posted
What is the proper way to write acronyms that you can pronounce in dialogue?
For example, I have a story where one of the characters says at the end of a successful experiment, "VELM/A, you've made me one happy woman." (It's a piece to the equipment that's referred to without the definite article "the" in order to personify it).
It's pronounced Velma, but is an acronym, so should it be written as an acronym in the dialogue or written as it's pronounced?
posted
I mentioned it the last time it came up, but it's worth another mention: there's a tradition in some books about the acronym-crazy NASA that if it's spelled without periods, it's pronounced as a single word but if it's spelled with periods, each letter is pronounced separately.
Posts: 8809 | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
I have a rule about acronyms in dialogue that I try and stick to: if the character is saying it, it must be pronounced out. For example, "Lt. Green" becomes "Lieutenant Green" in dialogue (or Leftenant Green, for my latest works).
Similarly, something like "VELM/A" would just transition to "Velma." Unless for some reason you decided to have her say it all out, in which case I'd probably have her say, "Vee-Ee-El-Em-Eh" in dialogue.
For me the rule also applies to numbers. I can never have a character say, "There are 13 guys out there." Looks too amateurish to me. Instead I always spell it out.
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Write the dialogue honestly. However you'd hear them say it, write it. Nobody calls NASA "the En Ayy Ess Ayy".
If she pronounces it "Velma", write "Velma". You can add a one-liner saying that it is really (whatever the initials stand for) but she always called it "Velma" without it becoming an infodump.
[This message has been edited by InarticulateBabbler (edited November 20, 2007).]
posted
Introduce what Velma means first, then afterwards, if the computerized girlfriend is personified, just say Velma. Typing V.E.L.M.A will get annoying, as will VELM/A. I, as a reader, would tire of it fast.
Posts: 657 | Registered: Jan 2007
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I have a similar thing in my WIP, a fantasy novel. There are a slew of magical "absorbers" that most people refer to as a "Mea" (pronounced Me-ah). This stands for "magical energy absorber" but most people don't know enough to know that. At some point, one of my characters, who has operated one before, remarks in an offhand manner what MEA stands for.
Just like the word laser, if the device is common in your world, people will use the name just like a word, not an acronym. Once it becomes common enough to be a word, then it IS a word by itself, and you should use it in your novel as a simple word. The fact taht L.A.S.E.R. stands for "Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission Radiation" doesn't change the fact that people just call it a laser, and it doesn't mean people call it a L.A.S.E.R.
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In my head I took VELM/A as VELM-Slash-A. I'm really bad with that and have the hardest time with those fiction names like Zxr'i'ksx and whatnot (thanks a bunch Niven!).
I like it when people introduce something in full-words and then talk in abbreviations. I've seen this done before, but I can't find anything specific.
Something like...
quote:Jerry pointed to a polished brass tank with the letters VELM/A stamped on the base.
"That there is Velma, she's going to be taking good care of us tonight."
From what I could see Velma was just a bundle of thick electric cables and a large shiny belly... yadda yadda yadda
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