Writing: One Exception To The Single Space After Punctuation Rule?

Greetings, friends (and enemies),

I’ll start this post off by noting that I recognise the difference between monospace and variable space font. I’ll also note that, being almost 48 years old now, I learned how to type on an actual typewriter.  I didn’t own a computer until I was 27 years old.

When I was taught how to “type”, the Two-space-after-punctuation-like-a-period-or-question-mark-or-exclamation-point-or-double-or-single-quotes-following-any-of-those-things Rule (I’m almost certain that wasn’t the actual name of it) was a real thing, and required learning. If I typed a manuscript in typing class and didn’t put two spaces after a period, I’d get a worse grade on that assignment.

Today, the wisdom (with variable space fonts used on computers almost always) is to only use one space after everything. Periods. Commas. Question Marks. Quoted Dialogue. Exclamation points. Everything.

But, I think there is one exception that this rule overlooks (and, forgive me if I didn’t search the Internet and read through the copious amount of articles available on this subject to find the one or two that might actually address this specific issue).

THE EXCEPTION: The “single space for everything” rule can directly conflict with the unforgivable sin of using incorrect speech tags in fiction (or other types of) dialogue.

Following is my sectioned and belaboured argument:

NOTE: To keep this blog post as brief as any I’ve ever written, I’m limiting my examples to dialogue followed by attribution.

The “TO BE FAIR” Section:

1) To be fair, the rule still applies in a variety of situations, no matter how you describe the speech.  For instance, the following examples of dialogue (and almost any dialogue followed by a word that begins in lower case) aren’t confusing at all:

a) “I have to go,” he said.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” she asked.
c) “That’s awesome!” he replied.

2) Also to be fair, the rule still applies (and isn’t confusing) in a variety of similar situations when the dialogue is followed by a word that begins with a capital letter and - possibly - ends with a period.

a) “I have to go.” He spoke the words as if he were about to fall asleep.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” She turned and stormed off.
c) “That’s awesome!” He tried to pretend like he cared.

The “COUNTDOWN TO DISASTER” Section:

1) Even though I’m not a strong proponent of it, lots of writers insist that using “said”, “asked” and, maybe, “replied” are the only speech tags you should use. Technically, you can’t go wrong with those three.

a) “I have to go,” he said.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” she asked.
c) “That’s awesome!” he replied.

2) Those same writers (And I agree with this insofar as some words, and sentences, seem like they would be impossible to “speak”) don’t think it’s a good idea to use any other descriptives. It’s considered “Authorial Intrustion”. Although, the following examples are okay with me.

a) “I have to go,” he whispered.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” she screamed.
c) “That’s awesome!” he exclaimed. (Although redundant, not necessarily “wrong”)

However, when speakers like “I” (or any speaker whose name begins with a capital letter, like “Mike”) get involved, things can get dicey.

The “EVERYTING IS STILL GOOD” Section:

1) For instance, these are all valid uses of single space after dialogue, involving the speaker “I”.

a) “I have to go,” I said.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” I asked.
c) “That’s awesome!” I replied.

2) These are also okay:

a) “I have to go,” I whispered.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” I screamed.
c) “That’s awesome!” I exclaimed. (Although redundant, not necessarily “wrong”)

The “EXCEPTION” Section:

1) These examples of the single space rule could be considered problematic (Which is just my long-winded way of saying I find them to be so) - NOTE: This exception doesn’t apply to dialogue that ends with a comma:

a) “I have to go.” I coughed.
b) “What the hell is your problem?” I spat.
c) “That’s awesome!” I laughed.

WHY ARE THOSE THREE EXAMPLES EXCEPTIONS?

The answer is fairly simple.  In all three examples, the reader has to make a judgement call they shouldn’t have to.

a) Did I cough that entire sentence or did I speak it and then cough? To be fair, in that example, the period makes it okay, but periods look and read an awful lot like commas.
b) Did I spit that entire question or did I ask it and then spit?
c) Did I laugh that entire exclamation or did I exclaim it and then laugh?

WHAT THEN IS THE “CORRECT” ANSWER?

Drum roll (or whatever gets you all worked up)…

It’s a preference!  Most typesetting guidelines insist that one space is the only rule.  Some writers (like me) and editors (like me) believe that, in certain situations, a double space after punctuation is called for to minimise confusion.

And, when it comes right down to it, would you ever actually notice?  If an entire manuscript was written with single spaces after punctuation, and only those few exceptions were written with two spaces following, would it enhance your understanding or would you just read it the way you normally would?

And, finally, do I just tend to overthink things that are, ultimately, of little consequence?  And how to you feel about my use of dashes and random distribution of bold-face font? ;)

Best wishes to you with your writing,

Peace,

Mike

——

P.S.  My latest book “Bloody Gullets” - A heartwarming collection of short
stories officially publishing on June 28th, 2016 - is now available for
pre-order on Kindle:http://tinyurl.com/zgldbh3

The paperback pre-order is live, as well: http://tinyurl.com/gsjns89

As always, the pre-order price for the paperback will be about five
bucks less than what Amazon will make me charge when it’s ready to sell
and formatted so that human beings can read it (it’s all about page
count). The kindle price will remain the same.