Get longer replies when she's sending one-word responses

A one-word response is not a rejection. She opened your message. She typed back. That takes effort even if it doesn't look like it. What it usually signals is that she's either not invested yet, or she's waiting to see if you're worth the time. Some people are just slower to warm up in text. Others are testing to see if you can make conversation interesting. The risk is that if you match her short energy, you confirm she was right to be cautious. If you keep asking closed questions, you trap her in giving short answers. She's not being rude. She's just not seeing a reason to write more.

A good opener here does two things at once. First, it adds real information or a small story instead of just asking. That gives her something to react to, not just respond to. Second, it asks a question that actually needs more than a few words. Not "What's your favorite food?" but something that invites her to explain, disagree, or build on what you said. The move is to make the conversation feel less like an interview and more like two people actually talking. You're not trying to impress her. You're trying to make it easier for her to be interesting back.

Don't wait three days hoping the silence means something. If she sent a short reply, send your next message while the thread is still fresh. Waiting actually works against you. The longer the gap, the less momentum there is and the smaller her reason to send more than a couple words. If she goes quiet after you send a real, interesting message, give it 24 to 48 hours. Then you can tell if she's actually not interested or just slow. After two messages with no real reply, you know where you stand. Move on. But most people quit too early because they get discouraged by short replies instead of just changing what they're doing.