Formatting numbers

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Watcher55
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Formatting numbers

Post by Watcher55 » July 31st, 2011, 4:08 pm

Proper formatting says that numbers under 100 should be spelled (one, twenty-three etc), and that numbers over 100 should not (123, 4,596 etc). What about when the number is used in dialogue and the speaker stutters?

"One -- one million -- one million nine hundred ninety nine thousand nine hundred ninety nine and I and I remember -- hee heeee. I remember them all." (?)

"One -- 1,000,000 -- 1,999,999 and I and I remember -- hee heeee. I remember them all." (?)

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Beethovenfan
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Re: Formatting numbers

Post by Beethovenfan » July 31st, 2011, 5:36 pm

Since your emphasis here would be to get the stuttering across, I think it would be wiser to spell it out. I think it makes it more clear. I didn't know that numbers over 100 were to be "spelled" using numbers. Interesting.
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Watcher55
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Re: Formatting numbers

Post by Watcher55 » July 31st, 2011, 5:47 pm

Beethovenfan wrote:Since your emphasis here would be to get the stuttering across, I think it would be wiser to spell it out. I think it makes it more clear. I didn't know that numbers over 100 were to be "spelled" using numbers. Interesting.
That's apparently how it's supposed to be done on a submitted Ms.
(15) All numbers under 100 should be written out in full: twenty-five, not 25. But numbers over 100 should be written as numbers: 1,243, not one thousand, two hundred and forty-three. http://www.annemini.com/?cat=1398
My first thought was to spell it out, but - well - agents want things the way they want them.

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