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How to Write Dialogue: Rules, Examples, and 8 Tips for Engaging Dialogue

dialogue in essays rules

by Fija Callaghan

You’ll often hear fiction writers talking about “character-driven stories”—stories where the strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations of the central cast of characters stay with us long after the book is closed. But what drives character, and how do we create characters that leave long-lasting impressions?

The answer lies in dialogue : the device used by our characters to communicate with each other. Powerful dialogue can elevate a story and subtly reveal important information, but poorly written dialogue can send your work straight to the slush bin. Let’s look at what dialogue is in writing, how to properly format dialogue, and how to make your characters’ dialogue the best it can be.

What is dialogue in a story?

Dialogue is the verbal exchange between two or more characters. In most fiction, the exchange is in the form of a spoken conversation. However, conversations in a story can also be things like letters, text messages, telepathy, or even sign language. Any moment where two characters speak or connect with each other through their choice of words, they’re engaging in dialogue.

Dialogue is the verbal exchange between two or more characters.

Why does dialogue matter in a story?

We use dialogue in a story to reveal new information about the plot, characters, and story world. Great dialogue is essential to character development and helps move the plot forward in a story.

Writing good dialogue is a great way to sneak exposition into your story without stating it overtly to the reader; you can also use tools like dialect and diction in your dialogue to communicate more detail about your characters.

Dialogue helps to create characters that leave long-lasting impressions.

Through a character’s dialogue, we can learn about their motivations, relationships, and understanding of the world around them.

A character won’t always say what they mean (more on dialogue subtext below), but everything they say will serve some larger purpose in the story. If your dialogue is well-written, the reader will absorb this information without even realizing it. If your dialogue is clunky, however, it will stand out and pull your reader away from your story.

Three reasons why dialogue matters in a story.

Rules for writing dialogue

Before we get into how to make your dialogue realistic and engaging, let’s make sure you’ve got the basics down: how to properly format dialogue in a story. We’ll look at how to punctuate dialogue, how to write dialogue correctly when using a question mark or exclamation point, and some helpful dialogue writing examples.

Here are the need-to-know rules for formatting dialogue in writing.

Enclose lines of dialogue in double quotation marks

This is the most essential rule in basic dialogue punctuation. When you write dialogue in North American English, a spoken line will have a set of double quotation marks around it. Here’s a simple dialogue example:

“Were you at the party last night?”

Any punctuation such as periods, question marks, and exclamation marks will also go inside the quotation marks. The quotation marks give a visual clue to the reader that this line is spoken out loud.

Quotation marks give a visual clue to the reader.

In European or British English, however, you’ll often see single quotation marks being used instead of double quotation marks. All the other rules stay the same.

Enclose nested dialogue in single quotation marks

Nested dialogue is when one line of dialogue happens inside another line of dialogue—when someone is verbally quoting someone else. In North American English, you’d use single quotation marks to identify where the new dialogue line starts and stops, like this:

“And then, do you know what he said to me? Right to my face, he said, ‘I stayed home all night.’ As if I didn’t even see him.”

The double and single quotation marks give the reader clues as to who’s speaking. In European or British English, the quotation marks would be reversed; you’d use single quotation marks on the outside, and double quotation marks on the inside.

Every speaker gets a new paragraph

Every time you switch to a new speaker, you end the line where it is and start a new line. Here are some dialogue examples to show you how it looks:

“Were you at the party last night?” “No, I stayed home all night.”

The same is true if the new “speaker” is only in focus because of their action. You can think of the paragraphs like camera angles, each one focusing on a different person:

“Were you at the party last night?” “No, I stayed home all night.” She raised a single, threatening eyebrow. “Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and watched Netflix instead.”

If you kept the action on the same line as the dialogue, it would get confusing and make it look like she was the one saying it. Giving each character a new paragraph keeps the speakers clear and distinct.

Use em-dashes when dialogue gets cut short

If your character begins to speak but is interrupted, you’ll break off their line of dialogue with an em-dash, like this:

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and—” “Is that really what happened?”

Be careful with this one, because many word processors will treat your em-dash like the beginning of a new sentence and attach your closing quotation marks backwards:

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and—“

You may need to keep an eye out and adjust as you go along.

In this dialogue example, the new speaker doesn’t lead with an em-dash; they just start speaking like normal. The only time you’ll ever open a line of dialogue with an em-dash is if the speaker who’s been cut off continues with what they were saying:

“Yeah, I wasn’t feeling that well, so I just stayed in and—” “Is that really what happened?” “—watched Netflix instead. Yes, that’s what happened.”

This shows the reader that there’s actually only one line of dialogue, but it’s been cut in the middle by another speaker.

Each line of dialogue is indented

Every time you give your speaker a new paragraph, it’s indented from the left-hand side. Many word processors will do this automatically. The only exception is if your dialogue is opening your story or a new section of your story, such as a chapter; these will always start at the far left margin of the page, whether they’re dialogue or narration.

Each time you change speakers, begin dialogue on a new line.

Long speeches don’t use use closing quotation marks until the end

Most writers favor shorter lines of dialogue in their writing, but sometimes you might need to give your character a longer one—for instance, if the character speaking is giving a speech or telling a story. In these cases, you might choose to break up their speech into shorter paragraphs the way you would if you were writing regular narrative.

However, here the punctuation gets a bit weird. You’ll begin the character’s dialogue with a double quotation mark, like normal. But you won’t use a double quotation mark at the end of the paragraph, because they haven’t finished speaking yet. But! You’ll use another opening quotation mark at the beginning of the subsequent paragraph. This means that you may use several opening double quotation marks for your character’s speech, but only ever one closing quotation mark.

If your character is telling a story that involves people talking, remember to use single quotation marks for your dialogue-within-dialogue as we looked at above.

Sometimes these dialogue formatting rules are easier to catch later on, during the editing process. When you’re writing, worry less about using the exact dialogue punctuation and more about writing great dialogue that supports your character development and moves the story forward.

How to use dialogue tags

Dialogue tags help identify the speaker. They’re especially important if you have a group of people all talking together, and it can get pretty confusing for the reader trying to keep everybody straight. If you’re using a speech tag after your line of dialogue—he said, she said, and so forth—you’ll end your sentence with a comma, like this:

“No, I stayed home all night,” he said.

But if you’re using an action to identify the person speaking instead, you’ll punctuate the sentence like normal and start a new sentence to describe the action taking place:

“No, I stayed home all night.” He looked down at his feet.

The dialogue tags and action tags always follow in the same paragraph. When you move your story lens to a new person, you’ll switch to a new paragraph. Each line where a new person speaks propels the story forward.

When to use capitals in dialogue tags

You may have noticed in the two examples above that one dialogue tag begins with a lowercase letter, and one—which is technically called an action tag—begins with a capital letter. Confusing? The rules are simple once you get a little practice.

When you use a dialogue tag like “he said,” “she said,” “he whispered,” or “she shouted,” you’re using these as modifiers to your sentence—dressing it up with a little clarity. They’re an extension of the sentence the person was speaking. That’s why you separate them with a comma and keep going.

With an action tag , you’re ending one sentence and beginning a whole new one. Each sentence represents two distinct moments in the story. That’s why you end the first sentence with a period, and then open the next one with a capital letter.

If you’re not sure, try reading them out loud:

“No, I stayed home all night,” he said. “No, I stayed home all night.” He looked down at his feet.

Dialogue tags vs. action tags.

Since you can’t hear quotation marks out loud, the way you say them will show you if they’re one sentence or two. In the first example, you can hear how the sentence keeps going after the dialogue ends. In the second example, you can hear how one sentence comes to a full stop and another one begins.

But what if your dialogue tag comes before the dialogue, instead of after? In this case, the dialogue is always capitalized because the speaker is beginning a new sentence:

He said, “No, I stayed home all night.” He looked down at his feet. “No, I stayed home all night.”

You’ll still use a comma after the dialogue tag and a period after the action tag, just like if you’d separate them if you were putting your tag at the end.

If you’re not sure, ask yourself if your leading tag sounds like a full sentence or a partial sentence. If it sounds like a partial sentence, it gets a comma. If it reads like a full sentence that stands on its own, it gets a period.

External vs. internal dialogue

All of the dialogue we’ve looked at so far is external dialogue, which is directed from one character to another. The other type of dialogue is internal dialogue, or inner dialogue, where a character is talking to themselves. You’ll use this when you want to show what a character is thinking, but other characters can’t hear.

Usually, internal dialogue will be written in italics to distinguish it from the rest of the text. That shows the reader that the line is happening inside the character’s head. For example:

It’s not a big deal, she thought. It’s just a new school. It’ll be fine. I’ll be fine.

Here you can see that the dialogue tag is used in the same way, just as if it was a line of external dialogue. However, “she thought” is written in regular text because it’s not a part of what the character is thinking. This helps keep everything clear for the reader.

External dialogue vs. internal dialogue.

In your story, you can play with using contrasting internal and external dialogue to show that what your characters say isn’t always what they mean. You may also choose to use this internal dialogue formatting if you’re writing dialogue between two or more characters that isn’t spoken out loud—for instance, telepathically or by sign language.

8 tips for creating engaging dialogue in a story

Now that you’ve mastered the mechanics of how to write dialogue, let’s look at how to create convincing, compelling dialogue that will elevate your story.

1. Listen to people talk

To write convincingly about people, you’ll first need to know something about them. The work of great writers is often characterized by their insight into humanity; you read them and think, “Yes, this is exactly what people are like.” You can begin accumulating your own insight by listening to what real people say to each other.

You can go to any public place where people are likely to gather and converse: cafés, art galleries, political events, dimly lit pubs, bookshops. Record snippets of conversation, pay attention to how people’s voices change as they move from speaking to one person to another, try to imagine what it is they’re not saying, the words simmering just under the surface.

By listening to stories unfold in real time, you’ll have a better idea of how to recreate them in your writing—and inspiration for some new stories, too.

2. Give each spoken line a purpose

Here is something that actors have drilled into their heads from their first day at drama school, and writers would do well to remember it too: every single line of dialogue has a hidden motivation. Every time your character speaks, they’re trying to achieve something, either overtly or covertly.

Small talk is rare in fiction, because it doesn’t advance the plot or reveal something about your characters. The exception is when your characters are using their small talk for a specific purpose, such as to put off talking about the real issue, to disarm someone, or to pretend they belong somewhere they don’t.

When writing your own dialogue, ask yourself what the line accomplishes in the story. If you come up blank, it probably doesn’t need to be there. Words need to earn their place on the page.

Eight tips for creating engaging dialogue.

3. Embrace subtext

In real life, we rarely say exactly what we really mean. The reality of polite society is that we’ve evolved to speak in circles around our true intentions, afraid of the consequences of speaking our mind. Your characters will be no different. If your protagonist is trying to tell their best friend they’re in love with them, for instance, they’ll come up with about fifty different ways to say it before speaking the deceptively simple words themselves.

To write better dialogue, try exploring different ways of moving your characters around what’s really being said, layering text and subtext side by side. The reader will love picking apart the conversation between your characters and deducing what’s really happening underneath (incidentally, this is also the place where fan fiction is born).

4. Keep names to a minimum

You may notice that on television, in moments of great upheaval, the characters will communicate exactly how important the moment is by saying each other’s names in dramatic bursts of anger/passion/fear/heartbreak/shock. In real life, we say each other’s names very rarely; saying someone’s name out loud can actually be a surprisingly intimate experience.

Names may be a necessary evil right at the beginning of your story so your reader knows who’s who, but after you’ve established your cast, try to include names in dialogue only when it makes sense to do so. If you’re not sure, try reading the dialogue out loud to see if it sounds like something someone would actually say (we’ll talk more about reading out loud below).

5. Prune unnecessary words

This is one area where reality and story differ. In life, dialogue is full of filler words: “Um, uh, well, so yeah, then I was like, erm, huh?” You may have noticed this when you practiced listening to dialogue, above. We won’t say there’s never a place for these words in fiction, but like all words in storytelling, they need to earn their place. You might find filler words an effective tool for showing something about one particular character, or about one particular moment, but you’ll generally find that you use them a lot less than people really do in everyday speech.

When you’re reviewing your characters’ dialogue, remember the hint above: each line needs a purpose. It’s the same for each word. Keep only the ones that contribute something to the story.

6. Vary word choices and rhythms

The greatest dialogue examples in writing use distinctive character voices; each character sounds a little bit different, because they have their own personality.

This can be tricky to master, but an easy way to get started is to look at the word choice and rhythm for each character. You might have one character use longer words and run-on sentences, while another uses smaller words and simple, single-clause sentences. You might have one lean on colloquial regional dialect, where another sounds more cosmopolitan. Play around with different ways to develop characters and give each one their own voice.

Effective dialogue is the key to a good story.

