All of the formatting that you've listed really bugs me. But that doesn't mean that I won't use one or two myself. I use mostly italics when I feel the need to emphasize a word, but it always feels like cheating, like I shouldn't write:
"What?" Angel said.
I should write:
"What?" Angel said, the word a sharp, bright flash of anger. Gunpowder in the night.
But, AUGH. Who *wants* to do that for every time Angel emphasizes a word, you know? THE TEDIUM.
I let myself off the hook a bit more when I'm using formatting shorthand in the actual dialogue, too. In the narrative, I tend to shirk away from it altogether, although I've used it there, as well, especially as the narrative with each piece is getting tighter and tighter in the 3rd person POV. But that's another quandry, and perhaps a discussion for another day.
The whole idea of the characters thoughts being transcribed in between the paragraph breaks of the story, in italics or between brackets or otherwise. God. No. I put my foot down. Down it goes.
no subject
"What?" Angel said.
I should write:
"What?" Angel said, the word a sharp, bright flash of anger. Gunpowder in the night.
But, AUGH. Who *wants* to do that for every time Angel emphasizes a word, you know? THE TEDIUM.
I let myself off the hook a bit more when I'm using formatting shorthand in the actual dialogue, too. In the narrative, I tend to shirk away from it altogether, although I've used it there, as well, especially as the narrative with each piece is getting tighter and tighter in the 3rd person POV. But that's another quandry, and perhaps a discussion for another day.
The whole idea of the characters thoughts being transcribed in between the paragraph breaks of the story, in italics or between brackets or otherwise. God. No. I put my foot down. Down it goes.