Questions tagged [dialogue]

He said, she said, or what your characters are saying.

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Easily understandable way to describe a character speaking with vocal fry?

Trying to have a character express hesitation and uncertainty with the tone of their voice. Like the verbal equivalent of an eye roll or an awkward smile. I'd like to say they're employing vocal fry, ...
Chris's user avatar
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0 votes
2 answers
76 views

How to punctuate an interrupted question?

I have a convoluted sentence that I am struggling to get punctuated correctly. Sam is talking with Perkins. "This is costing me money," Perkins retorted. "And Triple A doesn't pay ...
NoName's user avatar
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0 votes
3 answers
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Writing apartment numbers in dialog

I am editing a mystery that takes place in an apartment building. Various apartment numbers are referenced often. 503 is where the murder takes place. Everyone always says each digit when referring to ...
NoName's user avatar
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5 votes
4 answers
759 views

Can dialogue be put in the same paragraph as action text?

I'm a beginner writer, trying to learn fundementals. I'm editing some work now and I'm confused about proper formatting of paragraphs with dialogue. I know that you should start a new paragraph when ...
LPCOLLINS's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
733 views

How to break dialog with narrative in a single sentence?

What is the most appealing way to insert a bit of narrative within dialog in a single sentence? For example: “The unified realm of my childhood,” Lucy hoped to avoid discussing the reasons for its ...
mfrancis's user avatar
1 vote
3 answers
72 views

Is it possible to create unique voices in your story if all your characters use simple words and sentences in their dialogues?

Is it possible to create unique voices in your story if all your characters use simple words and sentences in their dialogues? I believe that simple dialogues may not allow for the same level of ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
44 views

Can I combine a character's talking and thoughts in contiguous lines of dialogue?

‘This is harder than I thought.’ Dakota mused, then said; “Shane is smart as a whip,” while watching Melody's face for her reaction. “I’m surprised he let me do this.”
RockyFaher's user avatar
0 votes
3 answers
105 views

How do I make my dialogue seem less rushed?

I'm currently writing a book in which one of the characters talks about using sleeping pills, which he overdoses on at the end. This is a really important conversation because it is the first ...
Dangamations's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
70 views

Is it possible to mix narration styles from a novel and from a theater play in the same book?

I am in the process of writing a novel made consisting of a series of 'real time' scenes with heavy usage of dialogues and some narration. Some scenes are more heavy on dialogues than others. Is it ...
user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
53 views

Switching from one language to another using dialog tags

Is it ok to switch languages from one line to the other rapidly using dialog tags, and is there a better way to do this? Here's an example without further due: "Hey, this is not good." ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
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Multiple Character Dialogue & Action Formatting

I’m editing a first person story and I’m a bit stumped on one thing in particular. I’m not sure how to explain this in a non-confusing way. Is it okay or correct to mix the dialogue and actions of one ...
wittywrites's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
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How do you shorten a long spell incantation in a comic book?

O water, garden of the soul, spirit of the moon, hallowed source of life, I command you to converge before me, I, child of Gaia! Aqua! Let's say I have to have my character say this long incantation ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
70 views

What speech tags can you use for people who are mute?

What speech tags can you use for people who are mute? You usually use "he said" as speech tag when you introduce a dialogue when you want to introduce a speech, but can you use the generic &...
Sayaman's user avatar
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10 votes
6 answers
3k views

Is there a word that can replace the phrase "said sarcastically"?

Suppose that,during a conversation in a book, one character says something sarcastically. As the author, I want the readers to know that the character was being sarcastic, but I do not want to say ...
Mathematician's user avatar
7 votes
7 answers
6k views

Is it okay for the male and female characters in your story to sound the same?

So my philosophy is "if you can't do it, don't bother", and I couldn't write realistic female dialogues so I decided to not bother at all with gender differences and make them sound the same....
Sayaman's user avatar
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4 votes
1 answer
94 views

Writing a third person limited protagonist without any inner dialogue

I want to write a protagonist that thinks as I do; that is to say, without any inner monologue. I don't even think in images either. It's just abstract thoughts for me. If a place reminds me of my ...
user57479's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
70 views

How do you resolve and address a conflict that escalated quickly and should you even address it?

