Times Roman is the traditional font for writers and publishers. It is the font that book’s ‘should’ be published in, however is it the font writers use to type their creations? With so many fronts and more being developed, is there one that can assist the fingers to flow over the key, one that can inspire creativity or word count? Is there a font that helps writers produce more work?
There isn’t a one size fits all, like genres and writing styles, it’s all down to the author’s taste:
“A ‘nice’ font according to your tastes and preferences, will make for a ‘nice’ and comfortable reading experience… and a comfortable writing experience is a productive one.”
Emily Warna: You can Solve Writer’s Block by Changing Font.
Fonts can change your relationship with the words on the screen, the more pleasing the font, the more likely it will be that you will want to continue writing and consequently increase productivity and creativity.
“The more pleasing a font looks on screen, you’d hope it would help your own output too. As you type, you watch the text appear on screen. You’re engaging with the text. You’re creating.”
Martin: How Fonts Help (Hinder) Your Writing, The University Blog
And if you don’t like a particular font, keep testing other fonts until you find the one you do like because:
“After some experimentation with different fonts, I found that my workflow changed. Sometimes I wanted to write more and more and more and…”
Martin: How Fonts Help (Hinder) Your Writing, The University Blog
However, there isn’t a one size fits all when it comes to fonts. Below some writers discuss their preferred fonts:
Times Roman
“Times New Roman because it’s so ubiquitous as to seem anonymous and then I can feel a bit of detachment from the text and edit more easily.” (Nalini Jones, What You Call Winter)
“I just think it’s clean and attractive, and I can read it easily.” (Elise Moser, Because I Loved and Hidden It)
Courier
“I like Courier because it looks to me like a typewritten page, which is peculiarly nostalgic.” (Sara O’Leary, Where You Came From)
Garamond
“Garamond. It’s classy, easy to read and light … it won’t suck your printer dry.” Amber Dawn, Sub Rosa)
“But I always end up deferring to Garamond. It’s like a trusty old pool cue: lost all of its original gloss, but you can’t rely on anything else to get the job done.” (Benjamin Wood, The Bellwether Revivals)
Palatino
“For many years Palatino has been my favourite. It’s graceful yet strong.” (Cynthia Flood, The English Stories)
And remember:
“If folks don’t like the way our work looks when they open it in Word, they can recalibrate it to their favourite font.” Jean Smith
All quotes from Kevin Chong: What Font do Writers Use? National Post
Whatever font you choose, there are some general rules to bear in mind:
Font size
“If the number of letters in a line on screen is too long you’ll lose your ability to focus on the actual words.”
David Hewson: Choosing a Font for Writing.
Readability
According to psychologists, hard to read fonts make us remember more, however a font that has readability is important to authors, that want readers to continue reading and enjoying their prose.
“Legibility is crucial for the writer – you”
Emily Warna: You can Solve Writer’s Block by Changing Font.
It doesn’t matter which font you choose as long as you can read it.
Readability considerations include:
“the spacing between letters, the height and thickness of the letters, and the size of the serifs.”
Michele DeFilippo: The Best Fonts for Books IngramSpark
Serf fonts v’s sans- serif fonts
The most popular font of all time, Times Roman is a serif font rather than a sans-serif font. Serif fonts are easier to read than sans-serif fonts, this is because it’s serif decorative strokes that make the letters flow together and the reading of the word easier.
What’s your favourite font? I currently enjoy writing in Calibri, but am tempted to have a change…