Questions tagged [dialogue]
He said, she said, or what your characters are saying.
565
questions
5
votes
3
answers
2k
views
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, ...
- 151
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 ...
- 1
0
votes
3
answers
80
views
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 ...
- 1
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 ...
- 51
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 ...
- 43
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 ...
- 14.8k
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.”
- 11
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 ...
- 21
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 ...
Ziad El Hachem
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." ...
- 14.8k
1
vote
1
answer
77
views
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 ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
54
views
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 ...
- 14.8k
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 &...
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 233
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....
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 41
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 ...
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 167
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 ...
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 ...
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
...
- 145
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.
...
- 145
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. ...
- 485
7
votes
5
answers
2k
views
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 ...
- 307
-6
votes
1
answer
65
views
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.
...
- 91
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 ...
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 9
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 ...
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 ...
- 945
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 ...
- 161
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 ...
- 3,167
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, &...
- 33
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 ...
- 737
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 ...
- 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/...
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 167
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 10.1k
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 ...
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 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 ...
- 163
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 ...
- 14.8k
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 ...
- 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." ...
- 14.8k
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" ...
- 123
-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, ...
- 643
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,...
- 3,167
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 ...
- 269
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 ...
- 547
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 ...
- 1,141