Paragraph - to indent or not indent that is the question?

Hi,

Forgive me for this basic question. I come from a engineering background where we are taught not to indent and instead separate paragraphs with white space. In a fictional novel however, is it the norm/correct way to indent the first line of a paragraph without white space?

Thanks

OB1

 

The first line of a chapter/scene is not indented. The first line of every paragraph afterward should be indented.

Here's an article on accepted format https://www.scribophile.com/academy/how-to-format-a-novel-manuscript

 

You can write in block paragraphs, but then find the little magazine you're sending it to wants it t'other way. A right bore.

Just ensure you don't indent AND block - that sends your manuscript to the editor's bin. Google 'Shun formatting' or 'Shunn,' there's a tutorial out there.

Don't indent the first paragraph of the story.

...

 

Make sure you do whatever you do using "styles" in your WP so it's easy to change it as needed. (rather than having to go through and manually add or remove a "Tab" at the start of every paragraph).

You'll also want to distinguish between whether you're writing a manuscript to submit to publishers, or formatting a book for self-publishing. The expectation for publishers is generally double spaced with indents, but that would look pretty weird in an actual novel if you self-publish.

 

This was interesting, thank you.

 

Always follow publisher/magazine guidelines. If this isn't mention in the guidelines, use the guidelines from Shunn, as mentioned above.