Numbers: One or 1?

This is an debate I've had with a few people. Honestly, I think numbers should be spelled out. However since finding this group and finding a great amount of knowledge available, I figured I would ask you all. How do you all handle numbers?

 

Different style guides have different cut-offs, but there's generally an idea that smaller numbers (less than one hundred, often) should be written out, while larger numbers are expressed in numerals. I generally follow that guideline.

 

Yep. At a minimum, when numbers less than eleven aren't spelled out, I react to that as a flat-out error, even though I know that it varies based on style rules.

 

It all depends. I would never write, 'I live at number nine Wellington Gardens.'

But then on the other hand I would never write, 'It was 9 o'clock and the light was beginning to fade'

And then there's dialogue. I have a personal rule that any numbers spoken in dialogue categorically must be written in words.

 

Well honestly APS-30 seems a lot more readable than the other way.

 

It is all about style choice and decision. I typically avoid using the numeral form
as it is a personal preference, but will use it from time to time based on what it
is being applied to. Time is one place where I will use the number instead of long
form written. And maybe a few other things, but I choose not to use the numerals
for most other things as it can be a bit distracting to read if there is a lot of numbers
used for different things.

Use sparingly and where applicable, says I.

 

One-one million: Written out.
One million+: Either or.
Only excuse for smaller numbers is if it's an address, code, text or money.

 

You'd have to be a real tight-arse to say "Rob's army is seven-thousand, eight hundred and forty-one strong" instead of "Rob's army is nearly eight-thousand strong."

As you can see, I struggled with whether or not to hyphenate...any rule on that?

 

Style guides vary a bit, and a lot also depends on whether you're writing a technical report or a piece of fiction. But, if you're writing fiction, it's probably best to use what reads well.

Fred had nine apples and gave one away.
Fred had 9 apples and gave 1 away.

Instinct would be to use the first instance in a story, and the second instance in a story problem. (In the sense of an old-fashioned arithmetic problem ...do they still do those?) It's easy to picture a simple number, like nine or one.

Fred's roofer charged him for three thousand, six hundred and forty two tiles.
Fred's roofer charged him for the 3,642 tiles.

If I was writing fiction, I'd go for the second in this case. It makes it easier for the reader to picture a complicated number.

 

I'm glad you asked because this often gives me pause, too. I'm also glad others have their own rules about when a number looks right in word or numerical form!

 

I think in fiction number should always be spelled out. Always, no exceptions. There's very few reasons why you'd need to use numbers that are both large and very specific anyway and even if you do the numerals don't help as much making them easier to parse and remember. One million nine hundred and seven thousand three hundred and seventy six is obviously very wordy and not easy to work with, but just the number itself 1907376 is one that practically everyone will have to stop and count the digits and work out what the number actually is, then compare that to other numbers they've seen so far and figure out if this is the same number or different. A book wouldn't expect you to recognize which character is being called by the phone number dialed even though phone numbers have patterns in them that make them much more distinctive. In either case 'nearly two million' is much easier to deal with.

In the end I think it comes down to flow and how people read. It's all about words, so give people words. No matter which way you write it out it'll be read the same way; whether you write out nineteen seventy four or 1974 the reader processes both as the words when they read it. In the audiobook version there would just be the words. So just use the words.

 

Wouldn't 'APS-Thirty' have made more sense? I have no problem using initials in dialogue, because we say them as they're written.

 

Generally, numbers are for math, spelled out numerals are for literature. With some exceptions: I would prefer APS-30 for nomenclature, whether for a planet or a specific airborne pulse radar. However, in dialogue I would abbreviate it or nickname as a technician would "The APS" (he's working around a specific aircraft so there is only one) or "airborne piece of shit" when it's not working. Exceptions are usually self explanatory. I groomed all 240K words of mine for this on 1st REV after the draft was done.

 

I was trained as a journalist, so I tend to fall back on the AP Style guide.

Numerals as per the AP Style Guide
-Never begin a sentence with a figure, except for sentences that begin with a year. Examples: Two hundred freshmen attended. Five actors took the stage. 1776 was an important year.
-Use roman numerals to describe wars and to show sequences for people. Examples: World War II, Pope John Paul II, Elizabeth II.
-For ordinal numbers, spell out first through ninth and use figures for 10th and above when describing order in time or location. Examples: second base, 10th in a row. Some ordinal numbers, such as those indicating political or geographic order, should use figures in all cases. Examples: 3rd District Court, 9th ward.
-For cardinal numbers, consult individual entries in the Associated Press Stylebook. If no usage is specified, spell out numbers below 10 and use figures for numbers 10 and above. Example: The man had five children and 11 grandchildren.
-When referring to money, use numerals. For cents or amounts of $1 million or more, spell the words cents, million, billion, trillion etc. Examples: $26.52, $100,200, $8 million, 6 cents.


But of course, bear in mind that this is for a much more cut-and-dried style of writing, so it's up to you if you want to follow it strictly or not. I spell out numbers nine and below like they suggest, but that is my preference.

 

The rule I was taught was not to use numerals below 11 when writing, but as mentioned, addresses would be an exception, not counting if you were just reciting the numeral looking for a place.

"What number was Joe's place again?"
"Three."

As opposed to:

"What's Joe's address again?
"3 Little Green Lane."

 

I follow The Chicago Manual of Style, which gives two options. One is to write out any number up and including one hundred and use numerals for everything else (also write out anything followed by hundred, thousand, etc.). The other is to write out any number up to and including nine and use numerals for everything else.

Either way, you should be consistent throughout the manuscript.