Top Ten Tips For Formatting Your Novel

One of the things I always worried about when I first started writing, rightly or wrongly, was how my manuscript was formatted. I knew this wasn’t the thing I should be focusing on. What I should be worrying about was the content. The story, the characters etc. But I wanted to write my story with the correct formatting so at the end, I wouldn’t have to go back and reformat the entire document in the way publishers and agents expect.

So here are some tips from my limited experience.

1. If you have Microsoft Word, use the ‘Book Manuscript’ template. It’s free from the Microsoft website. This is great to start you off. It uses Times New Roman font, size 12 and has the correct title page and margin sizes.

2. Some people ask what font you should use. On my last book I used Courier New, but in the manuscript I’m currently working on I’m staying with Times New Roman. As long as it’s clear and the spacing between the letters is constant, it’s all good. Don’t go for the pretty one with the twirly-whirly r’s.

3. Make sure your font is size 12, the text should be double spaced.

4. I always put a page break between chapters. You do this by pressing CTRL RETURN. Then I hit the return key five times and write the chapter number/title. I then hit the RETURN key twice more and I’m ready to start writing my chapter.

5. Another thing worth doing is to select ‘Heading 2’ for chapter headings. What this does is create a sort of bookmark in the Navigation panel. So when you’ve got a book of 80,000 words you can have the Navigation panel up on the left side of the screen and quickly move between the chapters.

6. In the header, write your last name and a couple of words from the title. The ‘Book Manuscript’ template places page numbers in the correct order, so you shouldn’t have to do anything with regard to them.

7. It’s worth checking how the actual formatting looks by selecting the hide/show hidden formatting key. This will show up stray paragraphs or extra spaces you weren’t intending to be there. Worth going through your manuscript to clean up those little errors.

8. When you want to create a break within a chapter press RETURN twice then use the # symbol centred. Then hit RETURN twice again and start the next section of the chapter. This tells the agent/publisher that there is definitely a break and not just a formatting error.

9. Always use underlining in place of italics. This will be replaced when you come to publishing but for manuscript purposes, again, underlining is clearer to the agent/publisher than italics.

10. At the end, write THE END. One hopes it would be obvious but doesn’t hurt to make sure it’s clear.

Hope some of that helps. Again, it’s true that content is king when it comes to your writing. But I spent a lot of time researching and testing what would look professional and, more importantly, what agents/publishers wanted to see. It seems they don’t really mind too much, as long as it’s clearly and professionally presented. But by following these tips, it’s one less thing you have to worry about.

Writing to Film Scores

Ever tried it? Film scores are a great way to get writers into a specific emotion. For example when I'm writing a love scene, I listen to a score that makes me feel that way. When I'm writing the scene, the score I'm listening to is the piece of music that could be playing if I was watching the scene play out in a cinema.

Film scores are designed, by their very nature, to make you feel a certain emotion. So if you're stuck for something to write or maybe you're in mid-scene and don't know how to continue, try putting on a film score and see where it takes you.

Listening to film scores on the train or in the car whilst thinking about my story can also inspire me with new ideas on where next to take the book.

Film composers that are great for this sort of thing include:

Hans Zimmer - Thin Red Line, Inception, Batman Begins.
Hans Zimmer is the ultimate film composer. He does the big score brilliantly but it's some of the more understated stuff that I think is great for writing. That said, if you're writing an action scene, it doesn't get better than Hans.

Thomas Newman - Shawshank Redemption, Road to Perdition, White Oleander.
Thomas Newman is the king of the slow, simple score. His tracks are perfect for writing emotional, sad or love scenes. He does do more upbeat stuff but the power of his music is in its simplicity. Newman has a very distinctive sound that flows through all of his work.

Mychael Danna - Moneyball, Time Traveller's Wife.
I've only recently noticed Mychael Danna through the movie Moneyball. But his scores are excellent. Not what you'd expect from a movie about baseball but one I keep coming back to to get me in the mood.

John Powell - The Bourne Trilogy, Face/Off, Hancock.
John Powell is perhaps best known for scoring the Bourne movies. A close collaborator of Hans Zimmer, Powell has found his own niche and does it expertly. Although his big scores are the ones you'll recognise, he has an ear for theme. Some of the softer moments in Face/Off and Hancock are really quite beautiful to listen to.

James Newton Howard - Dark Knight (with Hans Zimmer), Michael Clayton, Sixth Sense.
We all remember the chilling score to Sixth Sense. James Newton Howard keeps coming out with emotionally driven scores. He can do big, action based stuff but he's also excellent at the slower paced moments.

These are only five composers, there are so many more out there. Find what works for you. Next time you go to a movie and find yourself feeling a certain way, notice the score because its probably the music that's nudging you to feel that way.

If you don't know any of these scores but are keen to listen to them, download Spotify and type in some of these examples. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.