Formatting Question - for online chat log

[jen.nifer]

Okay, I have two characters in my story that are briefly chatting online. What would be the best way to punctuate what they are typing to each other?

Let's pretend the dialogue is simply:
How are you today?
Fine, thanks. What are you doing online?

--

Do I...

1. (prefix the dialogue with their name)
Character 1: How are you today?
Character 2: Fine, thanks. What are you doing online?

2. (use standard quotation marks)
"How are you today?"
"Fine, thanks. What are you doing online?"

3. (italicise)
How are you today?
Fine, thanks. What are you doing online?

4. (New line each time)
Blah. How are you today?
Blah. Blah. Fine, thanks. What are you doing online?
--
Or is there yet another way?

[maestrowork]

I don't think there's a standard. I think most people would format them just like a screen shot of an online chat:

GoodGuy: How are you?
Prettygirl: I'm fine.
GoodGuy: Do you come online often?
Prettygirl: no, not really... no, LOL.

I'd probably do the alternating thing, too:

How are you?
I'm fine.
Do you come online often?
no, not really... no, LOL.

[scribbler1382]

I had to do this recently in a story I was writing and after trying several of the versions you suggested, I ended up writing it like dialog. Here's the passage I ended up with:

"Did you get it?" Tori typed.

"Yeah. I think," Diana responded, replaying the ordeal in her head.

"You think?! Jesus, Dude. Don't make me come over there!" Not that there was any chance of Tori risking an appearance on Diana's doorstep, for any reason.

"Hehe," she typed, trying to lighten the mood a little.

"Seriously, what's the deal," Tori asked. "You're not wimping out are you?"

"No," she lied. "That shop was just...weird. Lady cut my finger and..." she trailed off and hit Enter, unable to even type it.

"And what?"

"Not sure. I think she did something with the blood. Scared the crap out of me."

"*****," Tori countered. "She's on our list, Dude. We'll pay a little visit to her after your grand coming out."

"No way I'm ever going back there," Diana typed.

[Javan]

I would just italisize, I think that works pretty well for writing. After all, you wouldn't use standard punctuation for a character writing a letter or a journal entry. Which is pretty close.
You could really get away with almost anything, though.

[Garpy]

I think i'd go with Maestro's version. Although Scribbler's is grammatically, formatically correct, it feels like a lot of extra wordage that I personally would want to spend elsewhere in the story.

[(grasshopper)]

You might also want to peruse a copy of The Anderson Tapes by Lawrence Sanders. Although it was written in 1969, the entire novel (it is a work of fiction about a gangster) is composed of various documents and transcripts of recorded conversations, with little or no dialogue whatsoever. It ought to give you an excellent feel for how to present that type of information in a novel.

[Jeneral]

I think I'd go with the one that's the most like an actual screenshot of the conversation. I think that preserves the look and feel of an IM conversation. I don't know if I agree with Scribbler's method, because it sort of feels like the POV switches, even though I don't think it does.

If you're staying in the POV of someone while they're having an IM conversation, maybe a happy medium of some kind? Scribbler, I hope you don't mind that I play with your scene...

Tori123: Did you get it?

Diana replayed the ordeal in her head before she responded. Yeah. I think.

Tori123: You think?! Jesus, Dude. Don't make me come over there!

She had to chuckle at that. There was no way that Tori would risk an appearance on Diana's doorstep, for any reason. Hehe. She typed out her short laugh, trying to lighten the mood a little. Tori's response popped up almost immediately.

Tori123: Seriously, what's the deal? You're not wimping out are you?

No! She typed quickly. That shop was just...weird. Lady cut my finger and

Diana stared at the words she had just typed. She couldn't make her fingers finish the sentence. Instead she hit the Enter key.

Tori123: And what?

Diana took a deep breath. Not sure. I think she did something with the blood. Scared the crap out of me.

Tori123: ****

It took a few moments for Tori to expand on that thought.

Tori123: She's on our list, Dude. We'll pay a little visit to her after your grand coming out.

No. Diana pounded hard on the Enter key, sending the word out fast. No way I'm ever going back there, she continued on a new line.


Anyway. That's my thought on it. I'd probably tighten that up some if I were writing it for real. But I think that internet communication has its own flavor, and if you're going to use it, you should try to bring that flavor across in the writing. When you're talking to someone in IM, you don't know what they're thinking, or why it's taking more than a couple moments to answer you. I think it could be a really interesting addition to a narrative.

[scribbler1382]

Anything I post in here is free game. Have at it. As I said, I tried the method you just used and a few others, but personally I liked the dialog approach the best. Which is pretty obvious since I used it and it's been at market for almost six months. http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif

If you're interested, one of the reasons I went with the dialog format is that in my view, IM conversations are just that -- conversations. They're very different from things like a letter or a journal entry, IMO. Back when I was trying to decide, I posted in AW about it. The answer that swayed me (which I THINK came from Maestro, but I can't remember for sure) was when someone asked me how I formatted telephone conversations.

To me, reading an IM conversation as it appears on your computer would be similar to reading a play, which I always hated doing.

[Jeneral]

To me, reading an IM conversation as it appears on your computer would be similar to reading a play, which I always hated doing.

Hee! Whereas I was a theatre major, so it's second nature to me. :)

I see what you mean about the telephone conversation. I guess what strikes me as different about an IM conversation is that all you have from the other person are the words. No inflection or tone of voice, no way to figure out the emotion behind the words without smilies and the like. So I personally like the idea of having those words from the other person just appear, the way they'd appear on the screen.

Does that mean "at market" mean you've sold it? Awesome!

I think this sort of exercise is cool - really drives home how different writers will approach one situation and come up with completely different ideas.

[jen.nifer]

Very good. Some interesting suggestions here. I will play around a bit and see what works best for me... thanks!

[jules]

Like this (http://www.baen.com/chapters/W200311/0743471652.htm?blurb)

[jen.nifer]

Yep, something like that ;-)

[scribbler1382]

I guess I'm old-fashioned or something. I just can't read that type of formatting without being stopped dead at the beginning of each new line. (Which is weird, since I've been IMing and chatting in IRCs for years.)

:Shrug:

[jen.nifer]

I'm going to do my best to avoid having an IM conversation plonked in the middle of the novel and sitting there awkwardly. If it interrupts the flow, I'll try another format...