All Questions
609 questions
2
votes
1
answer
154
views
When do you break a paragraph when transitioning from dialogue back to prose?
Dialogue can get messy, jumping from character to character with beats and prose mixed in here and there. How do you handle all the paragraph breaks? Obviously anytime a new character speaks you have ...
- 197
-1
votes
1
answer
68
views
What do you call these specific phrases used to introduce a dialogue?
"Hey, look at this. Why isn't it working?" John said, passing the remote to Sam.
"You didn't press play," Sam said, snapping up the remote.
"Hi everyone! My name is John, and ...
user36239
17
votes
11
answers
8k
views
How do you make characters sound like non-native English speakers without using any grammar error in their dialogues?
How do you make characters sound like non-native English speakers without using any grammar error in their dialogues? I don't want to make people uncomfortable by having a character speak like an ...
user36239
2
votes
2
answers
140
views
Is there a way to add noises that don't have an onomatopoeia?
"Brrrrrr, it's cold, brrrrr!" said Emanuel
"teeth grinding noise" it's cold, teeth grinding noise" said
Emanuel.
Is there a way to add noises that don't have an onomatopoeia? ...
user36239
-1
votes
4
answers
524
views
Characters' tone/pitch in dialogue
How does one go about showing a characters tone/pitch while talking?
For example, if someone said something that someone else doesn't believe and they reacted like:
bullsHIIt
or
whaAATt
Where the ...
- 441
1
vote
2
answers
160
views
What are some tricks you can use to write a good story if you don't know how people talk and behave?
What are some tricks you can use to write a good story if you don't know how people talk and behave? Are there some tips and tricks on how to be able to still write a good story if you try to avoid ...
user36239
0
votes
1
answer
107
views
How to write a gatekeeper yelling "Ooooooi" before asking who goes there?
The title sums it up. I would like advice on how to write the yell of a gatekeeper calling to attention the people approaching the gate.
Pretty much like some scenes where they go: "OOOOiiii, who ...
- 103
1
vote
0
answers
61
views
Type of dialogues?
I was writing a short story about characters. I have a problem with the dialogue style I wrote it in. It is like this:
Karan: Hey Piyush! How are you?
Piyush: Hey, I'm good. What about you?
Karan: I ...
- 111
3
votes
2
answers
341
views
MC has selective mutism; what to do with dialogue?
In a book I’m writing, the main character (a 15-year-old girl) has/struggles with selective mutism. I’ve quickly run into the problem where she is in a “mute situation” where she doesn’t talk. I’ve ...
- 153
0
votes
2
answers
106
views
How to format dialogue about a playing video?
So let's say I have characters A and B who are chatting about a video that Character A recorded of themselves. In between their chatting, the dialogue of the video can also be heard, for example:
&...
- 235
3
votes
2
answers
4k
views
How does one put text messages in a novel?
I want to add sections within my novel where multiple characters are sending text messages to each other, but don't how to format it or if there's a certain way of doing it. For example, would I do it ...
- 441
1
vote
1
answer
164
views
Punctuation in a dialogue where a character says their nickname, followed by their full name
I've been wondering about this rule for a while now, and I haven't seem to get what the 'correct' answer is.
For example, there are times where I want a character (let's say the full name is Chris ...
- 15
1
vote
2
answers
92
views
How to format dialog mixed with non-dialog?
You normally break dialog up into separate paragraphs, but how are you supposed to format it when it's intermixed with non-dialog? Below is an example.
Is it correct to write the following exchange ...
- 144
2
votes
2
answers
129
views
How to format italicized internal thoughts intermixed with other text?
I'm writing a story in the 3rd person, but there are parts where I use italicized text in the 1st person to tell what the protagonist is thinking. This works pretty well most of the time, but there ...
- 144
5
votes
2
answers
974
views
How do I change the person a character addresses in a screenplay?
I was formatting my screenplay, and I wondered how to specify that the speaker changes who they are addressing. I figured it would simply be stated in a parenthetical:
DUIRE
What? I'm ...
- 195
0
votes
2
answers
252
views
Can I link a dialogue tag to dialogue using a colon
Can I introduce dialogue as follows -
The headmaster entered the room: "Everybody sit down now!"
or -
"Everybody sit down now": The headmaster had entered the room
I know I could ...
