how to include correspondence letters in fiction?

I'd recommend no italics. In standard academic format, such quoted material is formatted as block quotes, every line indented and the whole thing set off by extra blank lines. I've seen this done in fiction and non-fiction, and it seems to be a standard format. For a detailed example, consult Purdue OWL (google will get your there right quicklike). It's a highly useful reference for all manner of formatting, grammar and style issues.

caw

Italics can be annoying for anything long. Unless it's very short, use block indents. This is common, and works very well.

In The Fountainhead, this is how it was done...

Roark wrote him a long letter: "...Gail, I know. I hoped you could escape it, but since it had to happen, start again from where you are...Don't let it go."

Worked well for me, I had no trouble during reading it.

jaus tail said:

In The Fountainhead, this is how it was done...

Roark wrote him a long letter: "...Gail, I know. I hoped you could escape it, but since it had to happen, start again from where you are...Don't let it go."

Click to expand...

That's not a "long letter". Reference to the Purdue OWL site will indicate the standard formatting for quotation of short material (for which your example is correct) and for longer material (for which block-quote format is correct).

caw

blacbird said:

That's not a "long letter". Reference to the Purdue OWL site will indicate the standard formatting for quotation of short material (for which your example is correct) and for longer material (for which block-quote format is correct).

caw

Click to expand...

That's a good point, but there really is no "standard" formatting for things like this when you;re writing a novel. Each publisher does it their own way, and that way is almost always however the writer wants it done.

It's all about readability, rather than rules of formatting. This is why it's sometimes done in italics, sometimes in block indent, and even in cursive, if the writer wants to show that it was handwritten.

Standard manuscript format almost always applies, but anything within the manuscript is nearly always writer's choice, and done for sake of readability, or story, or even for effect.

Writers have a lot more freedom in this area than many new writers think they have.

Jamesaritchie said:

That's a good point, but there really is no "standard" formatting for things like this when you;re writing a novel. Each publisher does it their own way, and that way is almost always however the writer wants it done.

Click to expand...

True, but you and I just agreed in this thread that the block quote and no italics was probably the most commonly-used format for anything longer than a couple of lines. And that format evolved primarily for the exact purpose of readability. Like any other convention, it could be altered to fit a particular publisher's preference. But that would be for an editor to decide, and not something the writer should overworry about.

Short version of general principle: Keep formatting things simple and straightforward.

caw