IncorporatingDialogueinto Your

Short Story

Say What?

The Importance of Dialogue

DialogueDefinition: A conversation between at least two characters.

Example: “Hey, Dave, how are

you?” asked Sarah. “I’m fine, Sarah, how are about you?” replied Dave.

Why Use Dialogue?1. By having your character speak, you can give the readers some insight into the character’s personality.2. Having characters speak makes the story less boring-- helps bring the characters to life.

3. Having your characters speak can help you build suspense.

4. Having your characters speak creates a faster pace and helps transition from one action to another.

More reasons why to write dialogue

Information about a character’s background, social status, and education.

What the character is thinking Advance the plotBuild up dramatic tension

Example…

She looked sadly off in the distance. “I realized nothing I do will ever be good enough. I just want my mom to love me - ” Kelly stopped, choking on the words.

Jane watched her friend, not knowing what to do or say. Finally, she hugged her friend tightly. “You don’t ever have to prove yourself to me.”

Kelly wiped a tear away. “I know…I’m just tired of trying…”

DialogueKey Concepts:When you write dialogue, you present words exactly as the character would say them. Here are some guidelines for punctuating dialogue:

Enclose dialogue in quotation marks. 

“I’m taking an acting class on Thursday,” Shane told me.

Dialogue

If dialogue comes after the words announcing speech, use a comma before the quote.

Max whispered, “I have no idea where the ruby ring would be.”

DialogueIf dialogue comes before the words announcing the speech, use a comma, question mark, or exclamation point at the end of the quote – never a period.

“I have no idea where the ruby ring could be,” whispered Max.

“I have no idea where the ruby ring could be!” screamed Max.

“Do you think Mr. Collins stole it?” asked Max.

Incorrect Usage:

"Take me away from all this." Eve pleaded. implies these are two events

Adam laughed, "Sorry, babe, no can do.“ you can’t laugh dialogue

"You pig". place end marks inside quotes

"Hey," Adam said. "We said no commitment, remember?“

this splits one sentence into a fragment and a full sentence

"You said it," Eve protested, "I didn’t."

this connects two full sentences with a comma

Correct Usage:"Take me away from all this," Eve pleaded. orEve pleaded, "Take me away from all this."

speaker attribution tag

Adam laughed. "Sorry, babe, no can do."

orAdam laughed, saying, "Sorry, babe, no can do."

action tag

speaker and action tag

"You pig." a tag isn’t needed here

"Hey," Adam said, "we said no commitment, remember?"

internal beat/one sentence

"You said it," Eve protested. "I didn’t." internal beat/two sentences

Writing DialogueKey Concept: 

When writing dialogue, begin a new paragraph with each change of speaker.

 In the following example of dialogue, capitalization and

punctuation are used as they would be for any quotations. Remember, however, to indent whenever a new speaker talks.

 EXAMPLE: 

“Why don’t we go to San Diego for a vacation?” Grandfather asked. Surprised, Danielle replied, “Why do you want to go to San Diego? Let’s go somewhere else. I’d like to visit an interesting zoo or wildlife park.”“You can’t be serious!” exclaimed Grandfather. “San Diego has one of the most famous zoos in the world, or we could visit Sea World and see Shamu, the trained killer whale.”“In that case,” said Danielle, “maybe I should reconsider.”

Formats to use:

Dashes (-) to show sudden break in thought or interruptionI didn’t think that—” he began to say.“You never think!” she accused.

Ellipses (…) to show faltering speech or pause“The ship…oh God…It’s sinking!”“I…I don’t…I don’t know what to say.”

Internal Monologue

Writers use interior monologue to get inside their characters (and in this case, that would be you and the people involved with your memory) to reveal THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS.

Interior Monologue Format

It is suggested that you use italics to highlight a character’s internal thoughts.

I wonder if she ever loved me, Brad thought to himself. There was a knot in his stomach as he walked up to the door.

Let’s Practice

Open Your Google Classroom and let’s complete the Punctuating Dialogue activities.

Homework:After completing the Punctuating Dialogue

worksheet, below that, write a believable conversation between two of your characters. Include, ellipses, dashes, internal monologue (if necessary), and paragraphs for every new speaker.