Can DM's be a thing in novels?

[Lahin]

With how much it's a part of our lives these days, it's something that came to mind.

In comics, you can make panels of messages going back and forth, have the text bubble on the phone show up in a part of a panel, etc. But as far as I've seen, there don't seem to be any direct use of an entire/ part of a conversation over DM's in novels. I think they could be used in clever ways.

Have you ever seen the DM's being implemented in novels?

If so, how?
If not, how would you like to see it being implemented as a storytelling tool/element? How would you do it if you ever think of using it?

[Crusoe]

Yes I've seen it used plenty of times! Can be very interesting as a writing tool if the character you write from has not seen the person on the other side, so they can not judge the physical aspects of that person. Can also make for some fun conflict because emotion or intend does not always come across in messaging.

[Puck]

I saw it in comics too.
Why not, it´s part of many people´s life nowadays and you can perfectly put that into a comic

[cherrystark]

In novels, I don't mind as long as the punctuation and grammar are clear to who is speaking and used sparingly. I've seen people go overboard with them it drives me crazy. A couple of sms messages here and there are totally fine.

[WillowTree]

I specify who's sending the message and I have the entire thing in bold like this

Willow: hello!
Lahin: hi!

I've seen some people go so far as to specify the times messages are sent/received but that never felt necessary to me

[elyss]

Ive done it but the interface here makes it hard to pull off

[Wocalich]

The only example I remember on Tapas novels is @Penni 's Devilish Cupcakes(sorry if I wrote the title wrong, my head isn't working right now)

[Penni]

Multimedia is used pretty often in novels these days! You can certainly use it and it's a matter of setting up the scene and formatting it in a way that the reader knows the character is reading a text, DM, etc. It's not going to look the same as it would in a comic, of course, but a reader can use their imagination to form the complete picture.

I italicized my texts in Devilish Cupcakes (as @wocalichofficial referred to) and @WillowTree bolded the messages. It's however you want to handle it, as long as it's clear to the reader, that's what matters.

If you're writing a novel set in modern society then it makes absolute sense to use various forms of media in the story too ^^

[Lahin]

@Penni How do you segue into it, if you're using it? Do you just put it in the middle of the text or have a separate section for the messaging?

Also, how normal is it to just include a picture(like looking at a screenshot of the messages) with the chapter?

[nixwhale]

You use the quotation marks
I.e
"I just got home but I miss you already!"
I received Nick's text,he had walked me home and promised to inform me when he got to his place...but our conversation went on...
"Aww...we just said goodbye a few minutes ago"
"I still miss you,I wish you'd let me stay for the night"
"Well,I'll let you sleep over next time you take me home"
I think something like that...I stand to be corrected if I'm wrong.

[nostalgicroxas]

You can also show it through brackets [ instead of quote marks ]

If you introduce it right, the reader will catch on without issue at all.

[thedude3445]

Oh yeah, texts and chats can be a really useful way to tell a story in a novel. The hybrid-comic Homestuck uses chatlogs extensively, and I myself did it in my not-yet-on-Tapas web novel ATL. I think it's really nice to include these in stories set in modern-day, at least occasionally.

[Penni]

For a rushed example...

Rain smacked on the bus stop overhang. Bob tucked the brightly wrapped present tighter against his side. If even a drop touched his niece's present, he would never forgive himself. A cellphone dinged and, with a sigh, Bob dug into his pocket. The light notification screamed blue, he didn't need to check who it was. He tapped an icon and a message came up:

Where are you are? You're late.

Didn't expect the rain

Bob braced himself for the response, his brother was a stickler for punctuality.

Depending on how long it goes, I would add in some more action to keep it clear when Bob is responding to the text. If it's just two people, it's fairly easy for the reader to keep track of who is speaking/texting but it's helpful to break it up with some action/internal dialogue. So 1) it's not a giant list of texts and 2) it's more interesting (in my opinion)

You could include a picture too, though I haven't seen it done in a novel. I'm not sure if that would be jarring for the reader to switch between text and pictures for a novel format. You would have to make sure everything was legible in the image as well, but it is an option you could test out!

[Lahin]

Thanks a lot. I'll try it out a bit more and see before using it in the novel.

[Zaboem]

I don't see it often. In 50 Shades Deeper, there's a horror short story which takes place almost entirely as a chat log between two characters. It's a form of dialog, and it was used to great effect.

[LunarScyphozoa]

I don’t know why dungeon masters wouldn’t be allowed?

[Lahin]

Dungeon Master lmaoo

[NinaWrites]

Oh, since tapas now allow you to add pictures in your story, you can insert the picture of text messages to make it feel more authentic.