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Published byCory Harper Modified over 5 years ago
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“I am going to the basketball game on Saturday if you would like to come along,” Nell asked with a shy smile and standing hesitantly in front of her locker. “Sure, I’d love too!” , Zach answered. Was that a date? he thought. “Let’s say 5 o’clock? I’ll pick you up. Is that OK?”, Nell said. “No problem. 5 is great ! See you then!” In English, for a dialogue (conversation) : There are no – in front of the sentences There are no names in front of the sentences You must use inverted comas : “…..” Start a new paragraph each time a person speaks You can use verbs like SAY, ANSWER, ENQUIRE etc … They are dialogue tags. It is not necessary to use an overabundance of different tags. It might be distracting to the reader. A dialogue reveals details about a character by what they say and how they say it You can include action or descriptions in between dialogue Characters should not sound the same : each character has a different personality, create a distinct voice and personality for your characters
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Usually in the past (preterit), sometimes in the present tense
Interjections: Dialogue tags : Oops Ouch Gee Hey! Oh. Good grief! No way! Well… Mmm. Ah. Wow! Er. Indeed. Oh my! Hum.. Usually in the past (preterit), sometimes in the present tense Tag Before the Dialogue When dialogue tags are before the dialogue it looks like this: Meghan asked, “Are you coming to my party?” Tag After the Dialogue When dialogue tags are used after the dialogue it looks like this: “Are you coming to my party?” Meghan asked. Tag in the Middle of the Dialogue When dialogue tags are used in the middle of dialogue it looks like this: "Alright then," I said, "I hope you know what you're doing.“ If you are trying to insert action or description, you can use it as the dialogue tag: Jen looked down. “It’s good to see you.” “Yeah, you too,” Ben said, biting the inside of his lip.
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The most important thing to remember is:
Dialogue tags (common verbs): Say Ask /enquire Reply / answer Argue Remark Insist Retort Declare Shout Whisper Grumble / Groan Announce Protest Admit Snap Observe Mumble Etc. DO NOT OVERUSE TAGS AND ADVERBS! Have the Character Do Something! A bit of action mixed into the dialogue is not only a good way of mixing it up and stopping it sounding repetitive. It’s also a good alternative to using a dialogue tag. “My dog just died,” he said, not looking up from the floor as he spoke. Is better than : “My dog just died,” he said sadly. The most important thing to remember is: Make your dialogue easy for your readers to understand and read!
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