Transcribing a text message conversation.

[Matnov]

I have a chapter coming up in which I have two characters having a conversation via text message.

Anybody got an experience of how to put that down on paper? Speech marks? Italics? Open to all suggestions on this.

 

[Carol Rose]

House style will dictate the way to do it in the end. At Evernight, we use italics, and all the sentences are intended as if they are separate paragraphs. No speech marks, as it's set up in the preceding sentence this is a text message and who is speaking. I haven't done an extended one, and I likely never will. It's difficult to read things in italics for more than a few lines, and readers become lost in a conversation without a dialogue tag or action here and there to identify who is speaking. If you do it, I'd suggest keeping it to a minimum, and having a good reason why the readers need to see the text conversation. In other words, don't simply do it because texting is common, or for effect. Hope this helps.

 

[Paul Whybrow]

Your question rang a bell somewhere in the dusty recesses of my mind, about a YA writer who's written a whole series in text speak!

Sure enough: ttyl (Internet Girls, #1) by Lauren Myracle — Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

This makes my brain blow a fuse, for presumably some young readers would be reading a story written in text speak on their smartphones....that's weird.

 

[Matnov]

House style will dictate the way to do it in the end. At Evernight, we use italics, and all the sentences are intended as if they are separate paragraphs. No speech marks, as it's set up in the preceding sentence this is a text message and who is speaking. I haven't done an extended one, and I likely never will. It's difficult to read things in italics for more than a few lines, and readers become lost in a conversation without a dialogue tag or action here and there to identify who is speaking. If you do it, I'd suggest keeping it to a minimum, and having a good reason why the readers need to see the text conversation. In other words, don't simply do it because texting is common, or for effect. Hope this helps.

Thanks for that.

I would avoid if I could but one of the parties involved is a serving a jail term and the other has good reason not to want his voice being possibly recorded as he fears it is all a set up anyway. It seemed a method of communication that would have a certain logic to it but I will try to keep it as short as possible.

 

[Boopadoo]

I second everything Carol wrote (house style dictates, keep it to minimum, etc.), but in my own manuscripts, books I've typeset and one anthology I appeared in,

we differentiated text messages with Courier

while all other text is a serif font like Times or Garamond, et. al.

 

[Carol Rose]

Thanks for that.

I would avoid if I could but one of the parties involved is a serving a jail term and the other has good reason not to want his voice being possibly recorded as he fears it is all a set up anyway. It seemed a method of communication that would have a certain logic to it but I will try to keep it as short as possible.

They allow people to text from jail? Highly doubtful, at least legally. You might want to consider researching that before including it in your book.

 

[K.J. Simmill]

I have read a few that do this from what I gather they are in italics, paragraph space above and below, still justified but cover a smaller central area from the main text (larger indents)
But as I've not done it I am just going by what I recall reading

 

[Skip W]

Texting from jail? I know they can do it and a whole lot more besides.

 

[Carol Rose]

Texting from jail? I know they can do it and a whole lot more besides.

Yes, but not legally. Prisoners aren't allowed smart phones or Internet access for obvious reasons. Can they get phones? Yes, just like they can get almost anything smuggled inside. Some prisons here in the USA are experimenting with jamming cell phone signals inside all or part of the complexes because it's such a growing problem. The downside to that is if the regular phone lines go down, the staff might not be able to summon medical or other help if needed.

If I was writing a story in which a prisoner sends regular text messages to someone on the outside, I'd at least make sure readers knew that wasn't something prisoners are routinely given the okay to do. I'd make sure the readers knew the prisoner had the phone without the knowledge or consent of the prison staff.

I don't know about other countries, and I don't know where @Matnov's book is set. Merely a reminder to make sure a point like that is well researched.

 

[Matnov]

They allow people to text from jail? Highly doubtful, at least legally. You might want to consider researching that before including it in your book.

Have no fear, there is absolutely no doubt about the illegality of this conversation. Nor the subject matter.