Text structure

[kromen]

I have a question about structuring a story around text messages. The meat of the tale had to do with two people texting each other. Would it be difficult to read it all the actual texts were in italics?

<i>Where are you, Baby?</i>

vs.

Jake:Where are you, Baby?

Would putting the text chats in bold be overdoing it?

There is a lot of narration, but like I said, there will be many text messages back and forth? Any suggestions?

 

[sr71plt]

The italics would probably be fine. Publishing doesn't use bold in text (it does in headlines sometimes--but, even there, rarely except for technical manuals)--and a lot of bold there would be very, very distracting for the reader.

 

[Darkniciad]

The only problem with using italics is if you also have them in there to designate thought dialogue. That could prove confusing for a reader to distinguish between texts and thoughts.

Using the Name:Text form might be better in that case.

 

[estragon]

For an example of texting dialog by a very fine writer, read the first part of Grand Master Sir_Nathan's Culture_Shock.

 

[sr71plt]

The only problem with using italics is if you also have them in there to designate thought dialogue. That could prove confusing for a reader to distinguish between texts and thoughts.

Using the Name:Text form might be better in that case.

You don't have to use italics for thought. In fact Chicago Manual of Style no longer makes them an option--using straight roman, with a slug, or double quotes.

 

[Darkniciad]

You don't have to use italics for thought. In fact Chicago Manual of Style no longer makes them an option--using straight roman, with a slug, or double quotes.

That's why I said "if"

I prefer it, so that's why I go with italics. That's the advantage of being a storyteller on a free site. I can do whatever I want, so long as the reader doesn't have to spend too much time puzzling it out -- CMS be damned

 

[kromen]

I'll probably go with the italics, put a disclaimer in the beginning before the trolls come to feast.

 

[sr71plt]

Why would a disclaimer be needed? You can make it clear in the text that these are text messages.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

There was a thread about thins some time ago...

 

[PennLady]

It might depend on whether you're showing just one message, or an exchange. I'm writing a story now where the characters have exchanged texts but I've only specified a couple of them. So it went like:

She opened her phone to find a text from him. Sorry I missed you. Where are you now? She tapped out a reply.

That's a very bland example, but there you go. The reader knows it's a text and there's not a lot of italics to strain anyone's eyes.

I'm with Darkniciad, too. I prefer using italics for internal thoughts and dialogue, and until recently no one said anything. Then on my last e-book, my editor started taking off the italics. I put some back and reworded other things. That was the way I'd always seen such things done, and so that's how I did it. I guess times change, but personally I find it annoying; the italics were a good way of setting it off, I thought.