It can be tricky to include text within text, such as letters, emails, and text messages, but it is becoming increasingly common in modern books. In this article, I discuss best practices and how to properly format any text within text instance to separate it from the regular narrative and clarify who is saying what.
Letters & Emails
Letters and emails are much simpler and more straightforward to handle. My preference is to indent them block style and put them in italics so they are clearly set apart from the regular narrative. Include greetings and salutations, and in the case of emails, you could also include to and from email addresses, a subject line, and a date and time stamp if desired.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: Drinks Friday?
Shawn,
I know this may feel out of the blue seeing as we haven’t spoken in two years, but I have been thinking about you a lot lately and how things ended between us.
I’ll be in town this weekend and I’d love to grab some drinks if you’re around. I’ll be waiting in our favorite booth at Spirited Sips at 7pm on Friday. Hope to see you there.
Chelsea
Text Messages
Text messages, which are increasingly common in novels with the advancement of technology, are a bit more complicated to format because they are so short.
Formatting options include being placed in line with your regular text or set off as an indented block (my preference). If using the indented block option, consider whether to stagger messages to resemble incoming (left) and outgoing (right) messages, but be cautious that this staggered effect doesn’t get messed up during the formatting stage.
You will also need to determine whether to use italics, bold, or a different font from your regular narrative to set text messages apart.
In addition, consider how you will notate who is speaking, especially if you have texts going back and forth without narrative in between or a group text with multiple people involved. Common practices include using either parentheses around the names or a colon after them to clarify who is saying what. You can mix and match these options to fit your preferred style, just be consistent in your choices.
Parentheses with Bold Font
(Chelsea) I’m at Spirited Sips. Hope to see you here . . .
(Shawn) Pulling in the parking lot now!
Colons with Italic Font
Chelsea: I’m at Spirited Sips. Hope to see you here . . .
Shawn: Pulling in the parking lot now!
Alternate Option
Alternatively, you could opt to go a completely different route and use graphics in your novel that appear like an actual phone or computer screen, but double-check that these are placed properly within the narrative during the formatting phase and remember that color will cost more to print.
And whatever styles choices you make, don’t neglect to consider how an audiobook narrator would handle these text message exchanges when recording.
Additional Resources
- Writing with Emotion, Tension, and Conflict by Sheryl St. John
- How to Write Dazzling Dialogue by James Scott Bell
- Want to learn even more about dialogue? Check out these other Tips for Writers articles in the Writing Dialogue series:
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