How do you resolve and address a conflict that escalated quickly and should you even address it? I wrote a scene and on re-reading it, it didn't make sense and just distracted the readers from the ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
59 views

How do I punctuate two immediate interruptions with em dashes?

The following contains incomplete sentences: One day, I’m going to become a car designer. Or maybe a cop. Or maybe the president. As a result, I'd like to replace them with em dashes. My guess is ...
The Editor's user avatar
2 votes
3 answers
111 views

What is the best way to "jump in" to the middle of a conversation in writing?

I'm writing a scene where there is a time skip, and the reader catches only the end of a piece of dialogue when we jump back in. It reads something like this: By the time the sun had set, she had ...
writingishard's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
87 views

Need help in figuring out how to write dialogue as if my mouth was full (+18)

I saw a similar question, but it didn't really have the answer I was seeking and it wasn't concerned with the same thing — sucking someone, thus the full mouth. I saw an answer there that suggests ...
Sv. Prolivije's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
90 views

How to present an inner monologue interspersed with passive thoughts

Is there a commonly accepted - or expected - way for handling a passage where a broken innner monologue is interspersed with thoughts that do not quite qualify as an 'inner conversation'? For example ...
DroidOS's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
193 views

How to/when to tag quoted text in a dialogue

Is it acceptable to leave out non-conversational tags when writing a dialogue between two people. To take an example "I waited for you for a whole hour!" said Joan, as she entered the room. ...
DroidOS's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
152 views

Handling language barriers

I am trying to write the story for an RPG I will make in the future. The world itself is huge with multiple continents and landmasses, but the current story takes place on the main four continents. ...
Crafter's user avatar
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7 votes
5 answers
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Any tips on writing scenes between characters where there is no action?

I mostly write fantasy, and I need to improve writing scenes between characters that are not action. For example, a scene where two characters are eating breakfast and talking about training later ...
Selina's user avatar
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-6 votes
1 answer
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What can be said among the lost on Mars that alters one's mood?

Mars has had around a dozen outposts in that time. What interesting thing can change the mood of a group of lost travelers on Mars? It can be said in general or with a few lines of story build up. ...
Osm's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
426 views

Dialog during sex scenes

The question is whether the dialog should be written at all if the dialog during a sex scene doesn't serve any purpose. There's also this notion that a writer might feel shame when writing the dialog ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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0 votes
0 answers
53 views

Information dumping in the first few chapters?

Is it a good idea to do this? I just started writing and I dislike dialogue heavy texts so I have grown to write moderately descriptive stories instead; people have, however, told me that I should not ...
natto's user avatar
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1 vote
5 answers
230 views

How do you write verbal abuse without it coming off as cheesy?

I have a character who's being abused by his father. While most of the abuse is only implied/referenced and readers instead see the fallout or emotional/physical effects of it, there are a few scenes ...
searchingforareason's user avatar
2 votes
2 answers
87 views

Struggling to 'find the voice' of a character who is conflicted when speaking to a person - how can I do this?

In the story I'm writing, the character behaves differently when they're spending time with their mother - they are conflicted. They idolise their mother on the one hand, but as they have grown up (in ...
ProseFerret's user avatar
3 votes
7 answers
2k views

Struggling at writing dialogue. What to do?

Let’s get this out of the way. Dialogue, much like characterisation, has never been my strongest suit as a writer. I’m brilliant at writing prose. Action setpieces are a joy for me to write. And ...
Nuada Airgetlám's user avatar
1 vote
4 answers
195 views

How do you show emotionlessness through a character's action and dialogue?

Accurately portraying a character's emotions is a huge part of getting an audience to like them as a person. But the character I am writing is essentially a living computer. They have no emotions to ...
Nyctophobia457's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
159 views

How to describe when someone hesitates before speaking?

I find myself repeatedly saying "he/she hesitated" when I feel like there's something else I could say. I've been experimenting but with the character in question, all I can think of is, &...
KeiraKnox's user avatar
0 votes
0 answers
31 views

How to format translated dialogue

I'm currently working on a novel. One of the characters speaks Italian mainly, but because the rest of the novel is in English, I would like to have the translation in there as well. Would it be ...
Murphy L.'s user avatar
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3 votes
2 answers
99 views

When adapting a novel to a movie or a comic book, how do you choose which dialogues to pick and should you modify them at all?