7. Be consistent for each character

When you do find a solid, believable voice for your character, make sure that it stays consistent throughout your entire story. It’s easy to set a story aside for a while, then return to it and forget some of the work you did in distinguishing your characters’ dialogue. You might find it helpful to write down some notes about the way each character speaks so you can refer back to it later.

The exception, of course, is if your character’s speech pattern goes through a transformation over the course of the story, like Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady . In this case, you can use your character’s distinctive voice to communicate a major change. But as with all things in writing, make sure that it comes from intention and not from forgetfulness.

8. Read your dialogue out loud

After you’ve written a scene between two or more characters, you can take the dialogue for a trial run by speaking it out loud. Ask yourself, does the dialogue sound realistic? Are there any moments where it drags or feels forced? Does the voice feel natural for each character? You’ll often find there are snags you miss in your writing that only become apparent when read out loud. Bonus: this is great practice for when you become rich and famous and do live readings at bookshops.

3 mistakes to avoid when writing dialogue

Easy, right? But there are also a few pitfalls that new writers often encounter when writing dialogue that can drag down an otherwise compelling story. Here are the things to watch out for when crafting your story dialogue.

1. Too much exposition

Exposition is one of the more demanding literary devices , and one of the ones most likely to trip up new writers. Dialogue is a good place to sneak in some information about your story—but subtlety is essential. This is one place where the adage “show, don’t tell” really shines.

Consider these dialogue examples:

“How is she, Doctor?” “Well Mr. Stuffington, I don’t have to remind you that your daughter, the sole heiress to your estate and currently engaged to the Baron of Flippingshire, has suffered a grievous injury when she fell from her horse last Sunday. We don’t need to discuss right now whether or not you think her jealous maid was responsible; what matters is your daughter’s well being. As to your question, I’m afraid it’s very unlikely that she’ll ever walk again.” Can’t you just feel your arm aching to throw the poor book across the room? There’s a lot of important information here, but you can find subtler ways to work it into your story. Let’s try again: “How is she, Doctor?” “Well Mr. Stuffington, your daughter took quite a blow from that horse—worse than we initially thought. I’m afraid it’s very unlikely that she’ll ever walk again.” “And what am I supposed to say to Flippingshire?” “The Baron? I suppose you’ll have to tell him that his future wife has lost the use of her legs.”

And so forth. To create good dialogue exposition, look for little ways to work in the details of your story, instead of piling it up in one great clump.

Three mistakes to avoid when writing dialogue.

2. Too much small talk

We looked at how each line of dialogue needs a specific purpose above. Very often small talk in a story happens because the writer doesn’t know what the scene is about. Small talk doesn’t move the scene along unless it’s there for a reason. If you’re not sure, ask yourself what each character wants in this moment.

For example, imagine you’re in an office, and two characters are talking by the water cooler. How was your weekend, what did you think of the game, how’s your wife doing, are those new shoes, etc etc. Can’t you just feel the reader’s will to live slipping away?

But what about this: your characters are talking by the water cooler—Character A and Character B. Character A knows that his friend is inside Character B’s office looking for evidence of corporate espionage, so A is doing everything he can to stop B from going in. How was your weekend, what did you think of the game, how’s your wife doing, are those new shoes, literally anything just to keep him talking. Suddenly these benign little phrases have a purpose.

If you find your characters slipping into small talk, double check that it’s there for a purpose, and not just a crutch to keep you from moving forward in your scene. When writing dialogue, Make each line of dialogue earn its place.

3. Too much repetition

Variation is the spice of a good story. To keep your readers engaged, avoid using the same sentence structure and the same dialogue tags over and over again. Using “he said” and “she said” is effective and clear cut, but only for about three beats. After that, try switching to an action tag instead or letting the line of dialogue stand on its own.

Powerful dialogue elevates a story.

You can also experiment with varying the length of your sentences or groupings of sentences. By changing up the rhythm of your story regularly, you’ll keep it feeling fresh and present for the reader.

Effective dialogue examples from literature

With all of these tips and tricks in mind, let’s look at how other writers have used good dialogue to elevate their stories.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine , by Gail Honeyman

“I’m going to pick up a carryout and head round to my mate Andy’s. A few of us usually hang out there on Saturday nights, fire up the playstation, have a smoke and a few beers.” “Sounds utterly delightful,” I said. “What about you?” he asked. I was going home, of course, to watch a television program or read a book. What else would I be doing? “I shall return to my flat,” I said. “I think there might be a documentary about komodo dragons on BBC4 later this evening.”

In this dialogue example, the author gives her characters two very distinctive voices. From just a few words we can begin to see these people very clearly in our minds—and with this distinction comes the tension that drives the story. Dialogue is an excellent place to show your character dynamics using speech patterns and word choices.

Pride and Prejudice , by Jane Austen

“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.” Mr. Bennet made no answer. “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently. “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.” This was invitation enough. “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.”

In this famous dialogue example, the author illustrates the relationship between these two characters clearly and succinctly. Their dialogue shows Mr. B’s stalwart, tolerant love for his wife and Mrs. B’s excitement and propensity for gossip. The author shows us everything we need to know about these people in just a few lines.

Dinner in Donnybrook , by Maeve Binchy

“Look, I thought you ought to know, we’ve had a very odd letter from Carmel.” “A what… from Carmel?” “A letter. Yes, I know it’s sort of out of character, I thought maybe something might be wrong and you’d need to know…” “Yes, well, what did she say, what’s the matter with her?” “Nothing, that’s the problem, she’s inviting us to dinner.” “To dinner?” “Yes, it’s sort of funny, isn’t it? As if she wasn’t well or something. I thought you should know in case she got in touch with you.” “Did you really drag me all the way down here, third years are at the top of the house you know, I thought the house had burned down! God, wait till I come home to you. I’ll murder you.” “The dinner’s in a month’s time, and she says she’s invited Ruth O’Donnell.” “Oh, Jesus Christ.”

This dialogue example is a telephone conversation between two people. The lack of dialogue tags or action tags allows the words to come to the forefront and immerses us in their back-and-forth conversation. Even though there are no tags to indicate the speakers, the language is simple and straightforward enough that the reader always knows who’s talking. Through this conversation the author slowly builds the tension from the benign to the catastrophic within a domestic setting.

Compelling dialogue is the key to a good story

A writer has a lot riding on their characters’ dialogue, and learning how to write dialogue is a critical skill for any writer. When done well, it can leaves a lasting impact on the reader. But when dialogue is clumsy and awkward, it can drag your story down and make your reader feel like they’re wasting their time.

But if you keep these tips in mind, listen to dialogue in your everyday life, and practice , you’ll be sure to create realistic dialogue that brings your story to life.

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dialogue in essays rules

This is very useful, Dax! Thank you for sharing this!

Dax MacGregor

Frederick, Thanks for taking time to comment and also for the kind words.

Kara

This really helped me!

Thanks for the feedback, Kara.

austen1022

This is great. Thank you! One more question in addition to this. What about if dialogue from a single character covers two paragraphs. Do you close quote and reopen with the new paragraph, or do you leave the quotes open at the end of paragraph one and start paragraph two with no quotes, and then closed quotes at the end once the character finishes speaking?

If your prose contains a monologue where a paragraph change is required, then you would insert closing quotation marks at the end of the paragraph and open the new paragraph with new quotation marks.

But be careful. Normally a new paragraph indicates a change of speakers. You’ll need to make it clear to your readers that the same person is continuing to speak. I often insert gestures to accomplish this. Here’s an example:

“After Suzi, I didn’t think there would ever be another woman in my life. But by the time Krystal and I escaped from the wilderness, we had bonded. Well, I thought it was mutual, but then she left. I felt crushed when I woke up and discovered she had abandoned me.”   He tried to blink away the moisture pooling in his eyes. “So now, events have brought us back together. But I wonder, when this is all over, will she walk out of my life a second time? I’m praying that she doesn’t.”

Anna Wiclie

I have a question, something I’m having a bit of trouble finding answers to, say I have a few sentences or a paragraph before a string of dialogue– do I drop down a new line for dialogue? For example,

Amelia lifted her hand to the gem and I wrapped my fingers around her wrist; the code may have been a deadly trap. Our eyes locked, and Jade cleared his throat and said through his teeth, “If this is wrong, we could all be dissolved by the power backlash.”

In your example, the dialogue is part of the previous sentence and therefore belongs in the same paragraph.

bill

I have began writing fiction in novel format the last two months, the past five years I have written script format, and could not figure out the proper way to keep it readable; this page explains it all; now i get it!

Back to my novel

Bill, Thank you for the positive feedback.

Claire Nevins

“Thanks, Dax!” she said, as she finished her corrections and started back to work. “You’ve been a lifesaver!”

Leo

Are those official formatting rules? You got it from some manual?

I couldn’t find an official manual with rules. Through experience and discussion with experts, I assembled and published these.

And the rules keep changing. I have updated these several times over the years.

Thanks Dax.

I had some complaining froms readers about dialogue formatting in my book, so I’m going to edit it correctly now, based on this post.

Anna

I have a problem with this one: ‘I know,’ he lowered his voice to a whisper,’ what you said.’ Shouldn’t it be ‘I know’–he lowered his voice to a whisper–‘what you said.’? Sometimes it’s hard to tell when to separate parts of the sentence with commas and when with dashes. I know that ‘whisper’, like ‘said’ or ‘ask’, would require commas but in the above sentence we’re talking about a different action. Could you give examples of words that should not be followed by commas and should be followed by em dashes instead? For example, how to treat the word ‘hear’? Which is correct? ‘But she’s only fifteen,’ she heard mom say to dad,’and he’s twenty years older.’ Or: ‘But she’s only fifteen’–she heard mom say to dad–‘and he’s twenty years older.’ It does seem like the first one is a better choice but not an obvious one. After all, ‘hear’ is different from all the variations (synonyms) of ‘say’. After all, we would use dashes in this one: ‘If you says so’–he saw her eyes light up when he agreed with her–‘but I’m not giving up yet.’ Or wouldn’t we?

Sorry for the delayed response, I took an extended vacation out of the country and completely off the grid.

Em dashes can replace commas, parentheses or colons. The use of em dashes is a style choice. Some writers love them and others abhor them. My advice? Use them whenever it seems right to you. However, since they interrupt the flow, use them judiciously.

Whether to leave spaces before and after em dashes is also a matter of differing opinions. Most experts and style guides recommend no spaces before or after. However, the AP Style Guide (used by newspapers) specifies a space before and after. Since the advice given here relates to manuscripts, my recommendation is no spaces.

Haley B

This was just what I needed to read! Thank you for taking the time to share and educate!

Thanks for the positive feedback.

Author Luke West

A great piece to read, thanks for the share! Quick question. You mentioned that the first line of dialogue should be indented, so the second line doesn’t require it? Sorry if this is a sill question. I don’t usually format but I’m looking forward to giving it a go.

Sorry for the lack of clarity.

What I’m trying to say is that, in a manuscript, the first line of every paragraph is indented and dialogue is no exception to that rule.

Jordon

How would I format this?

Branches are fingers of the dead? Wow, I’m definitely stealing that one. Why are you still up?”

Clark grinned, leaning over the paper, his arms easing around Amari’s waist. Clark’s unruly natural hair nuzzled the nape of Amari’s neck, making him shiver.

Amari reached back and wrapped his arms behind Clark.

“Branches are fingers of the dead? Wow, I’m definitely stealing that one. Why are you still up?”

In my response, I assume that Amari is speaking. If Clark is speaking, then the first two paragraphs could be combined.

Jordan

Thanks for writing this. It has really helped me several times now. A quick question though. How should I format this in terms of dialogue?

The transmitter is still active and is showing a message of an indistinct figure saying, “Hello? Is anyone there? Can you hear me?” I walk towards it, stepping over the cables and bits of machines strewn over the floor while I wonder what could have happened.

I’m not sure where to put new lines around the speaking, if any. Much appreciated!

What you have looks good.

Jason Bassford (@jason_bassford)

“8. If the same speaker talks long enough to require a new paragraph, place quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph and also at the opening of the new paragraph.”

Actually, this one does have a conventional rule, and it’s not what you claim. If dialogue continues to another paragraph, you do NOT use a closing quote at the end the first paragraph. (Your introductory description aside.) Instead, you only use a closing quote at the end of the final paragraph. However, each new paragraph does have an opening quote. The reason for not using a closing quote with preceding paragraphs is to indicate that it’s the same person who’s continuing to speak. This may look odd, but it avoids any confusion over the speaker. (Using a quote at the end of a previous paragraph, and then introducing a new paragraph with descriptive text, is fine. But with very long dialogue and multiple paragraphs, it could look even odder – and disrupt the flow.)

Deb Wain

Well done, Jason. I was just going to add this comment.

