quotations

[Robert_Moriyama]

Does the manual say anything about the use of italics for thoughts/interior monologue?

Donald

<br>Manual? We don't got no manual. We don't neeeed no steenking manual.<br><br>Manuals may or may not say anything about it, but you do see it done that way, e.g.:<br><br>They say that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, he thought. On the other hand, if you're still capable of wondering if you're insane, they say you're probably okay.<br><br>I think that using quotation marks to indicate dialogue and italics to indicate thoughts is a reasonable combination. Single-quotes are more often used to indicate that a speech contains a quote or a cliche, e.g.:<br><br>"So there I am, in the alley behind Al's Bar, having a cigarette, and Jones walks up to me in the alley and says, 'Better sleep with one eye open tonight, turncoat.' I didn't say anything back -- just dislocated his knee for him. 'A kick in time saves nine', eh?"<br><br>But that's just me. Seeing as how my spelling is an unholy blend of Amurican, Canajan, and just plain wrong, you probably shouldn't take my word on anything.<br><br>Robert M.

[Robert_Moriyama]

... When in doubt, one could always send a query to the editors of a prospective market asking what, if any, style guide they use as a reference. (Of course, one should NOT send a query of this nature if the information is included in the submission guidelines.)<br><br>Poisonally, if they's two pikky, I says scroom.<br><br>Robert M.

[kailhofer]

According to the Chicago Manual 15th edition (sec 11.47), enclosing an interior dialogue is a matter of context or preference.

<br>According to my somewhat dog-eared copy of the 13th edition: <br>10.32 Indirect Discourse. No quotation marks are used with indirect discourse or with rhetorical, unspoken, or imaginary questions:<br><br>What are you doing here? she wondered.<br>Very well, you say, but is there no choice?<br>He thought suddenly, I have been here before.<br>The question is, What do we do now?<br><br>Personally, he thought, I say it's better to italicize.<br><br>Nate

[Robert_Moriyama]

Here's a link to an interesting (and presumably accurate) discussion of the conventions for punctuation in dialogue. No wonder we're confused -- the U.S. standards are different from the U.K. / Commonwealth standards.<br><br>http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pun ... <br>Robert M.