Tagged Questions
4
votes
1answer
83 views
Background speech with foreground dialogue
A few days ago, I stumbled upon an issue of the type; meaning I had two characters talking between themselves and another character talking in the background; actually delivering a speech.
What the ...
3
votes
3answers
88 views
Putting a dialogue a tag before a quote
Sometimes I see stuff like this:
X said, "..."
"..." X did this, and then said, "..."
Is it used to just vary sentence structure? Or to make dialogue more readable or smoother in certain ...
6
votes
6answers
168 views
Should dull dialogue be removed completely?
The following dialogue is from a novel I'm writing (first draft):
"You're quiet tonight," Erin said to Benjamin, who seemed to be lost
in thoughts.
He looked up and took a sip of his drink. ...
3
votes
2answers
134 views
Do the characters in the following dialogue sound the same?
The following unedited dialogue is from a novel I'm writing (which is based on a short story I wrote a while ago):
"I hope it's not an inappropriate question," Icaro said, after
hesitating for a ...
10
votes
6answers
311 views
alternatives to “he said” in dialog
I'm working on my first fiction story. And one mechanical thing I struggle with is how to identify the speakers in dialog without constantly saying "Bob said", "Mary said", etc. Any ideas?
That is, I ...
4
votes
3answers
209 views
Deciding whether to use a dialogue tag or an action tag in a dialogue
Example:
"I'm not saying you don't know what you are talking about," he said,
then looked at her and shrugged his shoulders. "But I don't know what
you are talking about."
"I'm not saying ...
7
votes
3answers
216 views
Is going 'off-topic' a sign of bad dialogue?
I always wondered if going off-topic in a dialogue is a bad or a normal thing.
For example, let's say I'm writing a novel where the main theme is love and loss.
Is it bad if the characters start ...
1
vote
2answers
397 views
Is this dialogue and situation intriguing (short story)?
This is the continuation of a story I mentioned in a previous story.
I would like to know if the reader would feel intrigued by the dialogue and situation (a girl who seems to be a stripper is lying ...
8
votes
2answers
241 views
How does one include sign language in a dialogue?
If one character is using sign language and lip reading while the other is speaking normally, how do you represent the lines of the former? Quotations with "he signed" attribution or italics? E.g.
...
0
votes
0answers
82 views
When did conversational dialogue in fiction writing become a prevalent writing style in British Literature? [closed]
Is there a specific time period, author or group of authors that popularized the stye?
3
votes
2answers
111 views
How do you reference pop culture in a dialogue without proper attribution?
I'm not sure exactly how to ask this question in a vacuum so I'll give an example first:
Many people are familiar with the Mitch Hedberg joke about an escalator being "temporarily stairs" rather than ...
5
votes
4answers
180 views
What is the Priority in an Action/Adventure Novel: Dialogues or Conflict?
I am currently working on a novel and I was having some trouble finding the best solution for this question. I understand that both dialogues and conflicts are needed in a good proportion to cook a ...
2
votes
2answers
151 views
First conversation scenes I've written (looking for errors, conventions, and improvements according to writting standards).
Basically, I would like to know if I'm doing something wrong (according to witting standards) in the following conversation and how to improve it to help readability, quality and feeling (making it ...
