Recently I was reading a fiction book and suddenly a character’s name changed in the middle of the book. I was so confused! I had to go back and look at other chapters to make sure I wasn’t missing something. But in the next paragraph, the name was back to how it had been all along.
Honestly, inconsistencies like these are a little frustrating to me and other readers. They may seem like minor errors, but to readers, they are more than minor.
So how can authors make sure this doesn’t happen?
By creating a style sheet. This is a personalized document that outlines the specific grammar, spelling, punctuation, and formatting choices you’ll use throughout your manuscript. Creating a style sheet ensures consistency, which ensures a smoother, more enjoyable reading experience for your audience. It also makes you look more professional in your writing.
This post will cover what a style sheet is, its benefits, what goes into one, and how to create and use it.
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What is a Style Sheet?
A style sheet is a useful tool that you (as a writer) create that outlines your manuscript’s formatting, layout, and preferences. It defines your grammar choices, specific spellings, and more.
Style sheets create consistency by ensuring your manuscript sticks to the same formatting and grammar choices throughout. It eliminates mistakes such as inconsistent punctuation in dialogue, character names, and word choices.
By maintaining consistency, a style sheet improves the overall clarity of your manuscript. It shows attention to detail and creates professionalism in your work. Therefore, readers can focus on the story and not be confused by unexpected changes, like character names changing in the middle of the book.
What’s the difference between a style sheet and a style guide?
Style sheets and style guides are related tools, but there are some key differences:
| Style Sheet | Style Guide | |
| Scope | – Personal and specific to your manuscript – Focuses on the formatting and grammar choices you make for your story | – More general and external – These are established resources like the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) or MLA handbook, which provide formatting and grammar rules for various fields (academic writing, publishing, etc.) |
| Flexibility | – Highly flexible – You create it and can adjust it as needed for your story’s unique elements | – Less flexible – These are established standards meant to be followed consistently within a specific field or publication |
| Purpose | – Ensures consistency within your own manuscript, creating a smooth reading experience | – Promotes consistency across different works or publications within a specific field |
Benefits of Using a Style Sheet
Creating a style sheet has many benefits, including:
- Improved professionalism of your manuscript.
- Enhanced reader experience with consistent flow.
- Saves time during editing by catching inconsistencies earlier.
- Helps maintain your unique voice within set boundaries.
- Keeps you organized.
Having a style sheet prepared to give to your editor is also a great idea because it will save you time and money. Catching inconsistencies during editing can be a time-consuming process. By minimizing the errors upfront, you save valuable editing time and potentially reduce editing costs. Also, it ensures your creative voice is kept throughout the editing process.
If you’re writing a series, a style sheet outlining things like character name spellings, dialect, or even specific dialogue punctuation choices could help maintain consistency across the entire series.
What Goes in a Style Sheet?
The contents of a style sheet for fiction writers can vary depending on the genre and your personal preferences. However, here’s a breakdown of the key elements you might want to include:
Basic Elements:
- Punctuation: Specify your preferred usage for commas, semicolons, colons, and dashes, especially in dialogue (e.g., commas before or after quotation marks). Also consider the spacing of ellipses (e.g., spaced or unspaced).
- Dialogue Formatting: Outline how you’ll handle dialogue tags (“he said”), quotation marks, and paragraph breaks within the dialogue.
- Character Names & Details: Decide on capitalization rules for character names, titles, and nicknames. Make a list of all the characters and their details if they’re included.
- Places and Street Names: List out places and street names to remain consistent. (e.g., Wal-Mart or Walmart, West Elm or W Elm)
- Capitalization: Determine your preferences for proper nouns, locations within your world, and titles (e.g., always capitalize “the North Star,” lowercase “eastern plains”).
- Spelling Preferences: Specify preferences for the way you spell specific words (e.g., ebook or e-book).
- Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms: Specify which you’ll use to maintain consistency.
- Numbers: State whether you will write numbers as words or numerals.
- Time and Date Formats: Decide how times and dates will be written throughout.
- Setting: Write down the time frame and location.
Personal Preferences:
- Word Choice: If you have preferred alternatives for common words (“said” vs. “stated”), include them in your style sheet.
- Hyphenation: Decide whether you’ll follow standard hyphenation rules or have specific preferences for compound words.
- Dialect: If your characters use dialect, outline the spelling conventions you’ll use to represent it. (e.g., Words are spoken differently in the south than they are in the north.)
- Formatting and Layout: Specify preferred font sizes and typeface, use of bold and italics, indention and line breaks, how to begin new chapters and sections, page numbering, margins, and page orientation.
How to Create and Use a Style Sheet
- Brainstorm and Research: Think about areas you want to keep consistent and make a list of elements for each area. This could include punctuation (commas in dialogue), character names (capitalization, nicknames), word choice (“said” vs. “stated”), or even formatting choices for flashbacks or dream sequences.
- Choose a format: A simple Word document or spreadsheet can be easily edited and referenced as you write. Even a simple sheet of paper will do. Choose the one that works best for you.
- Start with the basics: Start by adding the basic elements, such as punctuation, dialogue formatting, character names, abbreviations, capitalization, etc.
- Include personal preferences: After filling in the basics, start adding your personal preferences, such as word choice, hyphenation, character dialect, etc.
- Keep it manageable and adaptable: Keep your style sheet concise and easy to reference during writing and revisions. It doesn’t need to be overly complicated. Also, update it as needed. And remember: it’s not a rigid set of rules: it’s a guide.
Bonus Tip: Consider including a section for frequently misspelled words (e.g., “blonde” vs. “blond”) or names specific to your story. This can be a real time-saver during revisions!
Conclusion
In conclusion, a style sheet is a writer’s secret weapon. It ensures consistency, professionalism, and a smoother experience for your readers. By taking the time to create and use a style sheet, you can eliminate those frustrating inconsistencies and allow your readers to fully immerse themselves in your story.
Download your free style sheet here!