Dax, there’s also a typo in your example for point 5. There’s an extra open quotation mark at the beginning of the example which shouldn’t be there.

A typo has been there all this time? Yikes!

Thanks for taking the time to point it out. It’s been corrected.

The Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Style Guide both agree and confirm that you are correct and I was mistaken. I have corrected Item 8 and provided a better example.

Thank you for catching my error.

smallfryinbigpond

Hi Dax, I’d like to apologize beforehand if my question has already been asked previously. The thread is long and I can’t go through all of them.

My question is, can you combine dialogues between two characters in a one paragraph?

Here’s a sample:

“What’s her story doc?” The younger of the two men broke the silence that ensued. The man called Doc leaned back and replied, “Charlie Staxx is her handler and manager. Most of her training comes from illegal underground fight clubs. That girl has skills as you can see in the video. Too bad that shark Charlie only wants to make a quick buck out of her. That was her first fight and she hardly made it as bantamweight. They pitted her against a super heavy weight and yet she won. She has raw talent but plays dirty too. She will need a lot of shake-up if she ever decides to become legit.”

Joe

Hi. Someone is speaking. The person listening (the scene is from the listener’s POV) zones out and we hear his/her thoughts. We then pick up the speaker’s dialogue again. What’s the proper way to end the initial dialogue text and then resume? Many thanks.

Romel Escobar

Not sure if you mentioned it, but what if a character is speaking and the next line, no character is speaking. Would you have to indent it or leave it as is.

Katie

What if a character is speaking, and after they say something the other character does something, like nods their head, and then the first character continues talking?

Indira

I don’t know how to format this:

Chad woke up, disoriented. He heard two women arguing. “Ladies let’s not fight, I love you both,” he slurred. “He’s delirious, I’m his girlfriend!” “Please, he loves ME!” They don’t know about Joanna? “What!?” Whoops “He doesn’t deserve us, let’s go!” “Yeah, but first I have some business.” SLAP The blackness clouded Chads vision. “You crazy…..”

Clint Smith

Excellent summation, thanks for posting it! Makes me more comfortable that I’ve been doing it right all along 🙂

Brandon Bland

This is so saddening and enlightening. I’ve written 100 pages into my fantasy novel and I’ve been scouring the internet looking for rule 6. I wasn’t sure how to format dialogue. I just went about my way knowing something was amiss but not knowing completely how to fix it. Thank you so much this article probably just saved me and what ever poor person who has to edit my work a ton of money and time.

Mongoose

Thank you for this. Just a small point, perhaps it would be better to use a different example instead of a segment about a battered woman? It could be unnecessarily upsetting if someone reading this page is a survivor of an abusive relationship.

R Todd

Until reading this, I lacked dialogue confidence to the point of beginning to write a full narrative book. The rules you so generously posted gives my story incredible flexibility. I’ll let you know how it goes.

thenikus

Thank you so much. Especially for point 7, which was unclear to me 🙂

TaylorWrites Creative

Bookmarking this. Very clearly explained.

Jane Desnouee

I assume one single spaces each character’s comments in a dialogue, specifically within fan essay or article being consistently double spaced. Of course, each new character begins a new line, indented, etc..

The entire manuscript should be double-spaced, even dialogue.

David Harvey

Thanks Dax, l really needed help. I’m a first time writer. This will help me get out of the gate!

Amos

Really helpful. Would be smart to include with this information details related to “smart” quotes, as these are now generally required by editors of fiction.

Erinn

What about a person who hears a voice in their head, and is reading a book…

Jack opened the book. “Just start reading?”

Yes, just start reading.

“Every story has its beginning, and this beginning begins here.”

The last sentence would be from the book itself.

Great content, thank you!

You ask good questions.

When you write internal thoughts, there are multiple methods used. One option is to enclose them in quotation marks, as you did. However, many authors prefer not to use quotation marks because they are easily mistaken for dialogue, especially when other characters are present. It’s common to place inner thoughts in italics when quotation marks are not used. However, italics are not required. Whichever technique you use, you should be consistent throughout your manuscript. We have an article that discusses this: Do Thoughts Need Quotation Marks?

You correctly used quotation marks when citing material from another source. Nicely done.

I just noticed that the second line, “Yes, just start reading.” which was intended to be the internal thought, was not in italics as I had intended. Thank you so much for the feedback!

Larry Ronnow

I see that your new paragraph indent is the same as your first line of dialogue indent. I have seen some authors who have a larger indent than the paragraph indent. I think I like yours better. Seems to be more prevalent. Very good clear article in any case.

Alain Paradis

There’s a typo in #3.

For example, If Cindi screamed and then spoke

If should have a lower case i.

Thanks. It’s been corrected.

Berl

One thing that strikes me, is that in classic novels there is a seperate rule regarding the beginning of dialog after an introduction:

Silvia asked him flat out, “Where have you been?”

Silvia asked him flat out, “where have you been?”

Is there a rule, or is this the preference of the author?

As a general rule, the speech portion of the dialogue would be capitalized as it would be without the tags and quotation marks. In other words, using your example, the speech portion would be: Where have you been? So the first letter of the Silvia’s question would be capitalized. However, the Chicago Manual of Style (the rule book for novels) states: The initial letter may be changed to a capital or a lowercase letter. 13.7: Permissible changes to punctuation, capitalization, and spelling

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Writing A Narrative Essay

  • Library Resources
  • Books & EBooks
  • What is an Narrative Essay?
  • Choosing a Topic
  • MLA Formatting

Using Dialogue

  • Using Descriptive Writing
  • OER Resources
  • Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use

dialogue in essays rules

Examples of Dialogue Tags

Examples of Dialogue Tags:

interrupted

Ebooks in Galileo

Cover Art

Additional Links & Resources

  • Dialogue Cheat Sheet

Dialogue is an exchange of conversation between two or more people or characters in a story. As a literary style, dialogue helps to advance the plot, reveal a character's thoughts or emotions, or shows the character's reaction within the story. Dialogue gives life to the story and supports the story's atmosphere.

There are two types of dialogue that can be used in an narrative essay.

Direct dialogue  is written between inverted commas or quotes. These are the actual spoken words of a character 

Indirect dialogue  is basically telling someone about what another person said

Formatting Dialogue

Dialogue is an important part of a narrative essay, However formatting dialogue can be troublesome at times.

When formatting dialogue use these rules and examples to help with your formatting:

Place double quotation marks at the beginning an end of spoken words.  The quotations go on the  outside  of both the words and end-of-dialogue punctuation.

  • Example:  "What is going on here?" John asked.

Each speaker gets a new paragraph that is indented.

      “hi,” said John as he stretched out his hand.

           "Good Morning, how are you?" said Brad shaking John’s hand.

                      "Good. Thanks for asking," John said.

Each speaker’s actions are in the same paragraph as their dialogue.

              

 A  dialogue tag  is anything that indicates which character spoke and describes how they spoke.

If the tag comes before the dialogue,  use a comma straight after the tag. If the dialogue is the beginning of a sentence, capitalize the first letter. End the dialogue with the appropriate punctuation (period, exclamation point, or question mark), but keep it INSIDE the quotation marks.

  • Examples Before: 

James said, “I’ll never go shopping with you again!”

John said, “It's a great day to be at the beach.”

She opened the door and yelled, “Go away! Leave me alone!”

If the dialogue tag comes after the dialogue , Punctuation still goes INSIDE quotation marks. Unless the dialogue tag begins with a proper noun, it is  not  capitalized. End the dialogue tag with appropriate punctuation. Use comma after the quote unless it ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

  • Examples After: 

“Are you sure this is real life?” Lindsay asked.

“It’s so gloomy out,” he said.

“Are we done?” asked Brad . 

“This is not your concern!” Emma said.

If dialogue tag is in the middle of dialogue.  A comma should be used before the dialogue tag inside the closing quotation mark; Unless the dialogue tag begins with a proper noun, it is  not  capitalized. A comma is used after the dialogue tag, outside of quotation marks, to reintroduce the dialogue. End the dialogue with the appropriate punctuation followed by the closing quotation marks. 

When it is two sentences, the first sentence will end with a punctuation mark and the second begins with a capital letter.

  • Examples middle: 

“Let’s run away,” she whispered, “we wont get another chance.”

“I thought you cared.” Sandy said, hoping for an explanation. “How could you walk away?”

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Jerry whispered. “I’ll miss him.”

Questions in dialogue.  

if there is a dialogue tag, the question mark will act as a comma and you will then lowercase the first word in the dialogue tag 

  • Example: What are you doing?" he asked.

if there is simply an action after the question, the question mark acts as a period and you will then capitalize the first word in the next sentence.

“Sarah, why didn't you text me back?” Jane asked.

“James, why didn’t you show up?” Carol stomped her feet in anger before slamming the door behind her.

If the question or exclamation ends the dialogue, do not use commas to separate the dialogue from dialogue tags.

  • Example:  “Sarah, why didn't you text me back?” Jane asked.

If the sentence containing the dialogue is a question, then the        question mark goes outside of the quotation marks.

Did the teacher say, “The Homework is due Tomorrow”?

If you have to quote something within the dialogue.  When a character quotes someone else, use double-quotes around what your character says, then single-quotes around the speech they’re quoting.

  • Example: 

"When doling out dessert, my grandmother always said, 'You may have a cookie for each hand.'"

Dashes & Ellipses:

Dashes ( — ) are used to indicate abruptly interrupted dialogue or when one character's dialogue is interrupted by another character.

Use an em dash  inside  the quotation marks to cut off the character mid-dialogue, usually with either (A) another character speaking or (B) an external action.

  • Including the em dash at the end of the line of dialogue signifies that your character wasn't finished speaking.
  • If the speaking character's action interrupts their own dialogue . 
  • Use em dashes  outside  the quotation marks to set off a bit of action without a speech verb. 

Examples: 

  • Heather ran towards Sarah with excitement. “You won’t believe what I found out—”
  • "Is everything—" she started to ask, but a sharp look cut her off.
  • "Look over there—" She snapped her mouth shut so she didn't give the secret away.
  • "Look over there"—she pointed towards the shadow—"by the stairway."

Use ellipses (...) when a character has lost their train of thought or can't figure out what to say

  • Example:  “You haven’t…” he trailed off in disbelief.

Action Beats

Action beats show what a character is doing before, during, or after their dialogue.

“This isn't right.” She squinted down at her burger. “Does this look like it is well done to you?”

She smiled. “I loved the center piece you chose.”

If you separate two complete sentences, you will simply place the action beat as its own sentence between two sets of quotes.

“I never said he could go to the concert.” Linda sighed and sat in her chair. “He lied to you again.”

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How to Format Dialogue: Complete Guide

Dialogue formatting matters. Whether you’re working on an essay, novel, or any other form of creative writing. Perfectly formatted dialogue makes your work more readable and engaging for the audience.

In this article, you’ll learn the dialogue formatting rules. Also, we’ll share examples of dialogue in essays for you to see the details.

What is a Dialogue Format?

Dialogue format is a writing form authors use to present characters' communication. It's common for play scripts, literature works, and other forms of storytelling.

A good format helps the audience understand who is speaking and what they say. It makes the communication clear and enjoyable. In dialogue writing, we follow the basic grammar rules like punctuation and capitalization. They help us illustrate the speaker’s ideas.

dialogue in essays rules

General Rules to Follow When Formatting a Dialogue

Dialogue writing is an essential skill for both professionals and scholars . It shows your ability to express the issues and ideas of other people in different setups. The core rules of formatting are about punctuation. So, below is a quick reminder on punctuation marks’ names:

dialogue in essays rules

And now, to practice.

Please follow these rules for proper dialogue formatting:

  •  Use quotation marks. Enclose the speaker’s words in double quotations. It helps readers distinguish between a character’s speech and a narrator’s comments.
  •  Place punctuation inside quotation marks. All punctuation like commas, exclamations, or interrogation marks, go inside the double quotations.
  •  Keep dialogue tags behind quotation marks. A dialogue tag is (1) words framing direct speech to convey the context and emotions of a conversation. For example, in (“I can’t believe this is you,” she replied.), the dialogue tag is “she replied.”
  •  Use an ellipsis or em-dashes for pauses or interruptions. To show interruptions or pauses, end phrases with ellipses inside quotations. Em-dashes go outside quotations. No other extra marks are necessary here.
  •  Remember a character’s voice.  Ensure that each character’s phrases reflect their background and personality.

5 More Rules to Know (+ Examples of Dialogue)

For proper formatting of dialogue in writing, stick to the following rules:

1. Each speaker’s saying comes in a new paragraph

Begin a new paragraph whenever a new character starts speaking. It allows you to differentiate speakers and make their conversation look more organized. (2)

“Has Mr. de Winter been in?” I said.    “Yes, Madam,” said Robert; “he came in just after two, and had a quick lunch, and then went out again. He asked for you and Frith said he thought you must have gone down to see the ship.”    “Did he say when he would be back again?” I asked.    “No, Madam.” — from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

2. Separate dialogue tags with commas

When using dialogue tags ( e.g., “she said,” “he replied,”), separate them with commas. 

