From the FractalPast Editor’s Desk: Your Own Style Sheet

​We often think of style as a kind of literary signature: the punch-you-in-your face brevity of a Hemingway versus the get-lost-in-the-woods prolixity of a Faulkner. Style is certainly a major factor in our enjoyment of fiction, and it undoubtedly plays a role in non-fiction as well. The truthfulness of a poorly-written story cannot overcome its stylistic deficiencies. A well-written and engaging account elevates the experience for your readers.
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Style is important in non-fiction, though in most cases our choices are more constrained than in fiction. Because the aims of non-fiction, generally, are to impart meaning in as precise a way as possible (as opposed to fiction, which is freer to aspire to the poetic), the conventions of English-language prose dictate some choices are better than others. For this reason, most publishing houses demand adherence to a style sheet. If you publish a book with a publisher, you will certainly be supplied with a style sheet with which you are expected to conform. This style sheet, likely derived from one of the major guides in use, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, will offer direction about how to conform your prose mechanics. Questions such as capitalization, abbreviation, proper spelling of technical terms, and so forth will generally be answered. Many of these rules are developed to help make your prose more comprehensible, your meaning more precise. By regulating certain choices, style guides take the guesswork out of meaning for writers and readers alike.

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