Do you write out numbers in dialogue? 1) "That will be $250," he said. OR 2) "That will be two hundred and fifty dollars," he said. How about years? 1) "I was born in the year 1994," she said. OR 2) "I was born in the year nineteen-ninety-four," she said.
I write out numbers in dialogue. I don't know if there's a rule -- that's my rule. Other than in dialogue, I follow the standard rule that numbers from one to ten are spelled out, and numbers greater than ten are written as numerals.
In dialogue it depends on character and voice. I'd personally say a fiver instead of £5, but the character might insist on five pounds please.
I didn't think the Chicago Manual of Style would have an entry on this -- but it does. CMOS, 16th edition So, in essence, it's a "soft" rule rather than a hard rule. Exercise your own "editorial discretion."
[QUOTE="Louanne Learning, post: 1967132, member: 109285" 1) "That will be $250," he said. 2) "That will be two hundred and fifty dollars," he said. [/QUOTE] On this one there is more than one way the person can say $250, which can affect how the reader is to interpret the character and the scene. But with dates the speakers don't/can't vary the pronunciation or phrasing much. Less information is lost in 1984 than $1984 However, if there is a rapid argument with two characters haggling over the small change, clarity takes priority, and probably the speakers would use standard speech at these points too
Yeah, I would go with, "it depends," when it comes to dialogue, but I would lean heavily towards writing out the numbers. If it's a narrator, or third-person description of facts, typing out 1994 or $250 is most appropriate: I skimmed through the ad. $250 was the price. In dialogue, there's much more to consider, most of all the character saying it. "Two-fifty," he replied. "Nineteen aught six, dagnabbit!!" "Two hundred freaking million, can you believe it?"
I just spell out the numbers for those short ones, in writing and in dialogue. I find I use large numbers quite often, and consistency and convenience call for numerals to be written for those, that are three or more different digits.
As a rule of thumb, I would spell out the number unless there's a reason not to. Using actual numbers in casual dialogue tends to look wrong and amateurish (example: "I have 2 cats") so I'd make a point to always write them as words for the sake of consistency. Exceptions would be years and specific terms/names that include numbers in their official spelling, like "T-800" or "R2-D2." I don't think I'd use numbers for sums of money, however.
I've always understood it to be; dialogue spells numbers, narration does not. "It was already two in the morning when I got back from the club and I only had ten dollars left in my pocket," he said It was already 2 a.m. when he got back from the club and he only had $10 left in his pocket. No idea where I got that 'rule of thumb' from though...