One or Two?

[bdub76]

I’ve started writing short fiction again for fun.

To brush up on style, I read over a manuscript guide. The guide said to use one space after the end of a sentence, not two. I grew up using two. I’m actually struggling to only use one when writing this.

When did this become the new norm?

Here’s the guide:

https://www.shunn.net/format/story/

 

[fireproof78]

Interesting. I have always used one even since I can remember. I wonder if that came with the different writing styles, Chigaco, MLA, etc.

Interesting.

 

[David cgc]

I first came across this update in the classic typography guidebook, The Mac is Not a Typewriter, but Robin Williams (no, not that one). And that's pretty much the answer to your question.

Here's the deal. Mechanical typewriters were designed so that every character occupies the same amount of width. An "i" takes up the same amount of space as an "m." In that case, it was decided that, because of the visual monotony, a second space after a sentence was helpful to provide better visual separation between sentences. This "monospace" style has largely been superceeded, with certain specialized exceptions (screenwriting, mostly, as far as I know, because of a traditional system used to estimate runtime based on the physical space a given amount of dialog takes on a standardized script page).

This was never the case in professional typesetting, where letters took up the amount of width they needed to take up, and one standard-width space was always used after sentences (widths being defined by example letters, as in the "en-dash" "–", versus the wider "em-dash" "—") as the variable width of letters already gave the eye enough of a variety or pattern to avoid getting lost in the page.

When digital typography came along, and we could all write in variable-space typefaces, the double-space rule became obsolete entirely. It's held on thanks to traditional primers and courses designed to teach typing on typewriters, so a lot of software will automatically eliminate double-spaced sentences for people who have the typewriter habit. Like this forum, for instance. I double-spaced every sentence in this paragraph, but not the previous one. You can check in the composing box if you quote it. There's also, for instance, the iPhone, where if you type two spaces in a row, that's automatically turned into a period and a single space, much faster than switching to the "punctuation" keyboard and back. Though it has meant that I have ended a lot of sentences with "b," because of where my thumb hits (or misses) the spacebar.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Beat me to it. I will also note that on a Linotype machine, or in a drawer of Ludlow mats, or in a typecase, (1) ambidextrous quotes are virtually unknown (you only have 6-quotes and 9-quotes, and in some Ludlow fonts (and maybe some foundry fonts as well), a six-quote is simply an inverted comma), and (2) you're not going to find a key, or a compartment, for a double-quote: you simply set two 6-quotes, or two single 9-quotes.

 

[Markonian]

Ah, that explains why I have to correct random double spacing on wiki pages. Waste of space.

 

[Avro Arrow]

I learned to touch type in an actual course in high school (do they still have those?), so I was taught to use two spaces after a sentence, even though the rule was probably already obsolete by the time I learned it. So of course, that has stuck with me through the years, and like the OP, I still tend to use the two spaces at the end.

To be honest, I do actually prefer the visual break of two spaces at the end, versus the one. Even reading on this board, there's not enough visual distinction between sentences vs. between words, so long paragraphs can be tiring. Granted, my eyes aren't the greatest, so it may be less of an issue for people with more normal vision.

If your website renders pages in HTML, then it doesn't really matter how many how many spaces you put at the and of a sentence (or between words, for that matter), it will always only render as one space. Although I believe you can circumvent that by using (ampersand)nbsp(semicolon).

Like this forum, for instance. I double-spaced every sentence in this paragraph, but not the previous one. You can check in the composing box if you quote it.

It doesn't really work like that, sorry. It will quote how it was rendered, not how you originally entered it, so when I quote your paragraph, I still only see one space after each period.

Ah, that explains why I have to correct random double spacing on wiki pages. Waste of space.

I know what you mean in context, but double spacing usually refers to leaving an extra blank line between lines, doesn't it? And one extra character for each sentence hardly seems like a significant waste.

@bdub76 , although this is an interesting topic, I'm afraid it really doesn't have anything to do with Trek Lit. As such, I'm going to move it to Miscellaneous. I hope you don't mind.

 

[bdub76]

Didn't know where to put it. Figured authors would know better than me.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Don't forget typesetters. Even hobbyist typesetters.

Another consideration is that type is traditionally set in justified lines (and one whole mechanism on a Linotype is dedicated to just that one purpose).

 

[Australis]

To be honest, I do actually prefer the visual break of two spaces at the end, versus the one.

This. Always used 2 spaces, always will.

 

[fireproof78]

I learned to touch type in an actual course in high school (do they still have those?), so I was taught to use two spaces after a sentence, even though the rule was probably already obsolete by the time I learned it. So of course, that has stuck with me through the years, and like the OP, I still tend to use the two spaces at the end.

I think, if I recall correctly, that I did learn the two spaces in typing class in 7th grade. However, when I took a college computer class it was changed to one. But, now thinking on it, and trying to remember, I do think I did two spaces in my initial word processing days.

 

[Owain Taggart]

To be honest, I do actually prefer the visual break of two spaces at the end, versus the one.

Yeah, IMHO, I prefer it too, as it tends to look cleaner.

 

[Oddish]

Fascinating... I've always used one. Never even knew two was a thing.

 

[Australis]

Huh, just noticed when posting here that the double space is dropped.