First off, congratulations to my childhood hero Rickey Henderson for being elected into the baseball Hall of Fame!! Not only was Rickey an incredible hitter and base stealer, he also said things like “Rickey don’t like it when Rickey can’t find Rickey’s limo” (no seriously, that’s an actual quote), making him spectacularly entertaining off the field as well. Rickey might just be the first baseball player ever to give his entire acceptance speech in the third person.
Now then.
I’d like to issue a parental advisory right now. Because of the impassioned feelings on both sides of this issue, this debate could get ugly.
Let’s get this one settled once and for all.
(Deep breath)
One space or two after a period?
Bracing….
(Thanks to lotusgirl for the idea.)
Doug says
In such an auspicious and inflammatory issue it looks like we will have to follow Congress’s lead and compromise. Use 1.5 spaces.
😀
Anonymous says
I’ve noticed the one space people are hostile. Sheesh. Okay, maybe the two-spacers among us (even those old-fashioned 20-somethings in the crowd) are dead wrong. I highly doubt that using one space is going to give you a great advantage in the publishing world, but even if it does, some of you are so obnoxious, your agents/publishers will drop you anyway.
Sherri says
I’m probably saying something someone else already said, but dang, that’s a lotta comments!
I learned to type using two spaces, but retrained myself to use one for two reasons:
1. Computer fonts don’t require them (as already stated by many) and,
2. The file is made much, much larger by all those extra spaces. Even though they look blank to us, the computer has to compile them all, adding unnecessary bulk to your document files. That’s the main reason I switched.
bitemymoko says
As a journalist, I was taught to leave one space after a period. The idea is to squeeze as many words as possible into small areas, so adding an extra space would defeat the purpose.
But if agents and publishers are going to judge my manuscript based solely on how many spaces I use, as opposed to, oh I don’t know, writing talent, then they are idiots.
Life is too short (and I’m too old) to deal with idiots. When are we, the writers, going to put a stop to the tail wagging the dog?
Amy says
My understanding is due to the use of computers we only use one. Two spaces were used on typewriters when the spaces were smaller.
It’s that simple! 🙂
sex scenes at starbucks says
I’m old fashioned, and not only that, getting OLD! Can’t see as well as I used to, so two spaces help this editor’s tired eyes.
sex scenes at starbucks says
That said, I often go in and remove the extra space in my own submissions. 🙂
How’s that for a compromise? er, can I vote twice?
Nathan Bransford says
bitemymoko-
Good grief. I would wager that no agent has passed on someone because they used either one or two spaces in the history of publishing.
Deep breaths, my friend. Deep breaths.
Melissa says
One.
When I published a book several years ago, my editor asked me to strip out the double spaces before submitting the final manuscript. I’ve done one space as a matter of rote ever since. (And glad enough of it, since one space is correct in the business world.)
Caroline says
I’d like to join the ranks of the twenty somethings who double space- maybe it became retro? I learned how to type using a manual on a word processor, by writing my first novel (may it rest in peace), and by taking a typing class on a computer in Junior High. In that order. So I have no idea when I picked up the double space habit.
I agree that it’s tricky to change. The doc size arguments are compelling, though.
BJ says
I use two spaces in my own writing. I like the extra whitespace between sentences — it gives a clear division.
That said, the company I work for prefers one, so I use one at work. One actually came to be standard on computers during the beginning of the internet, because the markup languages (HTML) don’t recognize the second space.
In my internet journey, I’ve found some editors prefer one space, some prefer two. So, I keep the two in mine. If an editor asks me to remove the extra space, it’s a simple find/replace. You can’t add an extra space that way. I sincerely doubt whether the number of spaces one uses is going to affect whether your manuscript is purchased or not.
Jordyn says
ONE SPACE.
I was taught double-space in school when I learned to type but quietly switched over to single-space because I liked it so much better & it makes more sense.
earthchick says
I had no idea there was a debate until I read this post. I’ve always used two spaces (everywhere except for Twitter) and my editors never told me otherwise. I also put two spaces after colons!
Josephine Damian says
I taught myself to type and so it’s ONE space for me.
I lecture writers who use two spaces brecause it dates you as a certain (old) age – you reveal your AARP status by your typing
habits.
B. Nagel says
In college, the English program used the MLA style book. I had two years with two spaces and two years with one space (starting in 2004). Also, the possessive of Jones changed from Jones’ to Jones’s. That was the difficult change.
The Ms. S. says
“Rivers of white space”.
That’s what an instructor in page layout told us (in an ominous voice) would be the result of using two spaces.
