{"id":87,"date":"2013-03-03T18:57:17","date_gmt":"2013-03-03T18:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vajraenterprises.com\/new\/?p=87"},"modified":"2021-02-25T19:46:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T19:46:13","slug":"vajra-enterprises-style-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajraenterprises.com\/new\/?p=87","title":{"rendered":"Vajra Enterprises Editorial and Diversity Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Post-Sentence Spacing<\/strong>: Use two spaces after the end of a sentence.  Scientific studies show that two spaces helps people read text more easily.<\/p>\n

Dash as Punctuation<\/strong>: Avoid a dash in the middle of a sentence (e.g. \u201cWe were writing – it was great!\u201d).  In most cases, this can be replaced with a comma, colon, semicolon, a new sentence or a conjunction word.<\/p>\n

Oxford Comma<\/strong>: Use it or don\u2019t, but be consistent with your usage.  If you choose not to use it, make sure the lack of an ending comma doesn\u2019t make the sentence confusing or potentially misunderstood.<\/p>\n

Gender Pronouns<\/strong>: When speaking about hypothetical individuals, you can use they\/them or \u201che or she\u201d  They\/them can be used to refer to single individuals.  For instance:<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter stepping into the box, he or she is transformed into a rabbit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the hero is being pierced by the knife, they can see anything anywhere in the universe.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Also, avoid gendered terms such as \u201cchairman\u201d or \u201cfireman.\u201d<\/p>\n

2nd Person: <\/strong>The word “you” can be used to refer to the reader (e.g. “You should add up your character’s stats”) or to the player’s character (e.g. “You take 5 damage.”)  If it’s not clear from context which is being referred to, then specify (e.g. “Your character takes 5 damage.”).<\/p>

Diversity Goal<\/span>: That all types of people, when reading our books, feel that they are welcome and respected as readers\/players, that they can play people like them in our games, and that people like them are represented in the game as heroes.  We want to be especially careful about those groups that have been hard-done-by when it comes to representation, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, disabled people, immigrants, religious minorities and non-neurotypical people.<\/span><\/p>

Text Boxes<\/strong>: Text Boxes (aka sidebars, callout boxes) should be used for text that is optional, is a deeper dive into a particular topic, or is an aside from the main point of the section.  In manuscript text these can be shown as \u201c[Text Box: Title\u201d and ending with \u201c]\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Brief Sections<\/strong>: Every section of multiple paragraphs should have an \u201cIn Brief\u201d box at the beginning, summarizing the section in 1 or 2 sentences.  This allows people skimming through a chapter to know what parts to read in depth, or someone looking through for something in particular to find it more easily.  In manuscript text these can be shown as: \u201c[In Brief: Summary description.]\u201d<\/p>\n

Uninterrupted Text Length<\/strong>: Avoid long blocks (e.g. a page long or more) of uninterrupted text.  Break text up into sections, each with a section header.<\/p>\n

Narrative Text<\/strong>: Narrative (e.g. short story style) text should be kept short (typically under a page) in game books.  Interrupting a game book with long narrative text is like interrupting a video game with an overly long cut scene.<\/p>\n

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Diversity Goal<\/span>: That all types of people, when reading our books, feel that they are welcome and respected as readers\/players, that they can play people like them in our games, and that people like them are represented in the game as heroes.\u00a0 We want to be especially careful about those groups that have been hard-done-by when it comes to representation, including women, people of color, LGBTQ people, disabled people, immigrants, religious minorities and non-neurotypical people.<\/p><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Diverse Characters<\/span>: When characters are shown in art or described in text, they should be diverse.\u00a0 This means consciously resisting the tendency in western fiction and gaming to show heroes that are white, male, handsome, athletic, able bodied, heterosexual, cisgendered, neurotypical and native-born.\u00a0 Characters should represent the full diversity of the population, so that any person reading our books can see people like themselves in them (and not solely as villains or non-heroes).<\/p>

Stereotypes<\/span>: Avoid stereotypes of people based on their in-born characteristics.\u00a0 For example, avoid showing black men as uneducated and criminal.\u00a0 Avoid showing women and gay men as shallow and timid.\u00a0 Avoid showing rural-born people as stupid and racist.\u00a0 Even supposedly positive stereotypes (e.g. Asians are good at math) should be avoided.\u00a0 It is okay to show people being good at the things their cultures take pride in, e.g. to show black people as creative, to show Native Americans as being respectful of nature, to show gay men as unafraid of embarassment.\u00a0 These characters should remain nuanced, with characteristics that cannot be guessed at solely from their group membership.\u00a0 Don\u2019t, for instance, include a Native American character just to be the voice of respect for nature and nothing else.<\/p>

Group Names<\/span>: Refer to groups of people by the current name they prefer to be called by, e.g. \u201cRomany\u201d instead of \u201cGypsy,\u201d \u201cTrans Man\u201d instead of \u201cDude-Chick,\u201d etc.\u00a0 If you\u2019re not sure what is the best term to call people, your Vajra editors are happy to help with research.<\/p>

Content Warnings<\/span>: A brief list of content warnings should be added to the beginning of any book to warn readers about topics that they may not want to read about.\u00a0 This is a service that some readers want and that we are happy to provide them with.\u00a0 Your Vajra editors are happy to help you figure out what those topics might be.<\/p>

Attractive Characters<\/span>: In art, and in physical descriptions of characters, it is okay for characters to be shown as conventionally attractive, but it should not be their role to be attractive.\u00a0 Avoid things that make it appear that the artist or writer is trying to titillate the audience, such as:<\/p>