Quote:
Originally Posted by John2011
If we make the first paragraph of a chapter with no indent, then the rest with an indent.
But a bit further on in the same chapter there is a scene break. Should the scene break start with or without an indent for the first paragraph?...
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It's is a matter of preferred style rather than any "rule of typography".
Personally, I prefer that all paragraphs distinguish themselves with some difference in the placement or style of the first character(s), regardless of where they are in the flow of the text.
I prefer no indent only when there is some font styling applied (e.g. large initial cap, drop cap, caps and small caps for the first few words, ...). This means that unless such styling is used for the first paragraph after a scene break, which is something I avoid, the new scene should begin with an indented paragraph.
As to the issue with the leading quote, it must be retained and made to look good along with the first regular character. Also, the styling of all chapters should be the same. Before you decide to use a particular styling for the beginning of a chapter you should review all chapters to make sure your chosen styling will work for all. If you keep the enlarged first character styling I would lean toward having the quote mark and the first regular character both enlarged.