I just got this email from my daughter. The subject was 'You old' (not you ARE old, but you old). She's trying to teach me how to write. I about died laughing.
In the body, she sent me this link:
https://youtube.com/shorts/ujYskNeEb_g?si=1KpLuPHKd8seILRU
If you don't have time to watch the short, it basically says if you use two spaces after a period, you're old.
She (and the video makers) don't realize that every professionally written book/manuscript/document uses two spaces after the end of a sentence. Otherwise, I call them a 'newbie' with no writing background whatsoever. Granted, I don't have a degree in English, but I've been around the block a few times to know what's expected.
For example, a few years ago, I got to know a Harlequin editor. I asked her this specific question about one or two spaces. She said emphatically TWO, because it's easier on her eyes.
It's kind of like the people who don't want to observe the Oxford comma. That's including commas after a a list of things. So, for example, the sentence, 'I went to the barn, the house and the car,' it'd be written as 'I went to the barn, the house, and the car.'
Some people are adamant about not wanting to include that comma. But in some cases, it changes the meaning of the sentence (see https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/oxford-comma-guide for a few funny ones). It also explains how a group of dairy delivery drivers got a five million dollar settlement because of the lack of an Oxford comma.
Both the two-space rule and the Oxford comma make your document look more professional, and may even make you win a lawsuit (in the case of the Oxford comma).
Also, you won't get in trouble for using either the two spaces or the Oxford comma. But if you don't use those things, chances are higher that someone will complain. Why chance it?
SweetTale Books
