So you’re an author writing fiction and you need to describe the dimensions of a space.
Do you write four hundred meters? Four-hundred-meters ? 400 meters? 400-meters? Is it different if you’re writing dialogue? Is it different if you’re writing dimensions versus time? Is it different writing years versus hours and minutes?
Well, there are is a lot of advice available but I found a great article here that summarises pretty much all examples. So if this is something you need help with, first of all check out this article: http://theeditorsblog.net/2013/01/13/numbers-in-fiction/
It’s a long article but here’s the start which has a lot of the good stuff:
General Rules
__ Spell out numbers from zero through one hundred. You could argue for zero through nine, as is recommended for AP style, but do note that the recommendations in the Associated Press Stylebook are primarily for newspaper and magazine writing. Some rules are different for fiction.
You could also make a style choice to spell out almost all numbers, even if that conflicts with this and other rules.
Use numerals for most numbers beyond one hundred. While this is the standard, there are definitely exceptions to this one.
The witch offered Snow White one crisp, dewy apple.
Bobby Sue sang thirty-two songs before her voice gave out.
The rock-a-thon lasted for just over 113 hours.
The witch offered Snow White 1 crisp, dewy apple. Incorrect
__ Spell out these same numbers (0-100) even if they’re followed by hundred or thousand. (Your characters may have reason to say or think all manner of odd numbers, so yes, zero thousand might come up, even though this isn’t a common usage in our 3-D lives.)
The forces at Wilmington were bolstered by the arrival of ten thousand fresh soldiers.
The knight had died four hundred years earlier.
But—The knight had died 418 years earlier.
“How many thousands of lies have you told?”
“I’ve told zero thousand, you fool.”__ Spell out ordinal numbers through one hundred as well—even for military units and street names. Ordinal numbers are often used to show relationship and rank.
We’d write the Eighty-second Airborne Division but the 101st Airborne Division. (Newspapers and military publications may have different conventions.)
A restaurant would be on Fifth Avenue, not 5th Avenue. Or the restaurant is on 129th Street, not One hundred and twenty-ninth Street.
Some additional resources:
http://www.apvschicago.com/2011/05/numbers-spell-out-or-use-numerals.html
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/qanda/data/faq/topics/Numbers.html
I will say, if you’re still struggling to work out your specific examples, just consider the reader. Will they be able to understand what you are saying? Will they have to re-read your sentence to understand what you’re on about? As a general rule – don’t break the flow of your narrative.
