Chat, Reading a computer screen or Document.

[soldier4christ]

Being a newbie. I want to know how to go about writing when a character is in a chat room on line or even reading a document. Do you write those things in all uppercase, italics or what? I know from reading Harriet the Spy many moons ago. The author put the stuff she wrote in her notebook in all uppercase. Is there some sort a reference I can get in regards to this?

Thanks In Advance.

[LadyRiona]

So, let's see...well, in some cases, I think it's really up to the writer's discretion on how they want to do it. There really isn't a "set" way, in my opinion.

Most often in published works, if a character is reading something, a new paragraph is started and it's indented on both sides a little more, so it's a smaller column. Sometimes they use quotation marks, different fonts, stuff like that. In some things I read, it has a few lines separating something like that, a decorative font if it's a letter...

But as for chatting, well...personally, I tend to do that a little like dialogue, or just narrate through it. "Their reply came, informing him/her/me of this"; stuff like that. But I don't think there would be anything wrong if you sectionalized the chat conversation like the document/article thing I explained.

For the most part, though, like I said at first; it really matters with what you're comfortable with, and what style you think would best fit your story. Some ways would be more suited to a serious fiction, while others would go better in a young adult story.


Good luck!