How do you write a day of the month?

Danalynn · Aug 2, 2008

This is probably a stupid question, but I'm having a brain fog at the moment. :poke:

lol!

How would you write August 1st?

Here's the paragraph (ETA: to clarify, it's from my MC's 14 yr. old best friend) :

“This has sure been a fun summer, huh?” Maxine says. She’s sitting on my bed watching me load up my bookshelf. “Dang, can you believe it’s August 1st already? Less than a month until high school starts.”

Am I supposed to put August 1st, or would I write it out like August first ????
:Shrug:

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

dpaterso · Aug 2, 2008

I'd write it out, August first, but that's just me.

I believe there are older threads where the majority leaned towards writing out numbers less than 100.

-Derek

roncouch · Aug 2, 2008

Dana-Lynn said:
This is probably a stupid question, but I'm having a brain fog at the moment. lol!

How would you write August 1st?

Here's my paragraph :

“This has sure been a fun summer, huh?” Maxine says. She’s sitting on my bed watching me load up my bookshelf. “Dang, can you believe it’s August 1st already? Less than a month until high school starts.”

Am I supposed to put August 1st, or would I write it out like August first ????

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I would write "the first day of August," but that's me.

Danalynn · Aug 2, 2008

Thanks, Derek. I'll change it to that unless someone tells me otherwise.

I would write "the first day of August," but that's me.

roncouch, I'm not sure if a 14 yr. old would word it that way . . .

DeleyanLee · Aug 2, 2008

Personally, I'd just drop the date reference and say "Dang, can you believe it's less than a month 'til school starts again?"

Unless the date plays a particular role in the story, I hate tying myself down with them. That's the kind of thing that always trips me up.

Danalynn · Aug 2, 2008

Thanks, DeleyanLee.

I THINK the date does have signifigance in the story from what I've written so far, but at this point I'm not totally sure. I'm only 10K words into this novel, so I won't know until my first draft is complete. I should probably leave it in for now, but I'll keep that in mind for the editing / revision process. Thanks for the heads up.

:Sun:

regdog · Aug 2, 2008

dpaterso said:
I'd write it out, August first, but that's just me.

I believe there are older threads where the majority leaned towards writing out numbers less than 100.

-Derek

This gets my vote

Danalynn · Aug 2, 2008

Okay, cool.

Thanks so much for the help guys!

:snoopy:

Bufty · Aug 2, 2008

If it's dialogue, spell it out.

Death Bean · Aug 2, 2008

dpaterso said:
I believe there are older threads where the majority leaned towards writing out numbers less than 100.

That's odd... I do exactly the opposite. Or at least it depends on what *looks* better, I find that writing numbers (12345) grates on the eye, unless it's a year... but I still write one hundred and fifty-two.

Hmm.

Rowdymama · Aug 2, 2008

I've always thought that numbers under 10 should be spelled out, except in dialogue, as Buffy said. "Can you believe it's the first of August already?" Or "Can you believe it's August already?" I learned that via the AMA style guide.

lilabner · Aug 2, 2008

I try to keep numbers out entirely, unless it the year.

DeleyanLee · Aug 2, 2008

I believe the formal rule is that if you can pronounce the number in one or two words, it should be spelled out. Anything longer should be in numerals.

But I don't remember where I read that anymore, so it could be wrong. It's generally what I do though.

FennelGiraffe · Aug 3, 2008

It's dialog. Write exactly what the character says.

"1st" looks like it should be pronounced "onest". Unless that's how your char says it, write "first".

Death Bean · Aug 4, 2008

I'm going to say 'onest' from now on

Clair Dickson · Aug 4, 2008

Numbers from 1 to 9 are usually written as words.

If you are using some sort of unit (like days, months, degrees, etc.) it is considered acceptable to write out the number. So August first is okay no matter where it is in writting, whether in dialogue or otherwise.

Also, if you are only using a number infrequently in a peice of writing, you may spell out those that can be written in no more than two words (According to my copy of "Writer's Inc.")

How do you write a day of the month?

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