3 Asterixes in books

[collinsc]

Hi

Apologies if this is the incorrect forum to post on.

I have always wondered why in books there are 3 asterixes at the top and bottom of some pages. What do these represent!?

thanks

[mayneverhave]

Usually they signal a section shift without something as dramatic as a change in chapter.

[MarkBastable]

Usually they signal a section shift without something as dramatic as a change in chapter.


Usually, in modern typesetting, the end of a section is signified by a couple of blank lines...

And so, as dusk fell over the Serengeti,
Oscar drained his glass, upturned his boots so
that spiders would not use them as a
hotel, and extinguished the lamp.

He lay there beneath the stars, farting
contentedly.




"God, that smells good!" Cindy exclaimed, inhaling
sharply.

In the sun-flooded kitchen Patsie was
frying bacon.



The problem is, if that kind of break happens to coincide with the foot of a page, you might turn over and read on as if this were a continued scene. In order to avoid that confusion, they put in a hard break - such as three centred asterisks. As opposed to three centred Asterixes, which are rarely used, except in Albert Camus' early funny stuff.

[JBI]

In manuscripting, it's the equivalent of a line of ############ - it essentially means a shift in focalization - to a new location, or new time, or whatever - the action is implied to have had a pause.