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Dialogue
Examples
Use these dialogue examples to strengthen your own writing.
Dialogue
Guide: Writing Realistic Dialogue
Use
punctuation appropriately. Most sentences end with a
statement and require a period to end the sentence. Of course, a
direct question ends with a question mark. Where is there room for
an exclamation point (!) in dialogue?
Exclamation points
aren't necessary most of the time. The reader, through the writing,
will understand when a character is upset or angry. So use
exclamation points sparingly.
Use
quotation marks effectively. Here's an example of how to
use quotation marks in dialogue.
Sit in a
public place and listen to people having conversations.
Vary the people you are easing dropping in. Listen in on an older
couple and make note of how they speak. And then do the same with
other "real life characters." Write down what they say.
This exercise will help you develop a good hear for dialogue.
Examples
of Dialogue
Dialogue
example #1: Typical Dialogue is formatted the following
way:
"It's too
late," said Samantha, "by the time I get to the airport
he'll be gone."
"Try. Just try," said Maria.
Samantha shook her head. "Life isn't like the movies. Tom won't
be waiting for me at the door of the plain."
As you can see,
when a new character speaks a new paragraph is required.
Internal
dialogue example #2: With internal dialogue, you can either
italicize the statement or put the statement within quotes.
"She doesn't
think I know," thought Bryan, "but I know. I know
alright."
She doesn't
think I know, thought Bryan, but I know. I know alright.
Telephone
dialogue example #3: Telephone dialogue follows the same
rules as in example #1.
Later that night
the phone rang. Larry let the call go to voice mail several times,
but felt compelled to answer the phone when the caller called back a
fourth time.
"This better
be an emergency," said Larry.
"It's, um,-"
Larry heard the caller's voice catch. He couldn't make out who it
was. He should have checked caller ID he thought.
With a string of words falling over each other, the caller said,
"I'm pregnant and your the father."
Larry remained silent.
"Do you know who this is?"
Larry did not. He remained silent.
"It's Elizabeth."
Larry remembered her. He met Elizabeth on her honeymoon. How could
she be sure the baby is his?
Dialogue
that Doesn't Work
Get down to the
meat of the dialogue. Leave out pleasantries. Example dialogue:
Glen was nervous to
tell Janet he impregnated his ex-girlfriend. "Hi."
"How are you dong?" replied Janet.
"Fine. And you?"
"Not too bad."
That sample
dialogue is boring. Readers are interested in reading dialogue that
moves the story forward. Go straight into the heart of the
conversation. Example:
Glen enters the
room to find Janet sitting in a yoga position with her eyes closed.
"We need to talk."
"You're interfering with my Zen-like state. Can't you
wait?"
"I got a girl pregnant." Glen couldn't believe he blurted
it out.
Janet's eyes sprung open. "What?"
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