Dear Geist,

I am writing a historical novel with the third-person omniscient point of view. I switch to first person as the voice of the protagonist, for an intimate glimpse of a past traumatic event and later ruinous thoughts. I don't want to use quotation marks, since it is not dialogue and would be confusing. One reader said it was confusing anyway.

—Harry, Merville BC

Dear Harry,

You might change the type style for the protagonist’s voice (italics, or a different font), or change the format (indent the text, set it off from the main text with subtle design devices such as lines or tiny graphics). If a designer is working on the book, he/she will have ideas for you. Either way, when the protagonist’s voice first appears, the reader needs to be told (directly or indirectly) who is speaking. And the voices of both narrators must be distinctive enough in tone, syntax and choice of words that the reader can tell them apart.

—The Editors