How do you write it when your characters text?

LLRye

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Back in the day, the obvious move would be to use the good ole' "r u going 2 ask y im asking 4 ur advice" (obviously exaggerated). I'm not sure that it'll be realistic now that auto-complete, auto-correct and so on are the status quo. So far, I've just written every word out, but kept each sentence overly brief. E.g. "Thing happened. Not sure why. Text me back."

Is this the way to go these days? Do you guys have a better way? Or are old abbreviations still enough in use to apply?
 

writeonleanne

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Even with autocorrect, people still use abbreviations, bad grammar, and drop punctuation. The way my characters text is totally based on their personality—e.g. I have a stingy know-it-all who punctuates his texts and doesn't use contractions. On the other hand I have another character who is a lazy texter (based on how some of my younger friends text: m fine will call ltr)
 

cornflake

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It depends on the characters. I text in mostly normal English, and always have as have most people I know, including teens. I know a few ppl who are more of the 'emoji U emoji - tom nite?' type. It's not the tech, it's the people.
 

neurotype

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I just had this same question recently. I went for grammatical English and only wrote that the emojis were there. But both of my characters aren't the type to use shortcuts. I think important rule is: can the reader understand what they're saying? There might be an overboard in terms of how much text slang to include, and you don't want to slow down the pace.
 

PickleHeartsBooks

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I almost never use abbreviations when texting, and my phone is really good for auto correcting my grammar if I'm too lazy to change the keyboard and get an apostrophe. I basically text in full sentences and my friends and I tell stories over texting. It's really easy to do with touch screen keyboards and accurate auto correct. So when I make my characters text, I make them talk in full sentences like normal, there just might be fewer sentences said in each back and forth scenario than when done in person. I usually make sure to add punctuation like extra question marks, exclamation points, and smiley faces. If any other emojis are used, I mention them through narration instead of using visuals.
 

Maryn

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You know your characters, and you write their text as they themselves would write it. (Although for the sake of your reader's sanity, don't let autocorrect introduce mistakes that have nothing to do with anything, and your character correct them.)

I tend to text without shortcuts or abbreviations, and with punctuation (although I may omit the final period in a one-sentence message). But I'm not your character.

As to whether you put it in quotation marks as if it were verbal speech or double indent it like something your character is reading (i.e., diary entries, newspaper stories, etc.) or perhaps use italics or a different font, that's a matter of house style for each publisher. When in doubt, look up how the Chicago Manual of Style does it. Your editor may change it, but you won't have been technically wrong, even though CMOS is not aimed at fiction.

Maryn, who'd check but CMOS is all the way upstairs and she's lazy
 

emstar94

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I prefer not using slang/abbreviations because I don't/never texted like that when I was fifteen/sixteen.

Although I do say lol a lot. And use :) too much.
 

bellsmuir

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Alice Oseman is an example of an author who does this very well, especially in her novel RADIO SILENCE.
 

RaggyCat

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I tend to go for mostly grammatical English but don't use as much punctuation as you would normally do, and I miss out words when it seems most appropriate. So I'll use something like "Yep see you later, meet at the station" rather than "Yes, I'll see you later. I'll meet you at the station." For some characters that won't seem appropriate though.

Personally, I'd steer clear of gr8, ur and i no. Today teens don't need to worry about saving characters on texts. I also got highly criticised in one of my books for having a character use txt spk (even if she was 14, and it was appropriate for her!).
 

redheadedgremlin

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From what I noticed, the text slang started dying out when I was finishing up high school. Now that I'm not, I see it more among adults in their late 30's and older... and it's kind of just cringy. A lot of teenagers and young adults tend to use somewhat decent spelling. Even the grammar has gotten better.
 

Julia Joy

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I think text-speak dying out has a lot to do with how much easier it is to type on phones these days then when you were trying to peck out messages with the dial pad. It's not that much harder to type "you" than "u" when you've got a touch screen keyboard, when before it was two clicks for "u" versus eight clicks for "you".

For the most part when I text, I just do whatever's easiest, which typically means all lowercase letters unless my phone autocorrects it for me and no punctuation.

As a random note, I think a lot of younger people find periods at the end of sentences in text messages to read as being extremely passive aggressive in casual texting, ie "That's fine" means it's fine whereas "That's fine." means it isn't.
 

Emily Patrice

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I have a few texts between teens in my novel, but almost always between the main character and someone else -- and she doesn't know anything about texting, so she wouldn't use abbreviations.

Regarding punctuation, I indent and italicise. Whoever is NOT the POV character for that scene gets a pointy bracket before their text, so:

Hi, what's up?

> Nothing.

Come over and watch movies with me.

> Be there in 5.
 

Rosanna Banana

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I have a few texts between teens in my novel, but almost always between the main character and someone else -- and she doesn't know anything about texting, so she wouldn't use abbreviations.

Regarding punctuation, I indent and italicise. Whoever is NOT the POV character for that scene gets a pointy bracket before their text, so:

Hi, what's up?

> Nothing.

Come over and watch movies with me.

> Be there in 5.

Ohh this is good... been trying to figure out how to format texting in my current ms. Thanks!
 

deafblindmute

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I just write out messages in their general voice. Maybe I'll throw in a few typos for good measure, but I don't try to overplay it, because that tends to sound like I'm trying too hard.
 

MaryLennox

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I tend to go for mostly grammatical English but don't use as much punctuation as you would normally do, and I miss out words when it seems most appropriate. So I'll use something like "Yep see you later, meet at the station" rather than "Yes, I'll see you later. I'll meet you at the station." For some characters that won't seem appropriate though.

Personally, I'd steer clear of gr8, ur and i no. Today teens don't need to worry about saving characters on texts. I also got highly criticised in one of my books for having a character use txt spk (even if she was 14, and it was appropriate for her!).

I definitely agree with this. It's so easy to text actual words with auto correct. Most teens today would not have experienced "old school" texting, but it totally makes sense to still shorten things/make things simpler.

I had texting in my newest book and that's basically what I did. It seemed to work and the editor was okay with it.
 

gem1122

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This is a great thread. I think of texting as dialogue. I indent each new text, but use italics instead of quotation marks. My latest protagonist isn't a grammar snob, nor is she careless. She uses u, for example, and doesn't capitalize, but I think her texts are easy to read. Just like a thick accent, I would think over-use of text speak could become annoying for the reader.