What is dialogue? Grab your writers notebooks

Why use dialogue? It reveals:

Motives Characters Conflict Setting Important information

Spoken vs. Thought Did someone exactly say something?

Yes: Quotes!! Ex: Sarah said, Im really tired today.

Did someone think something? Yes: NO quotes!!

Ex: Sarah thought she was really tired today.

Direct Quote Capitalize the first word!

Ex: Come back and see your old professor, Morrie said when I hugged him good-bye.

Is the direct quote divided into two parts? Continuation of a sentence?

Yes: Capitalize the first word, but NOT the second. Ex: Dying, Morrie suddenly said, is only one

thing to be sad over, Mitch. New sentence?

Yes: Capitalize the first word of EACH sentence. Ex: I cry all the time now, he said. Never mind.

Where do I place punctuations? Periods, commas, question marks,

exclamation marks INSIDE quotations

Ex: Ah, so much food! he sang.

When do I use indentations? Begin a paragraph every time the speaker

changes Ex:

Morrie honked loudly into the tissue. This is okay with you, isnt it? Men crying?

Sure, I said, too quickly.He grinned. Ah, Mitch, Im gonna loosen you up. One

day, Im gonna show you its okay to cry.Yeah, yeah, I said.

Speaker Tags Tells the reader who is speaking

Ex: How do I get it? Morrie asked.

No Speaker Tags MUST CLEARLY set up who the speakers

are in the conversation

USE INDENTATIONS to help reader know when the speaker changes

Action Tags EXPRESS the action through WORDS EXPRESS the action through WORDS! Examples to use:

Inquired Mumbled Whispered Shouted Gently

Action Tags cont... USE phrases!

Ex: Morrie looked straight into the eyes of the most famous interviewer in America. Well, Ted, one day soon, someones gonna have to wipe my ass.

Spoken vs. Thought Direct Quote - capitalize the first word direct quote divided into two parts punctuation -Periods, commas, question marks,

exclamation marks go INSIDE quotations use indentations to begin a paragraph every time the

speaker changes Speaker Tags Tells the reader who is speaking No Speaker Tags MUST CLEARLY set up who the

speakers are in the conversation and USE INDENTATIONS

Action Tags EXPRESS the action through WORDS EXPRESS the action through WORDS

Within five minutes the snow was falling so hard we couldnt see the streetlights. I went into full panic mode. Where was my father? My mother said, Dont worry--hes a good driver. Hell be okay. Do you really think so? I asked. Yes, I do, she said. She put her arm around me and hugged me close to her. Together we stood at the window and watched

the storm. Have you ever seen it snow like this before? I asked. Like it will never stop? My mother waited a moment before she answered. Never, she said. Never.