Fast question about formal literature.

Asked by jtvoar16 (2171

) October 10th, 2008

I was just asked how one should go about writing ”.50 caliber” as in relation to the weapon “Barrett M107 Rifle,” in formal literature, such as a fantasy novel that is involved on the lower end of the “technical” spectrum, meaning most of the readers will know what a .50 cal is, but not what a .50 Barrett M107 .50 Cal BMG.
I told the person, that since it was a name, it could be spelled out, or left abbreviated. Which is correct? I know if it were a scientific or paper of option, then ”.50” would be correct, but what about Harry Potter?

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3 Answers

Harry Potter doesn’t use guns, he’s magic.

PupnTaco (13895

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When writing a story you don’t want to break up the flow of your prose with overly long technical descriptions unless it’s important for the plot. As such there isn’t really any hard and fast rule and varies from writer to writer. For example a book by Chris Ryan (former SAS commander turned writer of military thrillers) is probably going to use the full name and then go on to describe the specific type of ammo what sights are attached and whether it is the original or bullpup versioin, then again he may call describe it as a “light fifty” in characters speech. On the other hand another author might just say “a big sniper rifle”.
So what you have to decide is what feels right for you and your style of writing and the genre you are writing for.

Lightlyseared (34631

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Ay! That is what I thought and told my friend. I think he was getting caught up on the old English idea that every number had to be spelled out. Thanks for the help.

jtvoar16 (2171

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