Author: Mita Jain
Date:   05-30-07 22:35

Hi,
I was just reviewing the first draft of my novel. And i felt a need to rewrite a chapter.
Situation is like this- The Character leaves for college in morning and discovers something there. She will discuss the same matter with her family in evening, which will result in a conflict.
Now, I've 2 choices
1. I can break this into 2 scenes within the same chapter.
2. I can write this as 2 different chapters altogether.

I want to take the 1st option as this is just a small flashback in the novel, which gives insight about this character.
My question is, how do we break scenes within the same chapter? (Also, is it ok to do so; I cant recollect reading a novel with scenes break).
Is using a pound sign(#) enough?

Regards
MJ

Author: Patrick Edwards
Date:   05-30-07 23:16

Hey, Mita :)

Now, you're going to get a ton of different responses to this, because this is one of those situations where no one answer is correct.

The easiest way to do a section break within a chapter is simply hit return a couple of times (I've been leaning towards having three lines between scenes/sections; though, in the past, I was a 1-spacer).

Another way is as you mentioned above: Using some sort of symbol. Some people will use money signs if the book is about money, or use happy faces if it's about happy things (just exapmples off the top of my head :). Another good one is the asterisk * Maybe use three of them. Type 1, hit tab, type another, hit tab, type last....

Also, I guarantee that the first (possibly) second book you pick up will have section breaks in them. I dare you to check. :)

Author: M. Lee
Date:   05-31-07 06:07

It doesn't matter.

Any symbol will do as long as it's used universally throughout the book.

This is not a new concept. As Patrick said, you'll find section breaks in many published books.

Author: Harper
Date:   05-31-07 07:06

I use an extra space between the sections. If the section break occurs at the bottom of a page, you have to signify the break by using three asterisks with a space between each:

* * *

and center it.

Author: Steven Labri
Date:   05-31-07 07:12

I agree with the suggestion, but I wanted to share a story.

I submitted a work and separated two scenes similar to Patrick’s suggestion.

*** centered within the page.

The "editor" returned the story with a red circle around the asterisks and commented, "What is this?"

I chose not to submit the story to the publication.

Author: Steven Labri
Date:   05-31-07 07:14

and Harper's suggestion.

(I guess we posted at the same time)

Author: Chuck Shaw
Date:   05-31-07 10:45

I recently read a hot-off-the-presses thriller mystery with almost every scene a chapter. One of the 'chapters' was a page and a half long - It literally started at the top of the left page and ended halfway down the right one!

I found it annoying and awkward, especially in a fast paced thriller, but the author has several NY best sellers (allegedly including this one) to his credit.

So? I have no rules, but I don't believe that eliminating the difference between scenes and chapters improves readability.

Scene breaks are not just a necessary evil; they can be made to work for the author too.

The following is a typical 2 line scene break from a best selling sea story of WW2;

May 12, 1940, 0330 local, 2 hours before dawn
North end of Denmark Strait

This one was from a fast paced thriller;

Midnight to 6.00 AM, Tuesday

Alistair MacLean used this in many of his thrillers of the 50’s and 60’s very effectively. It helps keep the reader oriented when a plot jumps around in time or space and adds a bit to the tension.

CS

Author: Harper
Date:   05-31-07 12:32

I think I read that same book, or one very similar to it. It was definitely annoying. Every single chapter was about 1 or 2 pages long.

BTW, Mita, I use a lot of breaks within each chapter. I see them as the prose equivalent of stanza breaks.

Author: Diane Rogers
Date:   05-31-07 16:02

I agree with Harper. Use spaces within the page. If your scene change falls at the bottom of a page, use *** (centered). It can be at the bottom of the page or at the top of the next if the verbage goes to the very bottom of the page and you can't put your ***'s there.

Author: Dave Kuzminski
Date:   05-31-07 20:54

Unless you're already writing using double-spaced lines, you might want to go ahead and use three asterisks between scenes because when you double-space the manuscript to submit, the three lines that was suggested might be at the end of a page and thus not be noticeable. In other words, keep it uniform within the manuscript. The manuscript's spacing can also be affected by the font and font size you use if you're like some authors who write using what's easiest on their eyes and then do a select all and change the font to what the agency or publisher wants to see the manuscript in.

The asterisks can always be taken out later with a simple cut-and-replace.

Author: M. Lee
Date:   05-31-07 21:53

That's what I do, Dave, and my agent's never said a word about it.

Author: Mita Jain
Date:   05-31-07 22:27

I'm using Courier New, Size 10, Double Spaced Lines.
This was the general recommendation for the Manuscripts, I found by internet search .

Author: Nick Dobbie
Date:   06-01-07 01:21

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_of_Leaves

...is a bestseller that has on a few pages only one word, and it's upside-down. Some pages are in three fonts with footnoted, footnotes. Some parts are seriously scary.

Do it any way you like - as long as it's good.

Author: Steven Labri
Date:   06-01-07 05:16

"Courier New, Size 10"

"general recommendation for the Manuscripts"

Not so much in this day and time. Many editors today were born into the personal computer age and will tell you they prefer New Times Roman font. The Courier New font is a left over from the typewriter days. Of course, this is what I am told and what I have read lately. Then again, it depends on the request.

Author: Keith .
Date:   06-01-07 09:46

Whatever you use, don't type too many. On my first ms I typed dashes across most of the line. It screwed my formatting up and I had a hell of a time fixing it.
km

Author: Joe Zeff
Date:   06-01-07 15:05

I double-space my book from the beginning, as that's how it has to be when I send it out. One hard return between paragraphs within a scene, two to show a break within a chapter. And, I've gotten quite fond of cliffhanger endings for chapters.