Author Topic: Grammar Question: Song title in text  (Read 2889 times)

Offline Kali

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2424
  • Redhead
    • View Profile
Grammar Question: Song title in text
« on: March 24, 2010, 07:01:28 PM »
I reference the Soundgarden song "Fell On Black Days" repeatedly in text.  What's the proper way to handle this in fiction?  Quotes?  Italics?  Are capital letters enough?  It looks wrong no matter how I do it.
We don't get just one life.  We get as many as we can cram into one lifetime.

Visit my page! JessaLynch.com

Offline Shecky

  • Bartender
  • O. M. G.
  • ****
  • Posts: 34672
  • Feh.
    • View Profile
Re: Grammar Question: Song title in text
« Reply #1 on: March 24, 2010, 07:09:50 PM »
Song titles are in quotation marks.
Official forum rules and precepts; please read: http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,23096.0.html

Quote from: Stanton Infeld
Well, if you couldn't do that with your bulls***, Leonard, I suspect the lad's impervious.

Offline Enjorous

  • Seriously?
  • ***
  • Posts: 12664
  • Prince of the Gutter since 2010
    • View Profile
Re: Grammar Question: Song title in text
« Reply #2 on: March 25, 2010, 12:44:10 AM »
Song titles are in quotation marks.

Yup, but if you referenced the album that would be in italics. General rule of thumb short works get "quotes" long works get italics

That might be a rule of English that is actually upheld...Damn, now I have to think of an exception. Hope that helps.
Kentucky Fried Shuriken - Finger Lickin' Death.
Quote from: horsehearted
Nah, women are just batshit crazy ALL the time!  :D
87.1% Dresden Pure rank: Nicodemus

Offline Kali

  • Posty McPostington
  • ***
  • Posts: 2424
  • Redhead
    • View Profile
Re: Grammar Question: Song title in text
« Reply #3 on: March 25, 2010, 01:36:28 AM »
Thanks, guys.  So far it's a lot of song titles in various places, so quotation marks it is.

10k words into Rewrite #1.  Go team!
We don't get just one life.  We get as many as we can cram into one lifetime.

Visit my page! JessaLynch.com

Offline Kris_W

  • Conversationalist
  • **
  • Posts: 207
    • View Profile
Re: Grammar Question: Song title in text
« Reply #4 on: March 25, 2010, 03:02:09 AM »
Quotes are fine, and don't worry about it. The publishing house will have their own guidelines which they will give to the copyeditor. It's not your problem.

Offline Shecky

  • Bartender
  • O. M. G.
  • ****
  • Posts: 34672
  • Feh.
    • View Profile
Re: Grammar Question: Song title in text
« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2010, 03:07:51 AM »
Yup, but if you referenced the album that would be in italics. General rule of thumb short works get "quotes" long works get italics

That might be a rule of English that is actually upheld...Damn, now I have to think of an exception. Hope that helps.

Yep, and since she was just asking about a song, that definitely qualifies for quotation marks. Point of interest: because pre-personal-computer typewriters generally couldn't handle italics, the usual approach was underlining for longer works / compilation titles.
Official forum rules and precepts; please read: http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,23096.0.html

Quote from: Stanton Infeld
Well, if you couldn't do that with your bulls***, Leonard, I suspect the lad's impervious.