How to keep a text conversation going when you're both bad at texting

A short reply is not automatically a cold one. When both people text in fragments, "haha yeah" can mean the conversation is going fine, just at its natural pace. The question to ask is whether she's answering what you said and whether anything in her reply is open enough for you to pick up.

Look at the shape of the last few exchanges rather than one message. If she's replying within a reasonable window, answering your question, and occasionally adding a small detail of her own, the thread is alive even if every message is brief. If the replies are getting shorter each time, or she's answering without adding anything you can grab, the thread is running down and needs a deliberate push.

Also check whether you're the one doing all the carrying. If every message you send ends in a question, and her answers are just the minimum, that's a signal to change what you're offering, not to send more of the same.

Someone who is bad at texting is usually not reluctant to reply. They just don't know what to say back. A message with three questions in it gives them three things to choose from, and most people will answer the easiest one and skip the rest. Asking one clear question is easier to answer and easier to continue from.

The question should be about something specific in the thread, not a generic opener. "What are you up to this weekend?" is easy to ignore. "Did you end up going to that place you mentioned?" is easy to answer because it refers to something she already told you.

Then add a small piece of your own, a detail about your day or an opinion. That gives her something to react to besides the question, so the reply doesn't feel like an interview. Keep your own part short. It just needs to be enough that she has a foothold.

If you've sent a good message and she takes a day to reply with a short answer, that's normal. Matching her pace is usually better than trying to speed things up. Sending a second message within an hour because the first one wasn't answered fast enough tends to make the conversation feel like a chore.

A good rule is to give a thread about a day before deciding it's stalled, and to wait longer if it's late or she mentioned being busy. If you've sent something with a real hook and nothing comes back for two days, a light follow-up is fine: a short message that refers back to the topic and makes the next step easy. If that gets nothing, leave it. A thread that dies quietly after two tries is not worth another push.

If the conversation picks up again, don't spend the reply reminding her how long it took. Just carry on from where it is.