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Writing A Dialogue

The document provides guidelines for writing dialogue, including basic formatting and structure, punctuation rules, and how to attribute dialogue to characters. Key points include: indenting each character's dialogue on a new line, using quotation marks to delineate dialogue and single quotation marks for dialogue within dialogue, placing punctuation inside quotation marks, and using colons or hyphens followed by capitalized names to indicate who is speaking. Dialogue tags like "he said" should be preceded and followed by commas when inserted in the middle of dialogue.

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Alfredo Cruz
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214 views2 pages

Writing A Dialogue

The document provides guidelines for writing dialogue, including basic formatting and structure, punctuation rules, and how to attribute dialogue to characters. Key points include: indenting each character's dialogue on a new line, using quotation marks to delineate dialogue and single quotation marks for dialogue within dialogue, placing punctuation inside quotation marks, and using colons or hyphens followed by capitalized names to indicate who is speaking. Dialogue tags like "he said" should be preceded and followed by commas when inserted in the middle of dialogue.

Uploaded by

Alfredo Cruz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fundamental Rules to Be Followed When Writing a Dialogue

Dialogue writing can look and sound simple; however, when actually putting dialogue in writing, there are certain
rules regarding the structure and format you need to follow. Go through each of these in detail in the sections given
below.

Basic Format and Structure of a Dialogue


Dialogues can be part of a story, a play or a movie. Each one has a different structure and format in which the
dialogues have to be presented; however, there is a basic structure that can be followed. Go through the following
points to learn the essential attributes a dialogue must have.

 The first thing you have to do before you write a dialogue is to decide who the characters are.
 You should also have a clear idea of the plot of the story, or in general, the context of the dialogue.
 Dialogues can be just a sentence, two or three lines or even a short paragraph. Whatever be the case, always
remember that each character’s dialogue, no matter how short or long, has to be written on the next line. In
other words, no two dialogues should appear on the same line. Also see to it that you indent each dialogue.
 If the dialogues are one-liners, you can write them one after the other. On the contrary, if each of your
characters are speaking in chunks (short or long paragraphs), it is mandatory that you show the difference
by using an optimum line spacing.
 Be very careful with the tense used in the dialogue.
 It is better to skip the small talk (including greetings) and start off with the point of discussion unless the
small talk is crucial to setting the mood of the conversation.

Punctuation
In every form of writing, punctuation is an important factor that makes it sensible. In the same manner, dialogue
writing also would not make any sense without proper punctuation. Learn how to punctuate dialogues by going
through the following points.

 The first rule would be adding a colon after the name of the character to indicate that the particular
character is the one speaking at the moment. Sometimes, a hyphen is used instead of a colon.
 The name of the character should always start with a capital letter as it is a proper noun. Sometimes, you
will have characters such as villagers, student 1, student 2, etc. In these cases also, you will have to use a
capital letter.
 Dialogues are to be placed within quotation marks.
 If you are including a character’s dialogue in another character’s dialogue, it has to be placed within single
quotation marks. For example: “Don’t you think Rakesh saying ‘I will take the lead’ has some hidden
agenda?”
 Also remember that any punctuation mark corresponding to the dialogue should always be placed within
double quotation marks. For instance, if the dialogue is an interrogative sentence, the question mark has to
come first marking the end of the sentence followed by the double quotation marks marking the end of the
dialogue.
 A dialogue can be separated using dialogue tags like ‘he said’ to attribute the dialogue to a speaker.

 When you insert the tag in the middle of the dialogue, make sure you close the quotation marks
before the tag. The tag is preceded and followed by a comma. When you open quotation marks to
continue the dialogue, see to it that you use a small letter to begin with if it is the continuation of the
dialogue, and close the quotation marks once the dialogue is complete. For example: “Do you know”,
he shouted to everyone, “who the new manager is?”

 If the dialogue tag is positioned in the beginning of the sentence, see to it that you start it with a
capital letter as you are starting a new sentence. Place a comma after the dialogue tag followed by
open quotation marks, the dialogue starting with a capital letter followed by the punctuation mark of
the quote and close quotation marks. For example: Josh mumbled, “Nobody understands the main
problem here.”

 A dialogue can also appear at the end of the sentence. In this case, the quotation comes first. Once
you punctuate the quote and close the quotation marks, place the dialogue tag. Note that the
dialogue tag is not capitalised. For example: “Are you coming with us?” Sarah asked.

 If a character’s dialogue is being interrupted by another character, use a dash to indicate the interference.
For example: “I was wondering –”
“Are you ready to go?”

 Actions and body language of characters can be described in sentences and they can appear in between
dialogues. For example: “I am not interested.” She shrugged her shoulders. “But, I will do it just for you.”

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