Notes or text messages

[JanetHarper]

I have several instances where I want to include a written note or a text message in my story. I was wondering if anyone has an idea what the proper way to punctuate it would be?

 

[oggbashan]

You could enclose it in single quotes, like this:

'text message'

Or, but that is more complicated in a Literotica submission, use italics.

 

[Voboy]

I use italics. I don't use this gimmick often, though; I find less is more.

One of the old en_extase stories has a lot of texting. I think he did this kind of thing:

Me: hi.

Her: hi.

Me: what's up

And so on. It worked, but it's not a personal preference of mine.

 

[JanetHarper]

I have thought of both. I'm sort of leaning toward italics.

Thanks for your response.

 

[litfan10]

Notes and memos should get single italics as they are not being spoken which is denoted by quotes.
Longer notes or memos should be broken out in a block form spaced further in but I'm not sure in Literotica formatting how this would be accomplished, so I lean toward the single italics as the safest bet as well.

 

[sr71plt]

Just a thought. You don't do that in fiction. One of the first things you don't want to do in weaving a story is to eject the reader from the story for any reason. That's what a note text would do.

 

[hylas_]

^ how so?

 

[sr71plt]

I put "how so?" in my post. Fiction isn't nonfiction. You don't interrupt weaving a story with side explanations of anything. If it's important to know, you fold it into the story. If it isn't important to know for that story you just don't put it in. Go read some published fiction.

Or am I misinterpreting the question? Quite possibly so. Is the OP asking about written notes for computer texts from a character? If so, at Lit. the best rendering is a separate paragraph set in italics. In places other than Lit., you'd indent the paragraph too, but Lit. formatting doesn't like indenting.

 

[hylas_]

(edit)

 

[JanetHarper]

The situation I have is how to display a written note someone has given to someone in the story. It appears italics is the way to go.

Thanks to all who responded.

 

[SandraMustard]

...

In places other than Lit., you'd indent the paragraph too, but Lit. formatting doesn't like indenting.

You can actually indent (nest) 3 levels in a Lit story. I used it extensively in a story (that I have taken down) that was a chronological listing of stories with links and a mix of bold and italics. Use <BLOCKQUOTE> and </BLOCKQUOTE> around the text to be indented. The one thing I discovered is that things that extend over a page break in the Lit reader will be ended prematurely.

Other than that, I think pilot's advice to OP about story disruption is wise. I was writing an outline with paragraphs of explanatory text, not a story.

 

[ElectricBlue]

The situation I have is how to display a written note someone has given to someone in the story. It appears italics is the way to go.

Thanks to all who responded.

Not quite the same as a note, but I had an 'email' exchange in a story that I punctuated like this:

<<hi, it's Jenny, are we still good for this afternoon?>>

<<Hello Jenny, yes - confirming 2:00 pm>>

Readers understood that it was a communication medium, without any explanation. Nobody commented, huh, wots that? It's an alternative - italics (as has been suggested) always suggests to me an internal thought or an emphasis - but that might be just me.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

<blockquote> would be the way to go along with Italics. The problem then becomes if Laurel will allow the blockquote tag. Sometimes the blockquote tags span a lit page, screwing up the formatting of the next page. The same happens with italics or any of the other tags allowed.

For expediency Laurel will usually delete all the tags in a story or just reject it.

 

[Lascivity]

I'm a fan of the colon and name method for indication text messages or chat logs. Options are limitless though, so just do what you think is clear and looks good.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

I've done italics and special indents in the past. It's toughest when a character is talking to someone in the room while texting someone else. Italics probably work best in that situation.

Even more difficult? Adding emoticons. You can't really add them, you have to describe them.

I have a story posted in Letters & Transcripts that focuses on two people texting each other.

I often wonder how dated that story will fill in a few more years now that I see more and more people video-chatting with each other using various forms like SnapChat & even Facetime. The day will come when people ask, "Who texts anymore?" just like how people say that about snail mail and, increasingly, email too!

I've also written a text exchange exactly as dialog, but then adding "she texted" instead of "she said." I think that works, too. Especially if it's a text only conversation.