I shuddered and listened.
drachin8 says
I prefer to use a random spacing algorithm–essentially a small program run on my finished manuscripts which randomly replaces every space with zero to five space characters. I find it makes the narrative far more interesting…
…
Okay, you got me. I grew up on two spaces, but switched over to one about a year or so ago. It took me a couple of weeks to adjust, but now my old two spaced stories just look weird to me.
ColoradoKate says
“Perhaps a more scientific survey would be to ask the person’s age as well. I’m betting that all of us 35 years and older would be voting for two spaces.”
Okay, wait a minute. I’m older than dirt, so of course I learned to use two spaces on a manual typewriter. That said, when I started writing for submission I learned that one space was now the norm.
So I switched. It took less than a week to get used to it. It’s no big deal, folks. Many things in life are much harder, trust me.
I voted for one space, and I’m well over 35.
wonderer says
One.
I’m a copyeditor as well, using the Chicago Manual of Style, which requires one space. I learned to type with two (and I’m only 29), but I switched. It wasn’t that hard.
Marc Vun Kannon says
2. After a comma use one.
:)Ash says
Nathan:
You have a way of asking the touchy questions, don’t you? 🙂
Two spaces. I’m 27. I went to school for 20 years. Two spaces seemed to be the norm from grade school through graduate school.
Craven says
I don’t have time to double tap. I barely have time to squeeze in punctuation.
Karen says
Two, of course. I didn’t know there was such controversy. Sad, really.
Mary says
Two spaces looks ugly and very old-fashioned. I find it particularly odd in short letters — as if the recipient needs a six-sentence correspondence chopped into bite-sized pieces. It is also a waste of energy. Why hit the space bar twice when once will do?!
Rob says
Here’s a fun wrinkle. When I submitted my manuscript to my publisher last year, they only requested a printed, paper copy. When I got the version back from them for final approval, the one last edit, none of the typos I found were in my original file.
Yes, apparently there are at least some publishers who are still RETYPING manuscripts rather than working off the author’s file. Speaking of old skool. No deleting of extra spaces required at that point, I guess.
Which is good, because I am a unrepentant two-spacer.
Caroline Steele says
One, out of habit, because I learned far too late that two spaces was the supposed ‘rule’. But I don’t notice either way, which also gives me no reason to change.
lotusgirl says
Wow! What a response! Thanks for throwing this one out there. Ahem! I feel so honored. I’d like to thank the academy and Nathan…LOL!
I learned to type on a manual typewriter a very long time ago, and “2 spaces” was DRILLED into my head.
I’ve been working on eliminating my extra space for the last few weeks. The one space makes a lot of sense. Now when I see the 2 spaces between sentences, they gape at me like they are sticking their tongue out.
My husband thinks it’s not worth the effort to switch, but I’m being an old dog that likes learning new tricks. *quickly checks back over all I’ve typed to make sure there are no 2 spaces gaping*
I’m still not sure if this isn’t some vast conspiracy to drive a wedge between the generations. I’m just saying…
Jim says
Hopefully this is one of those issues that silly writers angst over rather than actually write and/or mail out their queries.
Really saves room in the slush piles for the rest of us. 😉
benwah says
Nice to see that a simple yes/no question about a triviality like this results in nearly 180 comments. Plot? Characterization? Query? Bah. Let’s navel gaze on appropriate method of word count and the spacing after periods.
My vote, Nathan, is a big ole who cares.
ella144 says
The rule is two spaces after a period. Using one space after a period has become a commonly accepted practice on the Internet and in other places for various reasons, but that doesn’t make it correct.
That said, if my editor wanted one space, no problem. If he or she wanted two, so be it.
CathM says
Like many have already voiced. I was taught ‘two spaces, obviously’. But, I’ve been told by agents/publishers/published writers that the two space ruling is old skool and it is ‘one space, clearly’. So – my vote’s with one space! But does it really matter?
Alexa says
I never knew this was a thing until I saw Lady Glam’s post on it. I was never taught to type but somehow I use two spaces – mystery!
Anonymous says
Can I just say that this whole “one space or two” issue came about solely because MS programmers can’t program!!!
The old Word program used to have “issues” with line wrapping when there were 2 spaces at the end of the sentence. Before that little “glitch” got corrected, folks started just putting one space there.
BTW, Corel WordPerfect never had any such issues (it also doesn’t arbitrarily re-format your manuscript, mysteriously change fonts, or just crash). This, and many other “issues” with Word would be why I refuse to write novels in Word. **arggg**.
J.F.
Di and Tom says
you only do two spaces when you are in college… in the real world, time is money and taking the time for that extra space is a waste of money.
