New scene formatting, triple # or not?

Hey there, was wondering about format for when the scene changes.
In professionally published books, if the scene is still following the same characters but just a little time has elapsed and the chapter hasn't changed then it's just a space inbetween the paragraph. e.g.

paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1,
paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1,
paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1,

paragraph 2 paragraph 2, etc.

Now from what I read for formatting a manuscript they say to use ### or something similar.
At the moment I only use that for significant scene changes, like following a different group of people or a change of viewpoint. e.g.

paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1,
paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1,
paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1, paragraph 1,
###
paragraph 2 paragraph 2, etc.

Should I be using ### for EVERY change in scene regardless, or do I just stick with what I've been doing so far which is the above example, of just an empty space for small time changes and ### only for large scene changes? Currently I assume the ### to be like when the book inserts an actual line (with what ever flourish accompanies it) for large scene changes.

 

Standard manuscript format would say to use a centered # to indicate a line break and ### to indicate a more formal scene break marked by a divider, but different publishers will occasionally interpret them differently.

For example, the manuscript of my novelette “The Skull in the Tree” only used # for scene breaks. The publisher rendered that and all of the other scene breaks in the anthology like this:


Personally, I’ve never cared what my publishers use to render scene breaks, as long as they’re clearly marked. # vs. ### is up to you, and you can always talk to the publisher about it before publication.

What I wouldn’t do is leave a blank line in the manuscript itself, as it could create confusion over whether you just accidentally skipped a line or intend a scene break. # and ### have the advantage of being typesetter’s marks, so there won’t be ambiguity.

Of course, if you’re self-publishing—and especially if you do your own typesetting—that may be a different story because you know what the blank line or whatever other scene break marker you use is supposed to mean.

 

Oh, thanks you two, that makes a lot of sense, much appreciated.

 

I would be careful about using too many of those. Think about how that's going to look on the page. Overuse could be quite jarring and/or distracting, pulling a reader out of the story.

 

Oh of course, I try not to have too many small scene breaks per chapter, let alone large one's if I feel it's better to have a chapter break instead.
Occasionally though to move the scene along in a chapter, I may have a few small breaks, otherwise I'd have to write something that doesn't add to the story and bogs it down in monotonous detail where nothing happens but travel between areas.

 

Perhaps the key point here is the age old adage, "Everything in moderation".