7. Writing dialogue
• Dialogue is an important part of any remembered event.
• It shows what happens instead of telling it. For example,
you can say “she was so mad she yelled at me.” Or you can
show the dialogue and let the reader “see” her mad at you.
“You did what? You threw out my best shirt?!”
“I am sorry, but I didn’t think you wanted that shirt any more. It was
torn and stained”
“What kind of ass are you? Was that your shirt? No, it was mine!”
“But…..ummm”
“DON’T TOUCH MY STUFF! IN FACT, GET OUT!”
8. DIALOGUE MOVES THE STORY
• But we don’t just add dialogue just to say we have it.
Dialogue should move the plot, too. For example, if we
are out to dinner, we don’t write a page of dialogue about
how we decided what to eat. It is just too boring!
“What are you going to have?”
“I dunno; how about you?”
“Oh, I can’t decide between the chicken and the
fish”
“Me neither”
See my point? No one cares about this!
9. Formatting Dialogue
• Each speaker gets his or her own paragraph; a return and indent. This mimics real conversation,
indicating pauses and so forth.
• Attributions (“He said,” “She said” and variations) should be used, but not too much, and varied so
they’re not repetitious; they can be used at the start of quotations, in the middle, or at the end.
When attributions are overused, they get in the way; the key is that the reader should always know
who’s speaking.
• Always use a comma after attribution (She said,) when introducing a quote.
• Example:
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You lit my shirts on fire? Where’d you learn that?
“Daycare.”
“What? Daycare? You learned how to light shirts on fire at daycare? I can’t believe this
kind of behavior is going on there!”
“A kid brought matches one day.”
“I’m calling your daycare.”
“No,” I said. Okay, I screamed it, and he scowled at me.
“Tell me the truth, boy.”
I took a deep breath and let it slide out: “I hate your shirts, Dad.”
10. Write a scene in which one person tells another person a story. Make sure
that you write it as a dialogue and not just a first person narrative; have one
person telling the story and the other person listening and asking questions or
making comments. The purpose of this scene will be both to have the story
stand alone as a subject, and to have the characters’ reactions to the story be
the focal point of the scene. Choose two of the following to write about:
1. Tell someone you live with about a robbery you just witnessed at 7-11
2. Tell someone you live with about a car accident you just had
3. Tell someone you live with about a car accident you almost had
4. Tell someone you live with about catching a person trying to pick-pocket
you
5. Tell someone you live with about another event you want to write about
Exercise #1
11. Exercise #2
Write a short conversation between multiple people (three or
more) in which no character speaks more than three or four
words per line of dialogue. You can use minimal narration to
enhance the scene, not explain the dialogue.
A man is walking down a deserted street after the bar
closes. He moves quickly but unsteadily. Suddenly,
three teenagers come out of an alley. They grab him and
drag back into the alley. Write the dialogue.
12. HOMEWORK
• Read: HG through chapter 7. As you read, note a
passage that reminds you of a personal
experience.
• Post #4: The two dialogues from the in-class
writing
• Bring: Your post, HG, and SMG
