Before we begin, check out this illustration on the use of italics;
Bo Ra shifted uncomfortably on her seat as her third grade science teacher, Mrs. Wilhelm, kept droning on and on about plants and photosynthesis. Beads of sweat gathered above her brows, some tricking down the sides of her face. Her palms felt sweaty too and her legs itchy. How annoying!
Fortunately, her classmates didn’t seem to notice how fidgety she was, bouncing her knees and nibbling on her lower lip. I should have listened to mom, she thought with a frown.
She shifted once more on her seat, her hands moving subconsciously to her pocket, there laid something that most definitely shouldn’t be in there.
“Fifi, joyonghi hae!” she hissed at her pocket in Hangul. Keep quiet!
Bo Ra wished she could concentrate on her lesson but that wasn’t the case because, suddenly, Fifi slipped out of her pocket and broke into a sprint. Oh no!
Bo Ra jumped off her seat, running after Fifi, her pet mouse. Soon, everyone in class started screaming or climbing up their desks. Funny enough, Mrs. Wilhelm joined the screaming parade, equally afraid of the little brown mouse scurrying about the classroom.
“No! You’re only scaring her!” Bo Ra cried. And just like that, chaos broke loose in the third grade class.
Did you notice the use of italics in the little story I whipped up?
I personally love and prefer italicizing. Think of it as some sort of writing spice. Writers basically italicize when placing emphasis on a word. Italics are gentle on the eyes and gently draw your readers attention without necessarily disrupting the flow of the story.
While some writers prefer to place emphasized words in bold, some others say it’s disruptive. I agree with the latter.
Want to know when to safely italicize? Let’s get straight to it;
Character’s thoughts
Not to confuse your readers, it’s helpful to differentiate thoughts from dialogue.
For example, Oh no! Leslie’s hand flew up to her mouth. “Not again!” She mouthed.
Foreign languages
As a writer, you may choose to depict your character’s heritage or add some tinge of a foreign country. That’s amazing. For clarity sake, italicize foreign words, names, phrases etc.
For instance, Albert squeezed the piece of paper in his left hand. “Bien sûr que non!” he growled.
Emphasis
This has to be the most important use of italics. Words a character may have stressed in dialogue can be italicized. For instance, “I did warn you!” Alice huffed.
Another fun use of italics in character dialogue would be when a character intends to be sarcastic. For instance, “Excuse me, Mr. Governor.” With that, Leo stormed off.
In conclusion, I’m glad you’ve learnt a thing or two on how to properly italicize. And remember, never go overboard with it. If you’re not certain about italicizing at some point, it’s safer to look leave it as it is.
ACTION POINT
Try writing a short work, practice the use of italics, italicize when needed and be proud of you master piece! I’d love to hear from you! Write up your short pieces in the comment section!
Be sure to hit the comment section with your questions, comments or feedback!
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Beautiful Swirls; Writing Tips
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