-Ann says
I do editing from time to time and one of the last things I do is run a Find and Replace to replace every incident of two spaces with one space. It’s a hold over from typewriters and scrunched in typesetting.
Brian Davidson says
I learned to type using a typewriter, and had the two-space rule drilled into my brain. But I got over it. Because I hated the two-space rule. Nobody could ever explain to me why it was such a grand idea.
So, as Virginia Woolf would say, One, only one.
Jeanne says
It’s been so long since I’ve visited this site- been so busy with new homeschooling venture (Not out of desire- out of necessity. Kids in my daughter’s “wonderful” middle school were having full on SEX in the stairwell prior to Christmas break. Not daughter of course. Anyway, enough was enough.) So glad to find that the topic of discussion is something I care about. ha.
TWO spaces. 🙂 And that is what I’ll teach Julia.
RED STICK WRITER says
I also learned to use two spaces in 1967 in a high school typing class. An exception was learned the following year in my high school journalism class. Apparently newspapers prefer to use the space gained from using only a single space after periods for the folks who pay most of the freight, advertisers. Even papers of moderate size gain a significant amount of column inches for sale through this practice.
Colorado Writer says
Two spaces. I believe Word makes me do it, but it might also be the 8th grade typing teacher who would smack your hand with a ruler if you let your wrists touch the desk.
cgeye says
Two spaces, because I’ll never know if my writing will be cut-and-pasted into a monofont setting.
However, anything I do for academia requires one space, because of their conversion processes.
Linda says
I was a two beat girl until an editor told me to change it to one. So I did. Page count shrunk, too – delightful side effect. Peace, Linda
Meg says
One. I grew up learning on to type on the computer. My mom had an old typewriter that my sister and I would play with. My mom says two spaces.
Anonymous says
OK, When typing on a word processor…two spaces.
On the internet with e-mail or blogging…one space.
(But I voted for two spaces due to well embedded and probably out of fashion principles.)
Anonymous says
Dorinda,
A note from a dyslectic:
I used to say Wa La (or Waa Laa) too until my Dad caught me writing it. I guess I had never heard it pronounced very well. I had the idea right, but hey, sometimes you miss something, (like Gilda Radner’s nevermind lady).
He gently asked if I had meant “voila.”
I did.
Amber Lynn Argyle says
It’s one.
I promise.
Faster, easier, less paper. Plus, it’s standard.
Two is old school. And who wants to be old?
Dick Margulis says
I can’t bear to read all these comments, so forgive me if this has been pointed out, but the canard about two spaces making sentence endings more visible with monospaced type on a typewriter is pure urban myth.
The historical reason has to do with when the typewriter was first commercialized, in the latter part of the nineteenth century. At that time–just before William Morris and the Arts and Crafts movement started focusing on the “color of the page,” (as typographers call it)–commercial typesetting, particularly in the U.S., was suffering through a period of low craftsmanship, as sharp operators padded typesetting charges by adding huge amounts of extra space after sentences (look at low-end commercial work of that period in any antiquarian bookstore if you don’t believe me). The type writer was introduced into the office environment as a way for businesses to simulate typeset work in-house, thus saving costs. Mechanical limitations of the design forced a number of compromises, of course, among them the phenomenon of monospacing.
To promote the use of this device, secretarial schools began teaching typing, and at the manufacturers’ suggestion they taught a double space after a period to better simulate the lousy commercial typesetting of the day.
Now if you have ever met a graduate of a secretarial school, you understand that once some factoid is enshrined in a textbook, it is going to be taught that way until the end of time, no matter what takes place in the world outside. This applies to grammar, and it applies to typing.
So while the world of typography underwent a revolution in quality and aesthetics that made a uniform color of the page the highest goal of the compositor, the secretarial schools kept on teaching two spaces after a period. It had and has nothing whatever to do with readability. It’s just an anachronism. Get over it.
In any case, it makes no difference which way you type. The compositor is going to ignore your double spaces regardless.
Anonymous says
I voted for two spaces! I think it puts more emphasis on the individual sentences, which is nice, and I like doing things the traditional way. 🙂
To God be the glory,
A SF writer
klromo says
Even if my brain said “one”, my hands would type “two”.
jill says
I switched last year from the two spaces taught back in high school typing class (1980-ish) to one space.
Hattie says
I was an English teacher, and I always taught my students to put two spaces after periods in their typing. Visually, it is easier for proofreading purposes to recognize sentence structure by using the two-space rule. If it’s not there, or the periods not there, it usually means the writer has trouble creating proper sentences.