For example:

“You’ve got to do something right now , ” Aaron said , “Mom is really hurting. She says you have to drive her to the hospital.” “Actually, Dad , ” said Caleb, sidling in with his catalog , “There’s someplace you can drive me, too.” “No, Caleb.” — from The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

3. When quoting within dialogue, place single quotes

If a character cites somebody or something while speaking, we call it a reported dialogue. In this case, use single quotations within double ones you place for a direct speech. It will help readers see that it’s a quote.

John started to cry. “When you said, ‘I never wanted to meet you again in my life!’ It hurts my feelings.”

4. You can divide a character’s long speech into paragraphs

Dialogue writing is different when a person speaks for a longer time. It’s fine to divide it into shorter paragraphs. Ensure the proper quotation marks placing:

 The first quotation mark goes at the beginning of the dialogue. Each later paragraph also starts with it until that direct speech ends.

 The second quotation mark — the one “closing” the monologue — goes at the dialogue’s end.

Josphat took a deep breath and began. “ Here’s the things about lions. They’re dangerous creatures. They only know how to kill. Have you ever seen a lion in an open area? Probably not. Because if you had you’d be dead now. “ I saw a lion once. I was fetching firewood to cook lunch. All of a sudden I found myself face to face with a lion. My heart stopped. I knew it was my end on earth. If it wasn’t the poachers we wouldn’t be having this talk. ”

Yet, you can keep a long text as a whole by adding some context with dialogue tags. Like here:

dialogue in essays rules

As you can see, there’s no quotation mark at the end of the paragraph in red. It’s because the next “Ha! ha!” paragraph continues the character’s speech.

5. Use action beats

Describe actions to provide context and keep readers engaged. Help them “hear” your characters. Punctuation also helps here: exclamation (!) or interrogation with exclamations (?!) demonstrate the corresponding tone of your narrative.

He slammed the door and shouted , “I can’t believe you did that ! “

Mistakes to Avoid When Formatting Dialogue

A good dialogue is a powerful instrument for a writer to show the character’s nature to the audience. Below are the mistakes to avoid in formatting if you want to reach that goal.

 So, please don’t :

  • Allow characters to speak for too long. Writing long paragraphs will bore the reader, making them skip through your speech. Short but sweet talk is the best. When writing, aim to be brief, dynamic, and purposeful. If your character speaks too much, generating opinion essays , ensure this speech makes sense and serves a bigger purpose.
  • Overburden dialogue with exposition.  Avoid telling the story background or building sophisticated words in your characters’ speeches. Instead, reveal the narrative content in small bursts and blend it around the rest of the prose. Convey it through your character’s actions and thoughts rather than summaries and explanations.
  • Create rhetorical flourishes. Make your characters sound natural. Let them speak the way they’d do if they were real people. Consider their age, profession, and cultural background — and choose lexical items that fit them most.
  • Use repetitive dialogue tags. Constant “he asked” and “she said” sounds monotonous. Diversify your tags: use power verbs, synonyms, and dialogue beats.

Frequently Asked Questions by Students

How to format dialogue in an essay.

Formatting a dialogue in an essay is tricky for most students. Here’s how to do it: Enclose the speaker’s words with double quotations and start every other character’s line from a new paragraph. Stick to the citation styles like APA or MLA to ensure credibility. 

How to format dialogue in a novel?

 A dialogue in a novel follows all the standard rules for clarity and readability. Ensure to use attributions, quotation marks, and paragraph format. It makes your dialogue flow, grabbing the reader’s attention.

How to format dialogue in a book?

Dialogue formatting in a book is critical for storytelling. It helps the audience distinguish the hero’s words. Follow the general rules we’ve discussed above:

Use double quotations and isolate dialogue tags with commas. Remember to place the discussion in blocks for better readability.

How to format dialogue between two characters?

A two-character dialogue offers the best way to prove successful formatting skills. Ensure you use action beats, quotations, and attribution tags. It allows readers to follow the conversation and understand it better.

What is the purpose of dialogue in a narrative essay?  

Dialogue writing is the exchange of views between two or more people to reach a consensus. It reveals the character’s attitude and argumentation. Last but not least, it helps convey the descriptive nature of your narrative essay.

References:

  • https://valenciacollege.edu/students/learning-support/winter-park/communications/documents/WritingDialogueCSSCTipSheet_Revised_.pdf
  • https://www.ursinus.edu/live/files/1158-formatting-dialogue
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How to Write Dialogue: 7 Great Tips for Writers (With Examples)

Hannah Yang headshot

Hannah Yang

How to write dialogue title

Great dialogue serves multiple purposes. It moves your plot forward. It develops your characters and it makes the story more engaging.

It’s not easy to do all these things at once, but when you master the art of writing dialogue, readers won’t be able to put your book down.

In this article, we will teach you the rules for writing dialogue and share our top dialogue tips that will make your story sing.

Dialogue Rules

How to format dialogue, 7 tips for writing dialogue in a story or book, dialogue examples.

Before we look at tips for writing powerful dialogue, let’s start with an overview of basic dialogue rules.

  • Start a new paragraph each time there’s a new speaker. Whenever a new character begins to speak, you should give them their own paragraph. This rule makes it easier for the reader to follow the conversation.
  • Keep all speech between quotation marks . Everything that a character says should go between quotation marks, including the final punctuation marks. For example, periods and commas should always come before the final quotation mark, not after.
  • Don’t use end quotations for paragraphs within long speeches. If a single character speaks for such a long time that you break their speech up into multiple paragraphs, you should omit the quotation marks at the end of each paragraph until they stop talking. The final quotation mark indicates that their speech is over.
  • Use single quotes when a character quotes someone else. Whenever you have a quote within a quote, you should use single quotation marks (e.g. She said, “He had me at ‘hello.’”)
  • Dialogue tags are optional. A dialogue tag is anything that indicates which character is speaking and how, such as “she said,” “he whispered,” or “I shouted.” You can use dialogue tags if you want to give the reader more information about who’s speaking, but you can also choose to omit them if you want the dialogue to flow more naturally. We’ll be discussing more about this rule in our tips below.

The purpose of dialogue

Let’s walk through some examples of how to format dialogue .

The simplest formatting option is to write a line of speech without a dialogue tag. In this case, the entire line of speech goes within the quotation marks, including the period at the end.

  • Example: “I think I need a nap.”

Another common formatting option is to write a single line of speech that ends with a dialogue tag.

Here, you should separate the speech from the dialogue tag with a comma, which should go inside the quotation marks.

  • Example: “I think I need a nap,” Maria said.

How to puntuate dialogue

You can also write a line of speech that starts with a dialogue tag. Again, you separate the dialogue tag with a comma, but this time, the comma goes outside the quotation marks.

  • Example: Maria said, “I think I need a nap.”

As an alternative to a simple dialogue tag, you can write a line of speech accompanied by an action beat. In this case, you should use a period rather than a comma, because the action beat is a full sentence.

  • Example: Maria sat down on the bed. “I think I need a nap.”

Finally, you can choose to include an action beat while the character is talking.

In this case, you would use em-dashes to separate the action from the dialogue, to indicate that the action happens without a pause in the speech.

  • Example: “I think I need”—Maria sat down on the bed—“a nap.”

Now that we’ve covered the basics, we can move on to the more nuanced aspects of writing dialogue.

Here are our seven favorite tips for writing strong, powerful dialogue that will keep your readers engaged.

Tip #1: Create Character Voices

Dialogue is a great way to reveal your characters. What your characters say, and how they say it, can tell us so much about what kind of people they are.

Some characters are witty and gregarious. Others are timid and unobtrusive.

Speech patterns vary drastically from person to person.

To make someone stop talking to them, one character might say “I would rather not talk about this right now,” while another might say, “Shut your mouth before I shut it for you.”

When you’re writing dialogue, think about your character’s education level, personality, and interests.

  • What kind of slang do they use?
  • Do they prefer long or short sentences?
  • Do they ask questions or make assertions?

What goes in to character voice

Each character should have their own voice.

Ideally, you want to write dialogue that lets your reader identify the person speaking at any point in your story just by looking at what’s between the quotation marks.

Tip #2: Write Realistic Dialogue

Good dialogue should sound natural. Listen to how people talk in real life and try to replicate it on the page when you write dialogue.

Don’t be afraid to break the rules of grammar, or to use an occasional exclamation point to punctuate dialogue.

It’s okay to use contractions , sentence fragments , and run-on sentences , even if you wouldn’t use them in other parts of the story.

Contractions, sentence fragments, and run-on sentences

This doesn’t mean that realistic dialogue should sound exactly like the way people speak in the real world.

If you’ve ever read a court transcript, you know that real-life speech is riddled with “ums” and “ahs” and repeated words and phrases. A few paragraphs of this might put your readers to sleep.

Compelling dialogue should sound like a real conversation, while still being wittier, smoother, and better worded than real speech.

Tip #3: Simplify Your Dialogue Tags

A dialogue tag is anything that tells the reader which character is talking within that same paragraph, such as “she said” or “I asked.”

When you’re writing dialogue, remember that simple dialogue tags are the most effective .

Often, you can omit dialogue tags after the conversation has started flowing, especially if only two characters are participating.

The reader will be able to keep up with who’s speaking as long as you start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes.

When you do need to use a dialogue tag, a simple “he said” or “she said” will do the trick.

Our brains generally skip over the word “said” when we’re reading, while other dialogue tags are a distraction.

Which dialogue tags to use

A common mistake beginner writers make is to avoid using the word “said.”

Characters in amateur novels tend to mutter, whisper, declare, or chuckle at every line of dialogue. This feels overblown and distracts from the actual story.

Another common mistake is to attach an adverb to the word “said.” Characters in amateur novels rarely just say things—they have to say things loudly, quietly, cheerfully, or angrily.

If you’re writing great dialogue, readers should be able to figure out whether your character is cheerful or angry from what’s within the quotation marks.

The only exception to this rule is if the dialogue tag contradicts the dialogue itself. For example, consider this sentence:

  • “You’ve ruined my life,” she said angrily.

The word “angrily” is redundant here because the words inside the quotation marks already imply that the character is speaking angrily.

In contrast, consider this sentence:

  • “You’ve ruined my life,” she said thoughtfully.

Here, the word “thoughtfully” is well-placed because it contrasts with what we might otherwise assume. It adds an additional nuance to the sentence inside the quotation marks.

Dos and don'ts of dialogue tags

You can use the ProWritingAid dialogue check when you write dialogue to make sure your dialogue tags are pulling their weight and aren’t distracting readers from the main storyline.

Dialogue tags check

Sign up for your free ProWritingAid account to check your dialogue tags today.

Tip #4: Balance Speech with Action

When you’re writing dialogue, you can use action beats —descriptions of body language or physical action—to show what each character is doing throughout the conversation.

Learning how to write action beats is an important component of learning how to write dialogue.

Good dialogue becomes even more interesting when the characters are doing something active at the same time.

You can watch people in real life, or even characters in movies, to see what kinds of body language they have. Some pick at their fingernails. Some pace the room. Some tap their feet on the floor.

Common action beats for dialogue

Including physical action when writing dialogue can have multiple benefits:

  • It changes the pace of your dialogue and makes the rhythm more interesting
  • It prevents “white room syndrome,” which is when a scene feels like it’s happening in a white room because it’s all dialogue and no description
  • It shows the reader who’s speaking without using speaker tags

You can decide how often to include physical descriptions in each scene. All dialogue has an ebb and flow to it, and you can use beats to control the pace of your dialogue scenes.

If you want a lot of tension in your scene, you can use fewer action beats to let the dialogue ping-pong back and forth.

If you want a slower scene, you can write dialogue that includes long, detailed action beats to help the reader relax.

You should start a separate sentence, or even a new paragraph, for each of these longer beats.

Action beats for dialogue tip

Tip #5: Write Conversations with Subtext

Every conversation has subtext , because we rarely say exactly what we mean. The best dialogue should include both what is said and what is not said.

I once had a roommate who cared a lot about the tidiness of our apartment, but would never say it outright. We soon figured out that whenever she said something like “I might bring some friends over tonight,” what she meant was “Please wash your dishes, because there are no clean plates left for my friends to use.”

Tip for dialogue subtext

When you’re writing dialogue, it’s important to think about what’s not being said. Even pleasant conversations can hide a lot beneath the surface.

Is one character secretly mad at the other?

Is one secretly in love with the other?

Is one thinking about tomorrow’s math test and only pretending to pay attention to what the other person is saying?

Personally, I find it really hard to use subtext when I write dialogue from scratch.

