Avoid Alphabet Soup

I really don't like abbreviations in writing. I avoid them in my work as much as possible. I don't even write my personal notes with any shorthand. The primary reason is that I am making a bold assumption that I will remember what the shorthand stands for. Writing out full words and phrases ensures clarity (or at least the most you can hope for).

The only time I think it is acceptable to use abbreviations is when you are specifically speaking in a culture where the acronyms are standard.

No video game player doesn't know what XP, HP, or RPG mean, for example, so I'm fine using those standard abbreviations when talking with gamers. But if I was writing about video games in Cheff Salad, I would spell them out at least at the beginning of every post where I use them for the sake of those who might not know.

However, it's not always that easy. Some phrases can end up having the same initials. In the music world, DB can be "double bass" or "decibel" (admittedly, the latter is usually "dB", but still it's the same letters).

I remember reading Jurassic Park as a child and getting slowed down by all the acronyms in it. The book would mention some item once, then forever refer to it by the acronym, so if I couldn't remember what it was, then I had to go back and search for the original phrase.

This might not have been an issue if it was for one or two things, and if they kept being used, but I feel like it happened for several objects and yet the acronyms never came up enough to stick in my head.

When you use abbreviations too much, it all just becomes alphabet soup in the reader's head. Things can get mixed up or confused and it can really drag down your story. If you insist on using them all, then at least give us a glossary to keep it straight.