Ask the Editor is on the 3rd Monday of the month. Grammar, spelling, punctuation, sentence structure and more! I will showcase questions and answers. To ask a question, please fill out the form below. (There will be no Ask the Editor in September due to the awesome Alex J. Cavanaugh's Genre Favorites Blogfest. If you haven't signed up for it yet, you should consider doing so.)
I've been a freelance editor since November 2010. If I don't know the answer, I will find it.
M. Pax asks, “How would you punctuate and
set off a computer or text conversation? Such as lol. Would you use a period
after it?
Most books
set text messages and computer conversations (emails/IMs) off in a different
font or indent differently. Some use italics or bold the lines. I did a bit of
research on the topic, but nothing seemed definite on how to set of
text/computer conversations. A key is consistency. If you do it one way, then
keep it that way later in the book. As for “lol” with or without punctuate,
punctuate how your character would.
For example of a possible text message
conversation between my sister and me:
Cherie: Where
r u?
Kara: Walmart
Cherie: Ok
Cherie: Be
there soon.
You can get a feel of the natural texting. Grammar/spelling rules don't completely apply to texts and computer messages because that's not how a lot of people type, so it is important to show that in a story.