In my first drafts I let my characters say what they really mean. Then, when I’m editing, I go back and figure out how to convey the same information through subtext instead.

Tip #6: Show, Don’t Tell

When I was in high school, I once wrote a story in which the protagonist’s mother tells her: “As you know, Susan, your dad left us when you were five.”

I’ve learned a lot about the writing craft since high school, but it doesn’t take a brilliant writer to figure out that this is not something any mother would say to her daughter in real life.

Characters sould talk to each other, not the reader

The reason I wrote that line of dialogue was because I wanted to tell the reader when Susan last saw her father, but I didn’t do it in a realistic way.

Don’t shoehorn information into your characters’ conversations if they’re not likely to say it to each other.

One useful trick is to have your characters get into an argument.

You can convey a lot of information about a topic through their conflicting opinions, without making it sound like either of the characters is saying things for the reader’s benefit.

Here’s one way my high school self could have conveyed the same information in a more realistic way in just a few lines:

Susan: “Why didn’t you tell me Dad was leaving? Why didn’t you let me say goodbye?”

Mom: “You were only five. I wanted to protect you.”

Tip #7: Keep Your Dialogue Concise

Dialogue tends to flow out easily when you’re drafting your story, so in the editing process, you’ll need to be ruthless. Cut anything that doesn’t move the story forward.

Try not to write dialogue that feels like small talk.

You can eliminate most hellos and goodbyes, or summarize them instead of showing them. Readers don’t want to waste their time reading dialogue that they hear every day.

In addition, try not to write dialogue with too many trigger phrases, which are questions that trigger the next line of dialogue, such as:

  • “And then what?”
  • “What do you mean?”

It’s tempting to slip these in when you’re writing dialogue because they keep the conversation flowing. I still catch myself doing this from time to time.

Remember that you don’t need three lines of dialogue when one line could accomplish the same thing.

Let’s look at some dialogue examples from successful novels that follow each of our seven tips.

Dialogue Example #1: How to Create Character Voice

Let’s start with an example of a character with a distinct voice from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling.

“What happened, Harry? What happened? Is he ill? But you can cure him, can’t you?” Colin had run down from his seat and was now dancing alongside them as they left the field. Ron gave a huge heave and more slugs dribbled down his front. “Oooh,” said Colin, fascinated and raising his camera. “Can you hold him still, Harry?”

Most readers could figure out that this was Colin Creevey speaking, even if his name hadn’t been mentioned in the passage.

This is because Colin Creevey is the only character who speaks with such extreme enthusiasm, even at a time when Ron is belching slugs.

This snippet of written dialogue does a great job of showing us Colin’s personality and how much he worships his hero Harry.

Dialogue Example #2: How to Write Realistic Dialogue

Here’s an example of how to write dialogue that feels realistic from A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

“As much as I love this land, some days I think about leaving it,” Babi said. “Where to?” “Anyplace where it’s easy to forget. Pakistan first, I suppose. For a year, maybe two. Wait for our paperwork to get processed.” “And then?” “And then, well, it is a big world. Maybe America. Somewhere near the sea. Like California.”

Notice the punctuation and grammar that these two characters use when they speak.

There are many sentence fragments in this conversation like, “Anyplace where it’s easy to forget.” and “Somewhere near the sea.”

Babi often omits the verbs from his sentences, just like people do in real life. He speaks in short fragments instead of long, flowing paragraphs.

This dialogue shows who Babi is and feels similar to the way a real person would talk, while still remaining concise.

how to write realistic dialogue

Dialogue Example #3: How to Simplify Your Dialogue Tags

Here’s an example of effective dialogue tags in Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

In this passage, the narrator’s been caught exploring the forbidden west wing of her new husband’s house, and she’s trying to make excuses for being there.

“I lost my way,” I said, “I was trying to find my room.” “You have come to the opposite side of the house,” she said; “this is the west wing.” “Yes, I know,” I said. “Did you go into any of the rooms?” she asked me. “No,” I said. “No, I just opened a door, I did not go in. Everything was dark, covered up in dust sheets. I’m sorry. I did not mean to disturb anything. I expect you like to keep all this shut up.” “If you wish to open up the rooms I will have it done,” she said; “you have only to tell me. The rooms are all furnished, and can be used.” “Oh, no,” I said. “No. I did not mean you to think that.”

In this passage, the only dialogue tags Du Maurier uses are “I said,” “she said,” and “she asked.”

Even so, you can feel the narrator’s dread and nervousness. Her emotions are conveyed through what she actually says, rather than through the dialogue tags.

This is a splendid example of evocative speech that doesn’t need fancy dialogue tags to make it come to life.

Dialogue Example #4: How to Balance Speech with Action

Let’s look at a passage from The Princess Bride by William Goldman, where dialogue is melded with physical action.

With a smile the hunchback pushed the knife harder against Buttercup’s throat. It was about to bring blood. “If you wish her dead, by all means keep moving," Vizzini said. The man in black froze. “Better,” Vizzini nodded. No sound now beneath the moonlight. “I understand completely what you are trying to do,” the Sicilian said finally, “and I want it quite clear that I resent your behavior. You are trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen, and I think it quite ungentlemanly.” “Let me explain,” the man in black began, starting to edge forward. “You’re killing her!” the Sicilian screamed, shoving harder with the knife. A drop of blood appeared now at Buttercup’s throat, red against white.

In this passage, William Goldman brings our attention seamlessly from the action to the dialogue and back again.

This makes the scene twice as interesting, because we’re paying attention not just to what Vizzini and the man in black are saying, but also to what they’re doing.

This is a great way to keep tension high and move the plot forward.

Dialogue Example #5: How to Write Conversations with Subtext

This example from Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card shows how to write dialogue with subtext.

Here is the scene when Ender and his sister Valentine are reunited for the first time, after Ender’s spent most of his childhood away from home training to be a soldier.

Ender didn’t wave when she walked down the hill toward him, didn’t smile when she stepped onto the floating boat slip. But she knew that he was glad to see her, knew it because of the way his eyes never left her face. “You’re bigger than I remembered,” she said stupidly. “You too,” he said. “I also remembered that you were beautiful.” “Memory does play tricks on us.” “No. Your face is the same, but I don’t remember what beautiful means anymore. Come on. Let’s go out into the lake.”

In this scene, we can tell that Valentine missed her brother terribly, and that Ender went through a lot of trauma at Battle School, without either of them saying it outright.

The conversation could have started with Valentine saying “I missed you,” but instead, she goes for a subtler opening: “You’re bigger than I remembered.”

Similarly, Ender could say “You have no idea what I’ve been through,” but instead he says, “I don’t remember what beautiful means anymore.”

We can deduce what each of these characters is thinking and feeling from what they say and from what they leave unsaid.

Dialogue Example #6: How to Show, Not Tell

Let’s look at an example from The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. This scene is the story’s first introduction of the ancient creatures called the Chandrian.

“I didn’t know the Chandrian were demons,” the boy said. “I’d heard—” “They ain’t demons,” Jake said firmly. “They were the first six people to refuse Tehlu’s choice of the path, and he cursed them to wander the corners—” “Are you telling this story, Jacob Walker?” Cob said sharply. “Cause if you are, I’ll just let you get on with it.” The two men glared at each other for a long moment. Eventually Jake looked away, muttering something that could, conceivably, have been an apology. Cob turned back to the boy. “That’s the mystery of the Chandrian,” he explained. “Where do they come from? Where do they go after they’ve done their bloody deeds? Are they men who sold their souls? Demons? Spirits? No one knows.” Cob shot Jake a profoundly disdainful look. “Though every half-wit claims he knows...”

The three characters taking part in this conversation all know what the Chandrian are.

Imagine if Cob had said “As we all know, the Chandrian are mysterious demon-spirits.” We would feel like he was talking to us, not to the two other characters.

Instead, Rothfuss has all three characters try to explain their own understanding of what the Chandrian are, and then shoot each other’s explanations down.

When Cob reprimands Jake for interrupting him and then calls him a half-wit for claiming to know what he’s talking about, it feels like a realistic interaction.

This is a clever way for Rothfuss to introduce the Chandrian in a believable way.

how to show not tell

Dialogue Example #7: How to Keep Your Dialogue Concise

Here’s an example of concise dialogue from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.

“Do you blame me for flunking you, boy?” he said. “No, sir! I certainly don’t,” I said. I wished to hell he’d stop calling me “boy” all the time. He tried chucking my exam paper on the bed when he was through with it. Only, he missed again, naturally. I had to get up again and pick it up and put it on top of the Atlantic Monthly. It’s boring to do that every two minutes. “What would you have done in my place?” he said. “Tell the truth, boy.” Well, you could see he really felt pretty lousy about flunking me. So I shot the bull for a while. I told him I was a real moron, and all that stuff. I told him how I would’ve done exactly the same thing if I’d been in his place, and how most people didn’t appreciate how tough it is being a teacher. That kind of stuff. The old bull.

Here, the last paragraph diverges from the prior ones. After the teacher says “Tell the truth, boy,” the rest of the conversation is summarized, rather than shown.

The summary of what the narrator says in the last paragraph—“I told him I was a real moron, and all that stuff”—serves to hammer home that this is the type of “old bull” that the narrator has fed to his teachers over and over before.

It doesn’t need to be shown because it’s not important to the narrator—it’s just “all that stuff.”

Salinger could have written out the entire conversation in dialogue, but instead he kept the dialogue concise.

Final Words

Now you know how to write clear, effective dialogue! Start with the basic rules for dialogue and try implementing the more advanced tips as you go.

What are your favorite dialogue tips? Let us know in the comments below.

Do you know how to craft memorable, compelling characters? Download this free book now:

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Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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Tips on Writing Effective Dialogue

Don’t try too hard.

dialogue

As ornate and complex as your exposition might be, don’t over think the dialogue. Sure, you might have certain characters that speak in riddles, or use scientific terms frequently, whatever it is, it’s a quirk, not the norm. People generally speak very simply, very straight forward. So if all of your characters speak without contractions or only use words longer than eight letters, you might want to rethink things.

dialogue

Be real but don’t be boring.

Hellos, goodbyes, every day redundancies are implied. Don’t waste your time–or your reader’s–going through all the hellos, goodbyes, and I love yous. This applies to ums, uhs, likes, etc. No one wants to read that. These parts of speech have their place, absolutely, but don’t crowd your dialogue with them because you think it will sound more natural or authentic.

Punctuation is your friend.

It seems like no big deal, but punctuation can change the way a line reads. Its adds and takes away emphasis. First, you should know how to use your punctuation correctly, but once you have a good grasp, play around with it. Here’s an example: “Stop…” versus “Stop!” Moving commas and periods around changes the way a line reads just as much as ending punctuation does.   Here’s another example: “Get. Away. From. Me.” versus “Get away from me!” The use of periods between each word implies a very intentional force. The reader isn’t thinking these observations consciously in their mind, but they will read it differently if you change the punctuation.

Use Interruptions.

Go observe a conversation and take note of how many times someone interrupts someone else. It might seem rude, but that’s just how conversation works, it means all the parties involved are engaged in what’s happening. Characters can interrupt for an array of reasons including: disagreement with the speaker, a sense of urgency, feeling they already know what the character is going to say, excitement. The list goes on. Interruptions also keep your dialogue quick, and the reader will wonder how 50 pages flew by. Interruptions can additionally be useful for a change of subject, scene transition, and giving adequate “page time” to each of your characters. Interruptions can also be used to illustrate power dynamics, gender dynamics, age dynamics, you name it. The more characters you have, the more interruptions there should be.

There is such a thing as saying too much.

This is important both to the exposition and to action. It’s tempting to have your characters tell the audience the whole backstory. But it’s too convenient. Give your readers some credit, if you do it because it’s easy, they will know. Along the same lines, they don’t want to know everything all at once. Mystery is great. Your character might allude to events from their past but not outright state what they’re referring to: “Remember what happened to Dan last month?” “Oh, yes. Poor thing.” Your readers will keep reading to find out what happened to Dan, so down the line when you reveal what it is, they will feel satisfied, and hopefully, come to understand your story better in some way. You may also have your characters refer to a person or a place frequently, like, “The Lake” and every character knows what they’re talking about, but the reader doesn’t. Use that to your advantage. The easy guess is that “The Lake” is a lake, but what if it’s an underground fight club? That draws the reader in. As for action, it’s pretty simple. A character doesn’t need to say, “I’m going to cut the ham and make a sandwich” and then they cut the ham and make a sandwich. Actions speak louder than words.

Sometimes not saying something says it more clearly.

