Ah, the wonderful world of word processing. Where once every tiny adjustment to a piece of prose required hard work and considerable frustration, writers can now simply allow their muse to flow unchecked. Put a paragraph in the wrong place? Highlight, cut and paste it where it belongs. Can't think of the word you want? Open the electronic thesaurus and see what else is available.

However, all of this wonderful ease of creation comes with an irritating little catch. Why? Because the programmers at Microsoft and Corel and the other companies who create word processing programs have written utilities into those programs that will detect errors such as unwanted capital letters or misspelled words and correct them as you type. Your word processor will automatically convert two dashes into an em space or make 1/2 into a real fraction. On the surface this seems like a wonderful idea.

Unfortunately, each one of those helpful little tools adds code to a file, and those codes vary according to which program you're using, what kind of computer you have and whose operating system you're using. When writers are aiming their work toward electronic publishing, the enthusiastic formatting help provided by Word, WordPerfect and the other popular programs is more often a hindrance. What's more, many print publishers have begun to use an electronic version of a manuscript for the actual printing process. Add a few exchanges between computers so a work can visit an editor or two, and the problem, like that stupid rabbit, just keeps going...and going...and going....

Word processing programs are, for the most part, created for use in offices. The premise behind their construction is that (a) working people don't want to waste time doing a lot of formatting and (b) some of them wouldn't know how to do it anyway. For that reason, both programs come with what's known as "autoformatting." In this little tutorial, you'll learn how to get rid of that, preventing your manuscript from accumulating a lot of unnecessary coding that leads to oddities of spacing and other horrors.

The information here applies to Word 97 and WordPerfect 8.0. However, if you're using an older or newer version of either, you should be able to find the utilities mentioned with a little exploration. The same goes for Appleworks, WordStar and what-have-you. If your program autoformats, somewhere there should be a menu item that will allow you to customize it.

We'll start with Word.

On the top toolbar, select Format and then Font. If you haven't already selected Times New Roman, do that. TNR and Courier tend to be the preferred typefaces for submissions, although Arial is becoming popular, and you'll be safe using either. I prefer TNR simply because it takes up less space. In any case, make sure the font style is Regular or Normal and the size is 12 pt. Now, go down to the extreme left-hand corner of the Font Window and click on the Default button. Word will ask you if you're serious. Be firm. Say "Yes."

You've now set 12-point Times New Roman as your default font. From now on, every document you write will be in that font unless you tell Word otherwise.

Our next stop is Tools. All the way at the bottom of this list is Options. Open Options and--behold!--a plethora of helpful things Word is doing for you. Under View, uncheck everything except Highlight and the toolbars. Under General, uncheck everything except your macro virus protection and how many recent files you want to show up when you click on File. Under Edit, uncheck everything except Typing Replaces Selection.

Still in Tools, we now move back up the list to AutoCorrect. Under Autoformat As You Type, uncheck everything. Under AutoFormat, uncheck everything.

What you've just done is tell Word not to be such a help. Granted, you've made more work for yourself. For example, if you type 1/2, Word won't convert it into a fraction anymore. If you're going to be composing a document that uses fractions or subscripts/superscripts, you only need go back and turn these little goodies back on. Then close Word and re-open it. This rule also applies if you share your computer.

Finally, open File and drop down to Page Setup. Check to be sure your right and left margins are set to 1 inch. Word's default setting is 1.25. If that's what yours says, change it to 1 and use the default button to make it official.

Moving on to WordPerfect, the procedure is essentially the same. You just have to do it in different places.

Again, we'll begin under Format and Font. This time, the Default Font is on the right side of the window along with the other menu options. Just select Times New Roman, 12 pt., etc., select Default Font, and when the next window comes up say OK.

Now, still under Format, select Keep Text Together. Make sure Widows/Orphans isn't checked. This is the utility that prevents a page from ending or beginning with a single line. If you're writing a paper for college, it's fine. When you're writing a manuscript, especially one for electronic publishing, it's a pain in the neck because it interferes with the typesetter/formatter's ability to set up a page.

Now move to Tools and open QuickCorrect. Under QuickCorrect, delete everything except the list of commonly misspelled words. Under Format-as-you-go, select the two boxes that will remove an extra space between words and at the end of a sentence. Uncheck everything else. Finally, open SmartQuotes and select the straight ones for both double and single quotes. Also make sure the third item, using the straight quote after numbers (6'5") is checked.

If you haven't already done so, you'll also need to change the margin default. Again, it's under File in Page Setup. Just check the Make All Margins Equal box and then Apply.

Again, as with Word, anything you remove or change that you'll need later can be replaced. Or, if you use these options on a regular basis, just leave them on. The point is that they should be OFF when you're writing or editing a manuscript. Otherwise, you'll be putting code into the document that will only have to be stripped out later.

Elizabeth Burton is the Author of The Everdark War.

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