One Space Between Sentences, Not Two, Is The Standard Now

If you use Microsoft Word (it’s highly likely you will since it’s the word processing software most publishers use), compose your document, finalize it, and then go up to the “Edit” tab and select “Replace.”

You will see a box that says, “Find and Replace,” which contains two fields for you to fill in. Fill in the top box with two spaces (hit the space bar two times) and fill in the bottom box with one space (hit the space bar one time). Then hit the button that says “Replace All.”

And voilà! All those years of habitually typing in two spaces instead of one can be remedied without the need for a typing recovery program.

It’s important to get into the habit of correcting a document before you submit your work. Don’t give editors an easy reason to take a pass.

Diane decided to search the Internet to confirm that my advice was correct.

In the end, she decided that this is an issue she will need to address in her writing. She wondered if she was the last person in the world to find out about this convention, but I assured her she is not.

Each round, I typically have two students in each Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff class, who need to learn to change the habit. So, if like Diane, you find yourself stuck in the same old typing school habit, don’t feel badly. Just use the shortcut until you are able to break the habit.

Or never break the habit and always use the shortcut. It’s nothing to be ashamed about.

You’ll find this and other extremely helpful advice for writers in my Writer’s Digest book, The Writer’s Workout.

Happy habit-breaking!

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