By this, I mean use subtext! Oftentimes people won’t say what they really mean, but they will imply it. A character might want to say “I love you,” but a lot of people are allergic to “I love you”. Instead, they might say, “I made you dinner.” It shows they care. Or maybe, “That song came on the radio today and it made me think of you.” Or, “Don’t leave, please.” The dialogue underneath is way more interesting than what is on the surface. In real life people hardly ever say what they mean, so why should your characters, right? When does, “Fine” ever mean fine? Not saying something can also apply to silence. Sometimes saying the wrong thing is great, but sometimes saying nothing is better.

Say it aloud.

It may sound dumb but do it. Just read your dialogue aloud to yourself (it’s actually beneficial to read all your writing aloud). The best way to tell if something sounds unnatural is to see how it feels in your mouth. Even better, have a friend read it aloud to you (or a tutor in the writing center!). Then you get to hear it and see if there are places where your reader stumbles or where something just isn’t working.

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  • https://www.valpo.edu/writingcenter/resources-for-students/handouts/writing-effective-dialogue/

dialogue in essays rules

Writing Dialogue: Really Useful Links by Lucy O’Callaghan

Lucy O'Callaghan

Lucy O’Callaghan

  • 22 February 2024

Writing dialogue is very different from how we speak it in real life. We don’t need to show the reader all the ‘Hi, how are you?’ We need to be more direct and concise. There are rules about writing and formatting dialogue, and I have included information about these below, but there are also other things to consider such as using the dialogue to show the reader your characters, driving momentum, and using action beats. I have put together some articles and podcasts that I hope you will find useful.

  • Writing Dialogue In Fiction: 7 Easy Steps – Jericho Writers

Speech gives life to stories. It breaks up long pages of action and description, gives us an insight into a character, and moves the action along. This article from Jericho Writers guides you through 7 simple steps for keeping your fictional chat fresh, relevant, and tight. These steps include avoiding unnecessary words, hitting beats and driving momentum, using dialogue to reveal character dynamics and emotion, and being careful with accents. Each rule is explained with examples. This is a very useful article.

  • How to Write Dialogue: 7 Steps for Great Conversation | Now Novel

Writing gripping conversations that include conflict and disagreement, and further your story will make readers want to read on. Now Novel shares 7 steps to writing better dialogue, including how to format dialogue, invoking the characters’ goals, fears, and desires, including subtext for subtle gestures and effects, and involving context for tone and atmosphere. The article expands on each step with clear examples.

  • How to Write Dialogue: Formatting, Examples, & Tips (self-publishingschool.com)

Self-Publishing School discusses some of the common and universal rules for writing dialogue in any genre. They might seem like common sense, but you’d be surprised by how many we get wrong. This article shows the writer the nitty gritty rules around writing dialogue and then moves on to discuss creating dialogue that’s realistic and effective. The article shares questions to ask yourself about your dialogue. It advises you to get rid of the small talk. Keep it brief and impactful- cut out everything that doesn’t immediately impact the scene. Give each character a unique way of speaking and be consistent with their voices. Self-publishing School also shares common dialogue mistakes to avoid including, using a person’s name repeatedly, and info dumping through dialogue.

  • How to Write Dialogue: 7 Great Tips for Writers (With Examples) (prowritingaid.com)

Great dialogue serves multiple purposes. It moves your plot forward. It develops your characters, and it makes the story more engaging. Like other articles I’ve shared, Prowriting Aid covers dialogue rules and how to format dialogue, before moving on to the more nuanced aspects of writing dialogue. These include creating character voices, writing realistic dialogue, simplifying your dialogue tags, balancing speech with action, writing conversations as the subtext, and showing, not telling. Examples from successful novels are shared that demonstrate each of the seven tips.

  • How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples] (reedsy.com)

This article from Reedsy tells us that writing dialogue is not just about quippy lines and dramatic pauses. It’s about propelling the story forward, pulling the reader along, and flashing out characters and their dynamics right in front of the readers. It shares 9 steps to writing great dialogue including, keeping to three dialogue beats, using action beats, adding variety to your dialogue scenes, and avoiding excessive exposition. Each step is demonstrated with examples. The article tells the writer that while writing dialogue can be intimidating, you shouldn’t let it stop you from including it in your work. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.

  • Writing Fiction. Improve Your Dialogue With James Scott Bell. Podcast Episode 190 | The Creative Penn

In this podcast episode from The Creative Penn, they discuss why dialogue is so important, how to learn about dialogue by listening and other techniques, weaving action into dialogue, and being aware of stereotypes in characters.

  • 19 Ways to Write Better Dialogue — Well-Storied.

The Well Storied podcast shares nineteen steps for writing better dialogue, beginning with ten tips for crafting richer, more nuanced conversations.

  • Episode 2 – Dialogue (castos.com)

This episode from The Creative Writer’s Toolbelt shares practical, accessible advice on using dialogue to develop character, build tension, and progress the plot of your story.

Dialogue in your story must earn its place. It must have a purpose for being there and push your story forward. When revising your dialogue ask yourself why it is there. Is it really necessary? As I mentioned earlier, dialogue in stories is not quite the same as in real life. We need to get to the point quicker and get on with the story, while at the same time sounding natural. Reading your dialogue out loud is one of the most effective ways to tell if it sounds realistic. Look at sections of dialogue in your story and practice rewriting them with the tips and advice shared in this week’s column. I hope you have found this column on writing dialogue useful. As always, if there are any topics you would like me to cover, please get in touch.

(c) Lucy O’Callaghan

Instagram: lucy.ocallaghan.31.

Facebook: @LucyCOCallaghan

Twitter: @LucyCOCallaghan

About the author

Writing since she was a child, Lucy penned her first story with her father called Arthur’s Arm, at the ripe old age of eight. She has been writing ever since. Inspired by her father’s love of the written word and her mother’s encouragement through a constant supply of wonderful stationary, she wrote short stories for her young children, which they subsequently illustrated. A self-confessed people watcher, stories that happen to real people have always fascinated her and this motivated her move to writing contemporary women’s fiction. Her writing has been described as pacy, human, moving and very real. Lucy has been part of a local writing group for over ten years and has taken creative writing classes with Paul McVeigh, Jamie O’Connell and Curtis Brown Creative. She truly found her tribe when she joined Writer’s Ink in May 2020. Experienced in beta reading and critiquing, she is currently editing and polishing her debut novel, The Lies Beneath – to be published by Poolbeg in April 2024. Follow her on Instagram: lucy.ocallaghan.31. Facebook and Twitter: @LucyCOCallaghan

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Last updated on Sep 21, 2023

How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples]

This post is written by author, editor, and bestselling ghostwriter Tom Bromley. He is the  instructor of Reedsy's 101-day course,  How to Write a Novel .

Good dialogue isn’t about quippy lines and dramatic pauses.

Good dialogue is about propelling the story forward, pulling the reader along, and fleshing out characters and their dynamics in front of readers. Well-written dialogue can take your story to a new level — you just have to unlock it.

In this article, I’ll break down the major steps of writing great dialogue, and provide exercises for you to practice your own dialogue on.

Here's how to write great dialogue in 9 steps:

1. Use quotation marks to signal speech

2. pace dialogue lines by three , 3. use action beats , 4. use ‘said’ as a dialogue tag  , 5. write scene-based dialogue, 6. model any talk on real life , 7. differentiate character voices, 8. "show, don't tell" information in conversation , 9. delete superfluous words, which dialogue tag are you.

Find out in just a minute.

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Alfred Hitchcock once said, “Drama is life with all the boring bits cut out.”

Similarly, I could say that good dialogue in a novel is a real conversation without all the fluff — and with quotation marks. 

Imagine, for instance, if every scene with dialogue in your novel started out with:

'Hey, buddy! How are you doing?"

“Great! How are you?""

'Great! Long time no see! Parking was a nightmare, wasn’t it?"

Firstly, from a technical perspective, the quotation marks are inconsistent and incorrectly formatted. To learn about the mechanics of your dialogue and how to format it, we also wrote this full post on the topic that I recommend reading.

Secondly, from a novel perspective, such lines don’t add anything to the story. And finally, from a reading perspective, your readers will not want to sit through this over and over again. Readers are smart: they can infer that all these civilities occur. Which means that you can skip the small talk (unless it’s important to the story) to get to the heart of the dialogue from the get-go.  

For a more tangible example of this technique, check out the dialogue-driven opening to Barbara Kingsolver's novel, Unsheltered .

Screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb once proposed an idea called the “Three-Beat Rule.” What this recommends, essentially, is to introduce a maximum of three dialogue “beats” (the short phrases in speech you can say without pausing for breath) at a time. Only after these three dialogue beats should you insert a dialogue tag, action beat, or another character’s speech.

Here’s an example from Jane Gardam’s short story, “Dangers”, in which the boy Jake is shooting an imaginary gun at his grandmother:

How to Write Dialogue | Example from Dangers by Jane Gardam

In theory, this sounds simple enough. In practice, however, it’s a bit more complicated than that, simply because dialogue conventions continue to change over time. There’s no way to condense “good dialogue” into a formula of three this, or two that. But if you’re just starting out and need a strict rule to help you along, then the Three-Beat Rule is a good place to begin experimenting.

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Let’s take a look at another kind of “beats” now — action beats.

Action beats are the descriptions of the expressions, movements, or even internal thoughts that accompany the speaker’s words. They’re always included in the same paragraph as the dialogue, so as to indicate that the person acting is also the person speaking.

On a technical level, action beats keep your writing varied, manage the pace of a dialogue-heavy scene, and break up the long list of lines ending in ‘he said’ or ‘she said’.

But on a character level, action beats are even more important because they can go a level deeper than dialogue and illustrate a character’s body language.

When we communicate, dialogue only forms a half of how we get across what we want to say. Body language is that missing half — which is why action beats are so important in visualizing a conversation, and can help you “show” rather than “tell” in writing.

Here’s a quick exercise to practice thinking about body language in the context of dialogue: imagine a short scene, where you are witnessing a conversation between two people from the opposite side of a restaurant or café. Because it’s noisy and you can’t hear what they are saying, describe the conversation through the use of body language only.

Remember, at the end of the day, action beats and spoken dialogue are partners in crime. These beats are a commonly used technique so you can find plenty of examples —  here’s one from  Never Let Me Go  by Kazuo Ishiguro . 

If there’s one golden rule in writing dialogue, it’s this: ‘said’ is your friend.

Yes, ‘said’ is nothing new. Yes, ‘said’ is used by all other authors out there already. But you know what? There’s a reason why ‘said’ is the king of dialogue tags: it works.

Pro-tip: While we cannot stress enough the importance of "said," sometimes you do need another dialogue tag. Download this free cheatsheet of 270+ other words for said to get yourself covered!

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Upgrade your dialogue with our list of 270 alternatives to “said.”

The thinking goes that ‘said’ is so unpretentious, so unassuming that it focuses readers’ attention on what’s most important on the page: the dialogue itself. As writer Elmore Leonard puts it: 

“Never use a verb other than ‘said’ to carry dialogue. The line of dialogue belongs to the character; the verb is the writer sticking his nose in. But ‘said’ is far less intrusive than ‘grumbled,’ ‘gasped,’ ‘cautioned,’ ‘lied.’”

It might be tempting at times to turn towards other words for ‘said’ such as ‘exclaimed,’ or ‘declared,’ but my general rule of thumb is that in 90% of scenarios, ‘said’ is going to be the most effective dialogue tag for you to use while writing dialogue.

So now that we have several guidelines in place, this is a good spot to pause, reflect, and say that there’s no wrong or right way to write dialogue. It depends on the demands of the scene, the characters, and the story. Great dialogue isn’t about following this or that rule — but rather learning what technique to use when . 

If you stick to one rule the whole time — i.e. if you only use ‘said,’ or you finish every dialogue line with an action beat — you’ll wear out readers. Let’s see how unnaturally it plays out in the example below with Sophie and Ethan: 

How to Write Dialogue | Example of Repetitive Dialogue Tags

All of which is to say: don’t be afraid to make exceptions to the rule if the scene asks for it. The key is to know when to switch up your dialogue structure or use of dialogue tags or action beats throughout a scene — and by extension, throughout your book.

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Dialogue isn’t always about writing grammatically perfect prose. The way a person speaks reflects the way a person is — and not all people are straight-A honor students who speak in impeccable English. In real life, the way people talk is fragmented, and punctuated by pauses.

That’s something that you should also keep in mind when you’re aiming to write authentic dialogue.

It can be tempting to think to yourself, “ Oh, I’ll try and slip in some exposition into my dialogue here to reveal important background information.” But if that results in an info-dump such as this — “ I’m just going to the well, Mother — the well that my brother, your son, tragically fell down five years ago ” — then you’ll probably want to take a step back and find a more organic, timely, and digestible way to incorporate that into your story.

How to Write Dialogue | Example from The Godfather

Kay Adams is Michael’s date at his sister’s wedding in this scene. Her interest in his family is natural enough that the expository conversation doesn’t feel shoehorned in. 