- 131
0
votes
1
answer
82
views
Trying to decide on writing style and format for dialogue. Looking for Grammatical advice and suggestions. Native British English spearker
I am new to this forum and writing and I am trying to decide on my preferred writing style. I am currently working on dialogue and looking for ideas and suggestions for grammatically correct and 'good ...
- 131
4
votes
3
answers
299
views
How to create a scene for a dialogue?
Everybody knows how an important part of writing is the ability to compose proper dialogue. I've even heard that publishers tend to jump to the first conversation in a received draft and see if it ...
- 609
12
votes
3
answers
1k
views
How can I flavour quote-only dialogue?
When writing dialogue, I know it's sometimes normal/useful to drop attribution and provide only the direct quotes during dialogue, like so:
"Like we used to Mamma?"
"Einmitt, my little ...
- 945
5
votes
3
answers
8k
views
Ways to show someone is whispering without using "he whispered"
I've seen a lot of advice that says you should scrap all non-'said' dialogue tags. I can see the value of this, but I'm not sure how to make it work in every instance.
It's pretty easy to show things ...
- 607
7
votes
4
answers
2k
views
How do I describe an accent from our world in a non-Earth fictional world?
In my writing, I feel it can give a character distinction if they have an accent; our main character(s) have an American accent, but the newly-introduced one of them has an Irish accent.
My problem, ...
- 127
3
votes
1
answer
146
views
Writing unique character-based dialogue?
I have read this on many sites and articles: "When writing dialogue, you should give every character their own unique dialogue so that it would be recognizable without writing their names."
...
- 177
1
vote
1
answer
143
views
Action between dialogue
I've noticed I've been putting lots of action between someone's dialogue and have many inconsistencies and wanted to know if there was a difference between different ways of punctuating it or if it ...
- 441
1
vote
2
answers
110
views
Making action between dialogue engaging?
For context, I'm writing a scene where a bunch of characters are having a serious but humorous, over-the-top argument about who should inherit a fortune.
So far, I've got a lot of dialogue but I haven'...
- 111
7
votes
3
answers
234
views
I struggle to make characters emote during dialogue
I often find myself with two (or more) characters speaking, and too often my descriptions would be "he paused," "he sighed," "he rubbed the bridge of his nose," etc.
Too ...
- 171
0
votes
0
answers
66
views
how to write the word "so as if it is slurred or exagerated [duplicate]
How should I write the word "so" as if it is slurred or exaggerated
for example:
I'm sooo sorry. I've been so miserable and lonely.
- 1
0
votes
3
answers
192
views
Dialogues inside a descriptive part
I am wondering if there are rules on how to format dialogues. Sometimes, you see a dialogue inside a descriptive part and sometimes they have their own lines, but sometimes it's not clear if you ...
user36239
0
votes
3
answers
153
views
In a novel, is it ok to truncate people's dialogues before they've finished a complete sentence?
In films, you hear people exchange a phrase or two before the camera pans to someone else and so on. Is it ok to do that in a novel? What are some ways of doing this?
Example:
"The cops came in&...
user36239
1
vote
1
answer
50
views
Is it possible to do a blend of ancient epic poems and modern novels?
Is it possible to do a blend of ancient epic poems and modern novels? I was thinking of considering writing a short novel, which is a mix of ancient epic poems such as Iliad and a modern novel like ...
user36239
-1
votes
3
answers
189
views
How to write good dialogue?
I'm having difficulties in writing conversations between characters, especially if they are many of them. How can I write good dialogue?
2
votes
4
answers
415
views
Should you avoid introducing characters that talk one time and never talk again?
Should you avoid introducing characters that talk one time and never talk again? I wrote a scene in a chapter where the main characters talks to a technician, and then the technician is never seen ...
user36239
-1
votes
1
answer
252
views
How to format dialogues from a non-living thing?
How to format dialogues from a non-living thing? I am wondering what's the standard way to introduce a "dialogue" from a non-living thing. I am not talking about robots or AI, in which cases ...
user36239
-1
votes
1
answer
104
views
Some usual military sayings [closed]
Can anyone please show me some common military sayings used in the 1800s (or 1900s)? I found some sentences but they are all new...
My story takes place before the invention of airplanes, missiles, ...
