I have a character who doesn't speak, and instead uses an iPad with text-to-speech software. Most of the time their dialogue sounds natural, but when they're stressed (or messing around) they start dropping punctuation and using chat speak... which doesn't come through the text-to-speech process well. Sometimes they sarcastically use emojis, which really don't come through well.
Does their dialogue belong in quotation marks or italics? And how do I present the dialogue that doesn't sound anything like natural speech?
For example, say they type something like:
What they mean is:
But text-to-speech would turn it into something like:
Do I write the dialogue as it was typed, or as it was "spoken" by the iPad? How do I do this without annoying the reader? (I mean, I guess one answer is "have Matt type full, grammatically correct sentences at all times", but I feel like I'd lose a lot of potential nuance that way. They don't have tone of voice to demonstrate that they're being short with someone or that they're super upset, after all.)
Does their dialogue belong in quotation marks or italics? And how do I present the dialogue that doesn't sound anything like natural speech?
For example, say they type something like:
lol sure u are
yr not even trying rn
What they mean is:
They laughed derisively, rubbing their chin in mock contemplation. "Sure you are." A pause. "You're not even trying right now."
But text-to-speech would turn it into something like:
"Lol sure you are thinking face. Y-R not even trying R-N."
Do I write the dialogue as it was typed, or as it was "spoken" by the iPad? How do I do this without annoying the reader? (I mean, I guess one answer is "have Matt type full, grammatically correct sentences at all times", but I feel like I'd lose a lot of potential nuance that way. They don't have tone of voice to demonstrate that they're being short with someone or that they're super upset, after all.)