When adapting a novel to a movie or a comic book, how do you choose which dialogues to pick and should you modify them at all? I am thinking that you can't just put all the dialogues, but which ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
0 votes
1 answer
143 views

What are some alternatives to the thought bubble?

I found these panels and they seem to be used as text bubbles. Is this the case and what do we call them? I am wondering if there's a specific word for these. https://m-mimima.tumblr.com/post/...
Sayaman's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
99 views

Should a question mark be used after an em dash that abruptly ends a sentence?

I looked through a number of the site's questions to find an answer to my problem. The closest thing I could find was this: Is it acceptable to place a dash after a question mark? However, my question ...
The Editor's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
54 views

What does it mean when someone says a dialogue has to be "well executed"?

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0013138/ Jim Agnes, famous director and writer, said that when writing a movie script you need to make sure the dialogues need to be "well executed", they need to ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
1 vote
1 answer
115 views

Mixing indirect and direct speech in fiction

I often find myself wanting to include bits of dialogue in narratives where I am summarizing a detailed conversation. For example, I am inclined to write silly things like this: Bill and Ted talked ...
EDL's user avatar
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1 vote
2 answers
63 views

How do you determine if a character dialogue can be cut?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kaQh9qmGh0 I am not good at writing dialogues, so I want to write as little as possible while making the story engaging and having good story beats. I would like to ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
73 views

How can you show that people are showing antipathy towards a character without using or by using minimal dialogues in a comics?

How can you show that people are showing antipathy towards a character without using or by using minimal dialogues in a comics? I was thinking of putting some panels where some characters are seen ...
Sayaman's user avatar
  • 14.8k
6 votes
5 answers
934 views

Format when repeating one word from another character's dialogue

I'm trying to find the formatting convention for quoting another character's dialogue when repeating just one word. An example would be: 'You were the only person I could think of,' said Mike. 'The ...
Ambie's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
87 views

What are some ways to tell that two people are talking over the same radio frequency?

What are some ways to tell that two people are talking over the same radio frequency? "HQ, do you copy?" said John. "Dark Saber, I copy." said Matthews over the radio. "It's ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
117 views

How can I communicate that an entire conversation is whispered?

Situation in fiction writing. Two characters are involved in an exploration of a long-abandoned gold mine. However, dangerous creatures may still lurk there. The two characters will be communicating ...
Scott's user avatar
  • 51
1 vote
4 answers
127 views

Is it ok to skip over some dialogues, and how do we do it?

Let me give you an example first. "Alpha Bravo, we have enemies on our flank." reported the pilot. "Roger that." Versus "Alpha Bravo, we have enemies on our flank." ...
Sayaman's user avatar
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0 votes
4 answers
118 views

Characters inner thoughts made others mad?

I have this overall "good" and polite character. He helps everyone in need and is very much raised to be like a posh-like Victorian gentleman. The thing is, he keeps his "negative" ...
Carambamucho's user avatar
-1 votes
1 answer
77 views

Are there any particularly easy dialects with which to spice up my bit characters?

I want to spice up some of my bit characters, the folk who only appear for a scene or two and fulfil one purpose. One way of making them more memorable is to have them speak an English dialect, ...
KeizerHarm's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
272 views

What is the best way to write a non-verbal character communicating?

I am in the process of writing a book and one of my characters cannot speak. Essentially, she knows this world's version of sign language and generally uses it. If a person does not know sign language,...
Nyctophobia457's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
511 views

What would the dialogue be when a character is not listening to another character?

Like a son tuning out his mother's scolding. Or a character being distracted as their friend blabs on about something. Would it be like: "Isn't he dreamy? I mean, look at the size of those ...
AmateurWriter's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
195 views

Guy's POV when falling in love. Too much, not enough?

Half of my story is told from (1st person) male POV and he falls in love with the leader of a rebellion he's meant to be undercover investigating and trying to stop. He slowly comes round to join the ...
aurorajack's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
123 views

How should I include an English phrase that other characters have confused for a character's name (due to a language barrier)?

In a first person perspective story I'm working on the main character has a language barrier with most of the other people she meets. To such an extent that other characters have confused a phrase of ...
Joelle Boulet's user avatar

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