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“Dialogue” Revisions

“Dialogue” Revisions. Rules for adding dialogue. Why Dialogue?. Dialogue is what keeps the story interesting and moving quickly for the reader.

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“Dialogue” Revisions

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  1. “Dialogue” Revisions Rules for adding dialogue

  2. Why Dialogue? • Dialogue is what keeps the story interesting and moving quickly for the reader. • Think about your History book, your Science book, your Math book…no dialogue. Reading chapters in those books can be difficult because they are dense, full of facts and details. • Dialogue gives the brain a break. It is as if you are listening in on a private conversation. • It is a MUST in a good short story. • HOWEVER…It MUST be done well for it to be effective. • Look at the following rules before you add dialogue to your own story.

  3. Rule #1: The absolute dialogue writing ruleThe Pesky Quotation mark • Quotation marks are a must! • Quotation marks indicate what is spoken and what is not. • It is used to guide the reader in the story. • Learn to do it correctly or your grammatical mistakes will irritate and distract your reader.

  4. Rule #2Location, Location, Locationa.k.a. Dialogue with a purppose • Don’t put dialogue just for the sake of having your characters talk. • Characters need to have a REASON to speak. • Dialogue is used to MOVE the plot along and REVEAL the characters. • It should be a substitute for narration. Never use dialogue and narration to tell the reader the same thing. • It should also reveal the character’s intention in the story and set the tone. • Ask yourself…Does my dialogue (or will my dialogue) serve one of the above purposes? If the answer is “yes”, then you know that you are using it correctly.

  5. Rule #3Can I see your i.d., please? • Make sure the reader knows who is speaking at all times. • Each speaker needs to be given a new paragraph. • This rule, like quotation marks, must be followed to the letter! Even if the new speaker only says one word! • A good writer will not only identify the speaker, but they will also describe the speaker’s reactions or actions while speaking the words.

  6. Rule #4excuse me, your tag is sticking out… • A speech tag is the “he said” or “she said” part of the quote. • Many writers tend to always use them at the end of the sentences. This will get boring after a while. • A good writer will vary the use of the speech tag by • 1. placing them in different parts of the sentence. • AND/OR • 2. alternating the tag word from “said” to a more descriptive word.

  7. Rule #4um…Like…um • Always keep in mind that good written dialogue should mimic actual speech that one hears around them. • “Um” and “Like” are two words that one commonly hears in a spoken dialogue. Using them in dialogue will lend an air of reality .

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