I have a character who is referred to by another character by their initials TP, do I spell it out (teepee/tepee/tipi) or just use the initials TP. It is supposed to add humour and show their fun relationship.
I feel the spelling out would be more tedious but may help in understanding the humour of it being an object, also if spelling it out which of the spellings (all are correct according to google) should I use.
I think the standard initials, TP, works best for the dialogue where the character's is referred to or addressed like that.
What you can then do is have TP or other characters react in certain situations with responses or comments like;
"I feel like that wasn't just... TP." TP said. "That more like a... Teepee, or like.. Like 'heehee', as if you think I'm a joke, smartass."
-Or whatever fits your characters and the way they talk. I think it gives you more to work with to show the characters and their relationships.
But as with most things, try the different styles it out - try writing the person's name as 'teepee' in the dialogue and see how it works, and have other people read it and see (afterwards) if they feel it flows and works naturally.
The Chicago Manual of Style recommends:
[In dialogue,] if the pronunciation of the abbreviation would be understood by most readers, you can write it as you normally would:
“I’m going to the store, a.k.a. the shop,” my roommate informed me. “Would you like me to get you anything?”
The same goes for an abbreviation like “Ms.” or “NASA” that would be understood (and said) as a word rather than as a series of letters.
Since in American English it is common to address people by their initials, and native American English speakers will know how to pronounce the initials TP, you can use that version of your character's name in both the narrative (outside of dialogue) and in dialogue:
TP said: "Hello, John!"
John replied: "Hi, TP."
In American English, I would normally use the spelling recommended by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Merriam-Webster gives tepee as the main entry, teepee as a "variant spelling of tepee", and tipi as "less common spelling of tepee". I would therefore choose tepee.
You may have reasons to use another spelling (e.g. tipi is the Daktoa and Lakota spelling). I would use the spelling common to your readers if you want to use tepee as a common word of the American English language (as in your case, when one character makes fun of another's name), and tipi in an anthropological or ethnological context (e.g. in a story about Native Americans).
Whenever one character means to say tepee, use that word:
TP said: "Hey, John!"
"Hi, tepee," John replied and snickered.
TP rolled his eyes.
Your narrative ("snickered", "rolled his eyes") will make it clear to your readers that your characters understand what word is being said.
The standard for using initials is to put full stops after each letter - i.e.
T.P.
This could work well both in narration and dialogue, for giving the look and feel of being initials and help you or the reader not feel like you're taking a short-cut or something by saying "TP".
However
Whether you use this, "Teepee" or "TP" is really down to your own stylistic choice.
