Anyone knows how to write a chatroom convo in a novel. I have a whole chapter that took place as a chat and was planning to italicize the whole convo (almost like a script). will it work? Has anyone read any book with a chat convo in it? how was it written? thanks.
I generally do block quotes and italics for text messages, tweets, chat rooms, etc. Same as I'd do with a paper letter.
I love this idea! I've seen it done with block quotes before. Or, if it's an option for you, I like using a different font - usually something more "digital" looking like a mono-space font.
Yep, I've seen it done. Both times, in two different books, it was formatted like this: Character A: Are you busy this weekend? Character B: No. Why? Character A: I was wondering if... No special formatting other than italics. In place of "Character A" and "Character B," you'd put the character's name or screenname (if they're using a screenname).
There is a similar thread to this one, called Style - Chat logs, that might be of interest to you. In that thread I've quoted a section with chat logs from a published novel. (I would copy it over to this thread if I wasn't writing this on my phone.)
I wouldn't use any special formatting, just insert them as a natural part of the novel. After all, chat convos are so common now they're part of our daily lives. Although I wouldn't object to the use of block quotes either. I think this is a very interesting topic for those of us writing stories set in the New Tens.
This is an excerpt from my work with the chat: “Hi,” Eyeseverywhere wrote. My body suddenly reacted to this newcomer’s greeting, not knowing what to expect. “Hello,” I wrote back, listening to my heart attempting to pound its way out of my chest. “Two things before we start this discussion. First, I want you to click on the link you’ll receive shortly.” If I leave it the way it is (or just change the dialogue to italic), will it work? I checked the other link posted above and saw that the samples had chat etiquette like time stamp and screen name. I kinda want to write the chat but also as a dialogue between the two characters. thanks for you guys' input by the way.
