 Action/Adventure: October 06, 2010 Issue [#4007] |
  Action/Adventure
This week: Because I Said So Edited by: NanoWriMo2018 Into the Earth  
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Dialogue can be a powerful tool writers use to drive home plots, points, descriptions, character development, etc.
Consider some of the following when constructing your character's dialogue:
While you can use words like said, says, asked, cursed, or yelled, try to avoid repetitiveness. Also, It's always a solid idea to limit the use of adverbs like quickly,. An effective solution to both of these is to explain your character's behavior around his or her dialogue.
Example:
"Oh My Gosh!" She tapped her index finger several quick times against the glass window of the driver's side Toyota Corolla. "That's the guy." Like I'm supposed to know. Before I can respond, she answers, in the quick speed, never take a breath until you've spit out five sentences, delivery...
"Three shots skinny, no foam latte. You know!" She gives me a quick glance. "I told you about him yesterday." She scrunches up her brow, "The creepy guy?"
Here, the author chose to describe how quickly the teenager talked, instead of using the word quickly.
Another good tip is to describe the tone your character used when he or she was speaking. And you can describe how he or she reacted to the situation / environment.
Example:
Sporting a pony tail and baby doll tee, she fishes around in the second drawer of the bedside table. "Um, so...where's the Beretta?" Laney asks in a high-pitched almost little girl voice.
We're about to head out to Tattnall at nine-thirty-something PM. I forgot to leave the gate unlocked and the home school group blocked the courts for a before breakfast hitting session, hoping to escape the hot Georgia sun and humidity.
It strikes me as almost comical, her girlish movements, her baby voice, her pony-tailed hair... fingers wrapped around steel metal while her father reminds her about the safety.
"I know, Dad" she whines, dragging out the word 'know'. After all, everyone's skilled in Beretta shooting.
Punctuation during dialogue. I've printed the following several times before, but lots of new/beginning writers can benefit from it:
Lots of writers have punctuation issues when it comes to dialogue tags. Here are a few quick rules:
 When the tag comes first, you must follow it with a comma. Ex. Judy looks at Laney and says, "Okay. Let's take my car."
When the tag follows the quotation, two things happen:
 The tag begins without capitalization. Ex. "No," she says, fingers still typing at the keyboard.
The quotation ends with a comma. In other words, the comma replaces the period at the end of the quote. "No," she says, fingers still typing at the keyboard.
If the tag breaks up the quotation, then the quotation will carry on without capitalization. Ex. "Are you," she pauses to glance down at his mismatched socks, "okay?"
With a little thought, your dialogue can blend into your stories and make them more vivid.
until next time,
Robin
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