- 177
0
votes
0
answers
104
views
How do you properly write a novel with very little dialogues?
How do you properly write a novel with very little dialogues? I tried doing it and it reads awful. It looks weird if you look at the format and layout if you don't insure the descriptive parts don't ...
user36239
8
votes
7
answers
2k
views
What do I do when I know the general summary of how a scene goes but I cannot figure out precisely what the character say?
I have a number of scenes in my story that involve two or more characters talking to each other about various issues, many of which wander into semi-philosophical discussion regarding some of the ...
- 4,664
1
vote
2
answers
131
views
When can you stop using "he said"?
"Hey, this is dumb," one of the men replied.
"You're right, it's dumb," another man replied.
"Yes, I know," the other replied.
"Yeah.." the other man replied.
...
user36239
1
vote
2
answers
74
views
Italicizing for emphasis
I've noticed that I have had a lot of dialogue between characters with words that need to be said with a noticeable amount of emphasis, and in order to get that emphasis I have had to italicize lots ...
- 441
1
vote
2
answers
92
views
When a character is mentally recalling prior dialog verbatim, how should it be quoted?
When a character is mentally recalling prior dialog verbatim, should the dialog be surrounded by double-quotes or single-quotes, be italicized, or get no special treatment at all?
For example:
O'...
- 123
0
votes
3
answers
377
views
How do you format a dialogue when it is interrupted by an action verb or sound?
"I wanna be - pants the president."
How do you format a dialogue when it is interrupted by an action verb or sound? I don't think this is the proper way. I am looking for a better ...
user36239
7
votes
3
answers
4k
views
What should phrases like “um” or “erm” be replaced with?
It is generally considered bad practice to include these in your writing, so what should be used instead? How would you show that your character is pondering something, or unsure about something, ...
- 177
3
votes
4
answers
198
views
Why are discourse markers not used when writing character dialogue?
I am not a writer, but I always wondered why characters tend to not talk using discourse markers, specifically cognitive markers to create flow in the dialogue. There aren't any "um", "...
- 33
3
votes
2
answers
646
views
How do you write pause in a dialogue without making it look flat?
At times in conversations, there are pauses for various reasons; in videos, the contexts of these pauses are clear because of the characters facial expression. But while writing, at first you can use ...
- 255
0
votes
2
answers
144
views
Formatting new line options with actions and dialogue in fiction
I am getting confused about whether rules determine new paragraph positions or if it's sometimes arbitrary. Some choices seem clear cut, but in the sentence: 'I regarded...' it reads fine to me in ...
3
votes
4
answers
1k
views
How to write dialogue with a large group of characters
My story has a cast of 59 characters, 25 of which are either protagonists or antagonists. Nine of these characters are very well-rounded and important, and most make an appearance at least once in ...
- 829
0
votes
1
answer
136
views
What should I do in this situation?
I get most of my ideas for my novels by watching anime, or listening to the anime op or just music - the idea doesn't always be related to anime but it gives me an idea and with music and anime op, I ...
0
votes
1
answer
67
views
Saying letters? [duplicate]
How do you write dialogue in which the character is saying a letter?
Ex: “They speak a language pretty similar to english, just the letter y is replaced with double es.”
Bolded letters are where the ...
- 2,981
0
votes
3
answers
149
views
How to give the voice expression of shouting as well as rhetorical question
While writing dialogue, I came across this confusion. There are some moments when the characters are deep in their thoughts (past troubling thoughts), and something happens that makes them flip-out. ...
- 255
5
votes
3
answers
203
views
How can I specify the speaker in the dialogue without repeating the hero's name?
Let's say my character is Alex, a young man and an actor. I'm describing a long dialogue of him and another person. I need to specify he is a person speaking quite often so the reader is not confused ...
- 609
2
votes
1
answer
202
views
Moving story forward via conversation in first person
Background
I wrote a few paragraphs of a story, again as an assignment a little while ago, but now I plan on completing it. But there is a problem while I am writing. Unlike other short stories that ...
- 255
2
votes
4
answers
748
views
How can I make a character's dialouge sound smart?
I have an intelligent character. He's basically there just for comic relief, but also helps the MC.
One of the special things about him is his dialogue. He speaks usually out of annoyance, like when ...
- 745