naughty eyebrow wiggle*


it's in the repair shop... i think it sprung a leak!

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Guest
Lurker
Quote by sprite


it's in the repair shop... i think it sprung a leak!


but that means it's working!!
BabydollSlave
Active Ink Slinger
ohh im glad i saw this before i submit my new story, thanks for the notice smile ...lol wingdings giggles had to google that!
my newest :)
principessa
Sophisticate
There is one exception to the limited use of italics for emphasis. You may use them if you include the text of a letter in your narrative to set it apart from the rest of the story.
RumpleForeskin
The Right Rev of Lush
Thanks for the reminder, PP. I'd forgotten about the letter exception.

In the great scheme of things, the closer Lush sticks to industry standards the better it is for writers. Helps get us accustomed to doing it the right (more or less) way which tends to please editors and agents.

.
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nicola
Matriarch
Quote by RumpleForeskin
In the great scheme of things, the closer Lush sticks to industry standards the better it is for writers. Helps get us accustomed to doing it the right (more or less) way which tends to please editors and agents.


Very good point Mr Rumple.
DLizze
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by RumpleForeskin
Thanks for the reminder, PP. I'd forgotten about the letter exception.

In the great scheme of things, the closer Lush sticks to industry standards the better it is for writers. Helps get us accustomed to doing it the right (more or less) way which tends to please editors and agents.

.


As Ms Nicola said, "Very good point, Mr. Rumple."

Incidentally, see what I did there with the punctuation?

Whether I am writing or I am verifying stories, I try to follow Strunk and White's Elements of Style, or Turabian's Manual of Style For Writers of Dissertations, Theses and Research Papers (commonly known as Turabian, or Chicago style). I don't however, keep them open at my side; I mostly remember the rules set forth in them, and refer to them only when I run into something or a situation for which I cannot remember the rules.

I also refer stories to the rest of the moderating team when ever I have a question about any part of a story, regardless of what the question is. All of us moderaters do that when we have doubts or concerns. We believe consistency in our decisions adds both fairness to the writers and credibility to our decisions when we are forced to reject a piece.
"There's only three tempos: slow, medium and fast. When you get between in the cracks, ain't nuthin' happenin'." Ben Webster
pixiedust65
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by DLizze


As Ms Nicola said, "Very good point, Mr. Rumple."

Incidentally, see what I did there with the punctuation?

Whether I am writing or I am verifying stories, I try to follow Strunk and White's Elements of Style, or Turabian's Manual of Style For Writers of Dissertations, Theses and Research Papers (commonly known as Turabian, or Chicago style). I don't however, keep them open at my side; I mostly remember the rules set forth in them, and refer to them only when I run into something or a situation for which I cannot remember the rules.

I also refer stories to the rest of the moderating team when ever I have a question about any part of a story, regardless of what the question is. All of us moderaters do that when we have doubts or concerns. We believe consistency in our decisions adds both fairness to the writers and credibility to our decisions when we are forced to reject a piece.


You mean you don't shake a magic 8 ball and that is how you push the stories through! lol Just Kidding. This makes sense. As a new author, this was all very informative on not only the rules on Italics, but also how stories are moderated!
DLizze
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by pixiedust65


You mean you don't shake a magic 8 ball and that is how you push the stories through! lol Just Kidding. This makes sense. As a new author, this was all very informative on not only the rules on Italics, but also how stories are moderated!


Ask again later.
"There's only three tempos: slow, medium and fast. When you get between in the cracks, ain't nuthin' happenin'." Ben Webster
pixiedust65
Active Ink Slinger
Quote by DLizze


Ask again later.


lol
DirtyMartini
Purveyor of Poetry & Porn
Quote by sprite
so, you won't let me write my story in all wingdings either?


Is this the story you just submitted to the contest over on the blue site? I thought it was yours, but you forgot to put your name on it...don't let it happen again, or I'll have to reject it...

You know you want it, you know you need it bad...get it now on Amazon.com...
Lush Erotica, an Anthology of Award Winning Sex Stories
M1R
Divine Rapscallion
Quote by sprite
...part of this is having a really solid mod team at present...


Umm, should my feelings be hurt?


Maggie R
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by magnificent1rascal


Umm, should my feelings be hurt?




what coco said - we have a solid core of people who got our feet wet while you and Gypsy were here - i am, a think, not just a good mod, but a great mod, because of it and even if you're not present, your presence is - also, we have a few more bodies to help out - i remember those marathon sessions with a little bit of horror, when the que hit 35 and there were like just a few of us working through it WAY past our bedtimes. smile

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Guest
Lurker
Quote by one_winged_angel


Quotation marks should be enough. When I use italics, it's usually if the speaker is thinking something.

E


I am new to ths still but my wife (the one with the BA in English Lit) told me to use italics to show when the characters are thinking, quotes for when they are speaking. I did that in my third story and it seemed to go over okay.
Tashtego
Advanced Wordsmith
Guys, I know I saw this somewhere on here but can't remember where - how do I indicate the use of italics when submitting my story? Do I need to bracket the word/phrase in some way? Thanks in advance.
sprite
Her Royal Spriteness
Quote by Tashtego
Guys, I know I saw this somewhere on here but can't remember where - how do I indicate the use of italics when submitting my story? Do I need to bracket the word/phrase in some way? Thanks in advance.


when you submit, there is a blue bar across the top of the box in which your story goes - if you haven't already italicized something in your word program, then simply highlight the word to italicize - there's a trio of buttons on the blue bar, B I U - Bold Italics Underline - hit the "I" button and it will italicize your word. hope that helps. smile

You can’t truly call yourself peaceful unless you are capable of violence. If you’re not capable of violence, you’re not peaceful. You’re harmless.
Tashtego
Advanced Wordsmith
Thanks, sprite! You seem to be my guardian angel!
AbigailThornton
Orgasm Aficionado
I still write by the rules Mr Holleran, my old English teacher taught me: use italics to show when the characters are thinking, quotes for when they are speaking.

I've just bought "The Elements of Style" having had it recommended in Stephen King's 'On Writing'. I use italics to place emphasis on single words, and to separate text which is referenced within a story - such as the police report at the end of 'Love Hurts'.

One of my lecturers at Uni refused to mark anything which didn't adhere to 'the rules' as he saw them. At work, I once saw a 15000 word dissertation without a single paragraph. Just page after page of solid, unrelenting text. I tend to err the other way, and use too much punctuation.

I think technology is pushing us towards shorter paragraphs. Lumps of text are difficult to read on screen and I write differently for stuff that's going to be online.