A distinctive voice for each character is perhaps the most important element to get right in dialogue. Just as no one person in the world talks the same as each other, no one person in your book should also talk similarly.

To get this part of writing dialogue down pat, you need to start out by knowing your characters inside out. How does your character talk? Do they come with verbal quirks? Non-verbal quirks?

Jay Gatsby’s “old sport,” for example, gives him a distinctive, recognizable voice. It stands out because no one else has something as memorable about their speech. But more than that, it reveals something valuable about Gatsby’s character: he’s trying to impersonates a gentleman in his speech and lifestyle.

Likewise, think carefully about your character’s voice, and use catchphrases and character quirks when they can say something about your character. 

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“Show, don’t tell” is one of the most oft-repeated rules in writing, and a conversation on the page can be a gold mine for “showing.”

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Authors can use action beats and descriptions to provide clues for readers to read between the lines. Let’s revisit Sophie and Ethan in this example:

How to Write Dialogue | Example of Show, Don't Tell

While Sophie claims she hasn’t been obsessing over this project all night, the actions in between her words indicate there’s nothing on her mind  but  work. The result is that you show , through the action beats vs. the dialogue, Sophie being hardworking—rather than telling it.

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As always when it comes to writing a novel: all roads lead back to The Edit, and the dialogue you’ve written is no exception.

So while you’re editing your novel at the end, you may find that a “less is more” mentality will be helpful. Remember to cut out the unnecessary bits of dialogue, so that you can focus on making sure the dialogue you  do  keep matters. Good writing is intentional and purposeful, always striving to keep the story going and readers engaged. The importance lies in quality rather than quantity. 

One point I haven’t addressed yet is repetition. If used well (i.e. with clear intention), repetition is a  literary device  that can help you build motifs in your writing. But when you find yourself repeating information in your dialogue, it might be a good time to revise your work. 

For instance, here’s a scene with Sophie and Ethan later on in the story: 

How to Write Dialogue | Example of Unnecessary Repetition

As I’ve mentioned before, good dialogue shows character — and dialogue itself is a playground where character dynamics play out. If you write and edit your dialogue with this in mind, then your dialogue will be sharper, cleaner, and more organic. 

I know that writing dialogue can be intimidating, especially if you don’t have much experience with it. But that should never keep you from including it in your work! Just remember that the more you practice — especially with the help of these tips — the better you’ll get.

And once you’re confident with the conversational content you can conjure up, follow along to the next part of our guide to see how you can punctuate and format your dialogue flawlessly .

Tom Bromley

As an editor and publisher, Tom has worked on several hundred titles, again including many prize-winners and international bestsellers. 

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How to Write Dialogue: Step-by-Step and Infographic

By Jarie Bolander

Download the Math of Storytelling Infographic

Learning how to write dialogue is an essential part of telling stories that work. Dialogue is a character’s verbal and non-verbal expression of what they are thinking and feeling. It’s through dialogue that other characters get a glimpse into what’s going on in each other’s minds. It’s also used to reveal to the reader those inner thoughts, feelings, and actions that want to come out. 

How to Write Dialogue: Step-by-Step and Infographic

Contrast that with narration, which describes the world in which the characters find themselves in as well as the inner thoughts of potentially some of the characters. It’s through the balance of Dialogue and Narration that the story reveals itself to the readers and characters.

Dialogue is the Yin to narration’s Yang. They both must be present and strengthen each other. Without clear, concise, and compelling dialogue, your character’s authentic self won’t shine through, the tension in your scenes won’t progressively complicate , and all that great narration will be for nothing.

Dialogue must always serve a purpose. It intensifies the action as well as organizes it so that the emotion that people feel in a situation builds up while the characters are processing what’s going on. This real-time processing is important to remember since it’s these beats of processing that build great dialogue.

Types of Dialogue

There are two types of dialogue to think about when you’re writing a story — inner and outer dialogues. Both are important to understand and use depending on the type of characters and the story you’re trying to tell.

Outer Dialogue

Outer dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters. This is the type that is the easiest to identify since the tags and markers are present and it feels like a conversation.

Inner Dialogue

This type of dialogue is when the character speaks to themselves and reveals parts of their personalities or unburdens their soul. Inner dialogue is usually written as a stream of consciousness or dramatic monologue or just thoughts. Sometimes italicized, sometimes not. Sometimes with attributions, sometimes not. The way that inner dialogue is rendered on the page will depend on the POV/Narrative Device choice.

A stream of consciousness type dialogue describes the flow of thoughts in the mind(s) of the character(s). It borders on narration in that there are no dialogue markers or tags per se. It’s usually obvious when it’s happening. 

Dialogue Lives at the Beat Level

A story has a nested structure with the smallest level being a beat . The story then builds up to scenes, sequences, acts, subplots, and finally the global story. For dialogue, it’s important to start at the beat level because the action and reaction that the character(s) are doing, based on the dialogue, will change as the scene moves from beat to beat. In the Story Grid universe, we use the Five Commandments of Story to build up these different story parts since they all nest together as you go from micro to macro.

A Quick Review of the Five Commandments of Story

The five commandments of story make up the component parts of a story. These commandments must be present at all levels for each component to work and move the story forward. Briefly, these five commandments are:

  • Inciting Incident : upsets the life balance of your lead protagonist(s). It must make them uncomfortably out of sync for good or for bad.
  • Progressive Complication(s): move the story forward (never backward) by making life more and more complicated for the protagonist(s). The stakes must progressively get higher and higher until the turning point progressive complication that shifts the life value and prompts the crisis.
  • Crisis: the point where the protagonist(s) must make a decision by answering the best bad choice or irreconcilable goods question such as: do I go in the cave or not? Or do I share my true feelings or not?
  • Climax: is the answer (the decision plus the action) to the question raised by a crisis.
  • Resolution: the results (good or bad) from the answer in the climax

For dialogue, we’ll look at a similar set of commandments or tasks inspired by Robert McKee later on. We’ll also explore a way to analyze dialogue using the tasks and a few other techniques. As we go along, you’ll see why it’s important to think, write, and analyze dialogue at the beat level to build up great scenes, sequences, acts, sub-plots, and finally the global story.

Three Functions of Dialogue

According to Robert McKee, in his book Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen , dialogue has three functions: Exposition, Characterization, and Action.

“Exposition is a literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters, or other elements of a work to the audience or readers. The word comes from the Latin language, and its literal meaning is ‘a showing forth.’ Exposition is crucial to any story, for without it nothing makes sense.” Literary Devices.net

This trick with exposition is that too much information is hard for our brains to process. That’s what gives rise to the exposition is ammunition recommendations all writers hear. A story needs exposition to drive the story forward yet too much will distract, especially in dialogue, from the pace and flow of the story. It’s these fictional or non-fictional facts of the set (character mindset) and setting (environment) that gives the reader what the characters are experiencing and reacting too. It’s important to pace and time your exposition to not reveal too much too soon. You also have to take great care and skill to make the details of the character come alive in unique and novel ways so you keep the reader interested, which leads to another tried and true piece of advice —  remember to show and not to tell.

Characterization

The sum of a character’s traits, values, behaviors, and beliefs. It’s how the author creates the character(s) in the reader’s mind. It’s through characterization that we can see and feel how the character(s) will react and interact.

What a character does — mental, physical, and verbal. Action reveals what cannot be understood otherwise or would sound awkward to describe. Again show don’t tell. The action is what keeps the story interesting and moving along.

Six Tasks of Dialogue

All dialogue must have a purpose and perform one of the three functions. Within these functions, a great beat of dialogue will complete these six tasks (taken from McKee’s Dialogue):

  • Express Inner Action (Essential Action in Story Grid terms)
  • Action/Reaction
  • Conveys Exposition
  • Unique Verbal Style

Let’s take a look at each one to see how they build up to great dialogue. For each, I’ll give an example of dialogue that completes the task from this wonderful article Ten Authors Who Write Great Dialogue .

Task #1: Express Inner Action

Each verbal expression requires an internal action to make it happen. These inner actions or essential action in Story Grid terms are how the character responds to the outside world’s stimulus as well as their own past experiences. The interaction of external stimulus and character subtext (past experiences) will create this inner action. This would be the essential action that the character wants to express or the goal they are trying to achieve. The example is from Douglas Adam’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy :

‘Drink up,’ said Ford, ‘you’ve got three pints to get through.’

‘Three pints?” said Arthur. ‘At lunchtime?’ 

The man next to Ford grinned and nodded happily. Ford ignored him. He said, ‘Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.’

‘Very deep,’ said Arthur, ‘you should send that in to the Reader’s Digest. They’ve got a page for people like you.’

‘Drink up.’

Ford’s goal is to get Arthur to ‘drink up’, for what reason we don’t know, but for this beat, it’s pretty clear.

Task #2: Action/Reaction

Once a character takes action, there will be a reaction. This action/reaction dance will lead to the ultimate turning point of the scene between the characters. As the tension in a scene builds from beat to beat, so should the dialogue. The dialogue should stir up the emotions of the characters so there will be a desire to express more and more extreme inner actions.

Let’s look again at the same example from Task #1. The Action/Reaction between Ford and Arthur escalates as Arthur complains that it’s too early to drink yet Ford prods him on by saying that ‘Time is an illusion. Lunchtime doubly so.’

Task #3: Conveys Exposition

What a character says, does not say, and how they say it will reveal exposition. The revealing of exposition in unique and novel ways is what separates good dialogue from great dialogue. For example, Judy Blume does this to great effect in this piece of dialogue from her book Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.

Nancy spoke to me as if she were my mother. ‘Margaret dear–you can’t possibly miss Laura Danker. The big blonde with the big you know whats!’

‘Oh, I noticed her right off,’ I said. ‘She’s very pretty.’

‘Pretty!’ Nancy snorted. ‘You be smart and stay away from her. She’s got a bad reputation.’

‘What do you mean?’ I asked.

‘My brother said she goes behind the A&P with him and Moose.’

‘And,’ Janie added, ‘she’s been wearing a bra since fourth grade and I bet she gets her period.’

To the teenage reader, the line ‘My brother said she goes behind the A&P with him and Moose’ says a lot about Laura Danker and why she has a bad reputation without saying what goes on behind the A&P.

Task #4: Unique Verbal Style

Each character will have a unique verbal style that they used to communicate their inner actions. This verbal style must be appropriate for the set and setting the characters find themselves in. This tone and tenor of their voice along with word choice (or lack of words) must be on theme for the character. The reader must say to themselves, “yeah, they would say that that way.” For this example, we’ll look at Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible.

With all due respect,’ my father said, ‘this is not the time or the place for that kind of business. Why don’t you sit down now, and announce your plans after I’ve finished with the sermon? Church is not the place to vote anyone in or out of public office.’

‘Church is the place for it,’ said Tata Ndu. ‘Ici, maintenant, we are making a vote for Jesus Christ in the office of personal God, Kilanga village.’

Father did not move for several seconds.

Tata Ndu looked at him quizzically. ‘Forgive me, I wonder if I have paralyzed you?’

Father found his voice at last. ‘You have not.’ 

Tata’s unique verbal style shows that English is his second language and as such, he means to not offend the priest giving the sermon. Equally unique is the priest that gives this dialogue the contrast it needs to know who is talking.

Task #5: Captivates

Dialogue must do work. It is not normal everyday speech. Great dialogue captivates the reader by being clear, concise, and compelling. There is no shoe leather or wasted words, movements, or expressions. It’s hyper speech in that, as the writer, you can think about every word. 

Looking at the example from Task #4, it’s clear that there is some tension between the characters. There are no wasted words in what Tata wants to accomplish and the tension between Tata and the priest is made more by Tata’s line ‘Forgive me, I wonder if I have paralyzed you?’

Task #6: Authentic

All dialogue must sound like the character would say it. Dialogue that falls flat or does no work will have readers saying “the character in the book would never say that.” An authentic character voice starts with a solid story and character design where the reader knows the character and will anticipate how they will express their inner/essential action. Inner/Essential action comes from a character’s authentic voice. For this task, we’ll look at some dialogue from Elmore Leonard’s Out of Sight:

‘You sure have a lot of shit in here. What’s all this stuff? Handcuffs, chains…What’s this can?’

‘For your breath,’ Karen said. ‘You could use it. Squirt some in your mouth.’

‘You devil, it’s Mace, huh? What’ve you got here, a billy? Use it on poor unfortunate offenders…Where’s your gun, your pistol?’

‘In my bag, in the car.’ She felt his hand slip from her arm to her hip and rest there and she said, ‘You know you don’t have a chance of making it. Guards are out here already, they’ll stop the car.’

‘They’re off in the cane by now chasing Cubans.’

His tone quiet, unhurried, and it surprised her.

‘I timed it to slip between the cracks, you might say. I was even gonna blow the whistle myself if I had to, send out the amber alert, get them running around in confusion for when I came out of the hole. Boy, it stunk in there.’

