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Dialogue Writing Tips

The most common way to indicate a new speaker’s dialogue is to start a new paragraph.

Here is an example from my forthcoming novel, Touched:

Rashan slouched into a nearby folding chair, not bothering to get one for Georgia. He moved a few braids from his forehead, but they fell back over his eyes. After a silence, Georgia, still standing, took the conversational lead. “So you’re a basketball player?”
“Varsity. Point guard.”
“Great.”
“Do you know what a point guard is?”
“Not exactly but it sounds important.”
Rashan laughed. “It is. Hey, you wanna dance?”

Different speakers’ words may be written in a single paragraph to save space as long as the change of speakers is clear to the reader by introductions such as Mary said.

Single words such as yes, no, where, how, and why are not enclosed in quotation marks unless used in direct dialogue.

Example: She said yes when he asked her to marry him.

Example: When Howard asked Mary to marry him, she shouted, “Yes!”

With thoughts and imagined dialogue that are unspoken, you may enclose the interior discourse in quotation marks or not.

Example: “If he asks for chocolate ice cream one more time,” Benny’s mother thought, “I’ll scream.”

Example: If he asks for chocolate ice cream one more time, Benny’s mother thought, I’ll scream.

Example: “Why,” she wondered, “did I worry about the test so much?”

Example: Why, she wondered, did I worry about the test so much?

Posted on Monday, August 27th, 2007 at 11:00 pm

Allot vs. A Lot; Allowed vs. Aloud

I am not sure why so many “Al” words, e.g., altogether vs. all together, alright vs. all right, already vs. all ready, cause so much confusion but here are two more pairs of “Al” words clarified for you.

Allot vs. A Lot

The word allot means to parcel out.

Example: The company will allot each of us a cell phone.

The expression a lot means many or much.

Example: We had a lot of fun.

Example: A lot of people showed up for the concert.

Note that even though you may see alot written by a lot of people, there is no such word.

Allowed vs. Aloud

The word allowed means gave permission to.

Example: He allowed his daughter to stay out until 10:00 PM.

The word aloud means said out loud, spoken.

Example: He read the Haiku aloud.

Quiz

1. A lot/Allot of us were confused by the teacher’s lecture.
2. I like chocolate ice cream a lot/allot/alot.
3. Does that university a lot/allot many scholarships?
4. Are you allowed/aloud to go off campus during lunch?
5. If you practice your speech allowed/aloud, you will memorize it more easily.

Answers

1. A lot
2. a lot
3. allot
4. allowed
5. aloud

Posted on Sunday, August 19th, 2007 at 3:11 pm

Colons with Lists

Rule 1: Use the colon after a complete sentence to introduce a list of items when introductory words such as namely, for example, or that is do not appear.

Examples:
You may be required to bring many items: sleeping bags, pans, and warm clothing.
I want the following items: butter, sugar, and flour.
I want an assistant who can do the following: (1) input data, (2) write reports, and (3) complete tax forms.

Rule 2: A colon should not precede a list unless it follows a complete sentence.

Examples:
To be successful in sales, one should do the following: (a) dress appropriately, (b) ask customers about their needs, and (c) follow through.

To be successful in sales, one should (a) dress appropriately, (b) ask customers about their needs, and (c) follow through.

Rule 3: With tabular format, a colon always precedes a list.

Examples:
To be successful in sales, one should do the following:
(a) dress appropriately
(b) ask customers about their needs
(c) follow through

To be successful in sales, one should:
(a) dress appropriately
(b) ask customers about their needs
(c) follow through

Note:
Capitalization and punctuation are optional when using single words or phrases in bulleted form. If each bullet or numbered point is a complete sentence, capitalize the first word and end each sentence with proper ending punctuation. The rule of thumb is to be consistent.

Examples:
To be successful in sales, one should:
(a) dress appropriately,
(b) ask customers about their needs,
(c) follow through.

To be successful in sales, one should:
(a) Dress appropriately,
(b) Ask customers about their needs,
(c) Follow through.

Note: You may use and before the last phrase.

To be successful in sales, one should:
(a) dress appropriately,
(b) ask customers about their needs,
(c) and follow through.

For our meeting on Tuesday, please:
(a) E-mail the agenda to me by Monday afternoon.
(b) Call me 15 minutes before the meeting is set to begin.
(c) Distribute the notes to all the board members after the meeting.

Note: With lists, you may use periods after numbers and letters instead of parentheses.

For our meeting on Tuesday, please:
a. E-mail the agenda to me by Monday afternoon.
b. Call me 15 minutes before the meeting is set to begin.
c. Distribute the notes to all the board members after the meeting.

Quiz

1. The following are required (a) wet suits, (b) fins, (c) snorkels.
2. Please bring (a) wet suits, (b) fins, and (c) snorkels.

Answers

1. The following are required: (a) wet suits, (b) fins, (c) snorkels.
2. Please bring (a) wet suits, (b) fins, and (c) snorkels. (CORRECT)

Posted on Saturday, August 11th, 2007 at 8:09 pm