Dialogue
Completion requirements
Unit 5
What Can We Learn from Realistic Fiction?
Reader's Notebook
Dialogue
Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people. Writers use it to bring characters to life by adding feelings and motivations.
Your novel builds suspense in many places through dialogue. For example,
"I wonder where I am," said Milo in a very worried tone.
"You're... in... the... Dol... drums," wailed a voice that sounded far away.
"You're... in... the... Dol... drums," wailed a voice that sounded far away.
Dialogue should consist of interesting and descriptive words and phrases that may contribute information about a character’s identity.
Read the following weak dialogue:
“What are you doing here?” he asked?
“I’m swimming”, she said.
“You can’t swim here because it is too dangerous,” he answered.
“I’m swimming”, she said.
“You can’t swim here because it is too dangerous,” he answered.
Read the same dialogue with interesting and descriptive words and phrases added:
“What are you doing here,” growled the campground warden.
“Swimming,” she cried, shaking with fear. Karen clutched her friend’s hand in the water.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you read the sign,” he pointed up to the white, red, and black sign on the bank.
“Nnnno, sir!” Karen stammered as her friend began tiptoeing out of the water.
“It’s too dangerous,” the warden roared furiously. “What were you thinking?”
“Swimming,” she cried, shaking with fear. Karen clutched her friend’s hand in the water.
The man’s eyes narrowed. “Didn’t you read the sign,” he pointed up to the white, red, and black sign on the bank.
“Nnnno, sir!” Karen stammered as her friend began tiptoeing out of the water.
“It’s too dangerous,” the warden roared furiously. “What were you thinking?”
- Short, sentences indicate fear. This anxiety is also shown by exclamation mark and stammering.
- A dialogue tag identifies the speaker and how the person sounded. For example, “It’s too dangerous,” the warden roared furiously.
- Descriptive language in a dialogue tag, such as stammering, shaking, clutching her friend’s hand emphasize Karen’s fear.
- Use quotation marks to show the exact words of a character (the things they say aloud). Place punctuation such as a comma, inside the quotation marks.
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