‘I believe it,’ Karen said. ‘You’ve ruined a thirty-five-hundred-dollar suit my dad gave me.’

She felt his hand move down her thigh, fingertips brushing her pantyhose, the way her skirt was pushed up.

‘I bet you look great in it, too. Tell me why in the world you ever became a federal marshal, Jesus. My experience with marshals, they’re all beefy guys, like your big-city dicks.’

‘The idea of going after guys like you,’ Karen said, ‘appealed to me.’

The man character in this dialogue is an outlaw who escaped from prison and would say and do what this character is doing. As for Karen, this bit of dialogue reveals a lot of exposition as well as the type of person a female federal marshal might be.

Five Stages of Talk (Dialogue)

All verbal action and behavior move through stages of steps to come to life. These stages go from desire to antagonism to choice to action to expression. For our purposes, we’re going to use these stages like the five commandments of story to ensure that as we analyze and write dialogue, we have an objective framework to apply (again from McKee’s Dialogue).

What the character wants to achieve in the scene or the essential action or the goal. Mostly, it’s to get back to a life balance that has been disrupted from the status quo or the character’s object of desire. Background desires will limit the character’s choice because they limit what the character will or will not do. More on background desires when we get into the analysis.

#2 Sense of Antagonism

What is preventing the character(s) from getting back to balance? What or who is in their way? The sense of antagonism is what the character is reacting to and is usually who they are dialoguing with.

#3 Choice of Action

The action the character wants to take to get to the desired scene intention based on their desires or inner actions. The choice of action has to be authentic to the character so that the series of possible actions or best bad choices make sense to the reader.

#4 Action/Reaction

The actual or literal action they take be it physical or verbal and the reaction that might occur. Desire is the source of action, and action is the source of dialogue. All are governed by the character’s subtext or past experiences. 

#5 Expression

The verbal action as dialogue coupled with any physical activity that might also express the actions of the character (e.g. narration of expression, physical act like screaming, stepping forward, clenching a fist, etc.). The expression must be authentic to the character and as such, the reaction to the expression by another character(s) will drive the action/reaction to the turning point, crisis, climax, and finally resolution.

Dialogue Analysis

Before we get to the mechanics of writing dialogue, let’s take a look at a framework to analyze existing dialogue so we can better understand its structure. This analysis framework consists of the following:

  • Character(s) Agenda + Voice (Macro)
  • Pre Beat/Scene Character(s) Subtext (Micro)
  • Five Stages of Talk (Micro)
  • Post Beat/Scene Character(s) Subtext (Micro)

The first item on this list operates at the macro-level (e.g. scene, sequence, etc) while the last three operate at the micro or beat level.

Character(s) Agenda/Subtext + Voice

Character subtext or past experiences are what drive the expression of dialogue since they are what generate the inner action. A character’s subtext, their authentic voice, and their abilities to manifest action will constrain their expression. These guardrails of expression are what have to be considered when writing character dialogue. This is why it’s vital to have a solid story structure and character studies to guide your character’s dialogue.

A character study is a description of the character that includes age, gender, physical appearance, internal and external struggles, quirks, etc. It’s a great way to ground a character’s dialogue since you want every word that comes out of a character’s mouth to be consistent with who they are and in their voice. It’s also their history along with character traits, values, beliefs, and skills that are the guardrails in which they can express their inner/essential actions. 

A character’s voice will also be unique to them. The more of a contrast in voice between characters, the more tension and the easier the reader can follow who is saying what. If characters have a similar voice (e.g. sound or act the same), it will be harder for readers to keep track. Of course, you can use tags and markers to set off who is talking but as the reader gets to know the characters, it should become extremely clear who the characters are based on what they say and do.

Pre Beat/Scene Character(s) Subtext

The character study above is a macro level synopsis of the traits, values, beliefs, quirks, and skills that a character has. All of these parameters may or may not come into play at the Pre Beat/Scene level since all characters arrive at a beat with a macro-history and micro-history. 

As I mentioned before, the macro history is the guardrails of their action or what will be in character for them to do while the micro-history what happened before the beat/scene they are about to come into. It’s these micro-histories that will shape how the character acts at the moment. For example, if the character comes to the beat tired or hungry, they will have a different action/reaction than if they were fed and well-rested.

Five Stages of Talk

Each beat of a scene should follow the five stages and build on each other. If one or more of the stages is missing or not as strong, the dialogue is not doing its job. Again, dialogue is not real-life speech and it must not meander or build up like people talk in real-life with all the um’s and likes and on the nose exposition that real-life speech can have when a person is trying to figure out what to say. For a character, the writer can bypass all that at the moment thinking to deliver what the character wants to say. Every word must be intentional and mean something to the characters and the story.

Post Beat/Scene Character(s) Subtext

After each beat, the character(s) subtext has changed in some way since their inner action has been expressed or some new exposition has been revealed. These new facts need to be considered for the next beat or scene since it’s the sum of the character(s) experiences. 

Dialogue Analysis Examples

Let’s take a look at a few examples of dialogue and how the analysis framework can be applied.

Example #1 — Fargo

For our first example, we’ll look at the movie Fargo that we analyzed on the Story Grid Roundtable Podcast. I picked this as the first one because it clearly shows the five tasks of dialogue as well as the pre and post beat subtext, which changes substantially from the start to the end of the scene. 

Character(s) Agenda + Voice: Carl and Gaear want to get to the hideout after kidnapping Jean. Carl is a highly-strung, talks too much know-it-all while Gaear is the strong/silent but deadly type.

Pre Beat Subtext: Kidnappers Carl and Gaear are taking their victim Jean to the hideout. They get pulled over on the highway for not having a license plate. Carl and Gaear want to deceive the trooper so he does not find Jean. This scene takes place at 0:27:33 after they get pulled over on the highway.

CARL: How can I help you, Officer?

TROOPER: Is this a new car then sir?

CARL: It certainly is, Officer. Still got that smell

TROOPER: You’re required to display temporary tags, either in the plate area or taped to the inside of the back window.

CARL: Certainly

TROOPER: Can I see your license and registration, please?

CARL: Certainly. Yeah, I was gonna tape up those … The tag. You know, to be in full compliance, but it must have [CARL shows a $50 to the TROOPER] … must have slipped my mind. So maybe the best thing to do would be to take care of that right here in Brainerd.

TROOPER: What’s this sir?

CARL: My license and registration. Yeah, I want to be in compliance. I was just thinking we could take care of it right here, in Brainerd.

TROOPER: Put that back in your pocket please, and step out of the car, please, sir.

[TROOPER hears Jean whimpering. Looks in the back and Gaear smashes his head then shoots him dead.]

CARL: “Whoa. Whoa, Daddy.”

Five Stages :

  • Desire: Carl wants to get to the hideout with Jean without being caught.
  • The Sense of Antagonism: The Trooper.
  • Choice of Action: Carl tries to talk his way out of the trooper sniffing around by hinting at a bribe.
  • Action/Reaction: Carl presents his wallet with a $50 sticking out of it. The Trooper senses the bribe and asks Carl to “put that back in your wallet and get out of the car.”
  • Expression: Carl looks at Gaear, wondering what to do. Gaear smashes the cop against the car and shoots him dead.

Post Beat Subtext: Gaear killed the trooper and now they need to take care of the body and get out of there quickly. Carl is clearly upset about what happened and now knows, more than before, that Gaear is a psychopath.

Example #2 — Pride & Prejudice

Jane Austin’s Pride & Prejudice is the masterwork in the Love > Courtship genre. Her use of dialogue makes the story flow and gives great scenes like the one below between Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Bennet.

Character(s) Agenda + Voice : Mrs. Bennet wants to marry off one of her daughters to Mr. Bingley. Mrs. Bennet is quite excitable so her voice is high pitched and fast. Mr. Bennet is a serious man but loves to give his wife a hard time since he knows that she’s a gossip.

Pre Beat Subtext : We are introduced to three of the Bennet sisters and how obsessed Mrs. Bennet is with marrying them off to good men so the family can be taken care of.

Dialogue : 

“What is his name?”

“Is he married or single?”

“Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!”

“How so? How can it affect them?”

“My dear Mr Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.”

“Is that his design in settling here?”

“Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.”

Five Stages:

  • Desire: Mrs. Bennet wants to know more about Mr. Bingley for her daughters.
  • The Sense of Antagonism: Mr. Bennet’s apathy to doing so
  • Choice of Action: Mrs. Bennet wants to know as much as she can about Mr. Bingley
  • Action/Reaction: Mrs. Bennet tells Mr. Bennet that she is thinking that Mr. Bingley would be a good match for one of her daughters. Mr. Bennet is skeptical.
  • Expression: Mrs. Bennet wants Mr. Bennet to inquire right away and is adamant about him doing it quickly.

Post Beat Subtext : Mr. Bennet will be pestered by Mrs. Bennet until he goes for a visit to inquire about Mr. Bingley’s status.

How to Format Dialogue

The rules for formatting dialogue are straightforward for 90% or so of the dialogue you’ll write. It’s best to start with the simple and expand as you get better at writing dialogue. There are two formats to consider when writing dialogue — what tag or markers to use and proper punctuation.

Dialogue Tags

A dialogue tag is a small phrase either before, after, or in between the actual dialogue itself to communicate attribution of the dialogue (e.g. who is speaking). The most common tags are said and asked with the most common placement being after the dialogue as in:

“Can you come here?” Jane asked. “I’m on my way,” Jack said.

There is some debate as to the types of tags or a variety of tags that should be used. This centers around whether adding the actions to the characters as opposed to adding the narration after the tag as follows:

“Can you come here?” Jane yelled from the other room. “I’m on my way,” Jack shouted back.

Compare that to:

“Can you come here?” Jane asked. Her voice echoed as she yelled from her home office, which was added last summer. “I’m on my way,” Jack said. His low baritone rattled the windows in Jane’s office.

I don’t think there is any right answer to what to do but I would add that it will depend a lot on what type of pace you want your dialogue to take.

For rapid-fire dialogue, the amount of complexity in the tags and narration will slow it down but also can reveal exposition about the characters as illustrated in the last example.

The set and setting of where the dialogue takes place will affect the tone and tenor between the characters. These variables affect the pace and the variety of pace in a story makes it more interesting and engaging. We’ll talk more about that in how to write captivating dialogue.

Punctuation

Dialogue punctuation rules are simple. There are two parts that need to be punctuated: the actual dialogue, which identifies the words spoken, and the dialogue tag, which identifies who is speaking. The basic rules of dialogue punctuation are as follows:

  • Surround your dialogue with quote marks and add a comma before closing the quotes if you’re using tags.
  • Create a new paragraph for new speakers.
  • Put periods inside of quotation marks when not using dialogue tags.

These basic rules should get you most of the way to properly formatted dialogue. This excellent post from Thinkwritten will get you the rest of the way.

How to Write Dialogue That Captivates Readers

Captivating dialogue is effortless for the reader to read and digest. It never gets in the way, always feels natural, and is in the authentic voice of the character. In order to do that, we’ll apply the captivating dialogue framework to write the dialogue and if needed, we follow that up with the analysis. Not all dialogue you write will require analysis so don’t feel like you have to look at every single beat of dialogue. Rather, save the analysis method for when you’re stuck or the dialogue is not working.

Captivating Dialogue Creation Framework

At the Story Grid, we like frameworks and objective ways to craft stories. For us, this is the best way to have a consistent process of creation, where if we follow the process, we have a better shot at creating a story that works. The same goes for dialogue.

The importance of this process-driven methodology comes to light when a story or beat of dialogue has problems. Since we rely on objective measures, usually we can pinpoint the problem and provide a solution. For dialogue, I propose the following framework:

  • Genre Specific Conventions, Scenes, Tropes, and Styles
  • Character Studies + Annoying Quirks + Authentic Voice
  • Ramp up Conflict + Tension
  • Weave Subtext using Exposition
  • Balance Dialogue/Narration for Pace
  • Read it Aloud
  • Analysis when needed

#1 Genre Specific Conventions, Scenes, Tropes, and Styles

All writers need to pick a genre. Genre selection will then lead to the conventions, obligatory scenes, tropes, and styles that readers of the genre are expecting. This list of requirements allows the writer to already have scenes and tropes that will give hints for great dialogue.

For example, if your story is in the Love > Courtship genre, then one of the Obligatory Scenes is when the lovers meet — you can’t have a love story without lovers. The dialogue between the lovers needs to convey some form of either interest or hate or a combination of both. When they talk about the potential suitor to others, the exposition of interest or annoyance or lust comes through in the dialogue. Or in contrast between inner and outer dialogue: what they say to others versus what they admit to themselves. Much of this will depend on the POV you’re using.

In terms of scene tropes, any Crime story usually has a scene in a police car or station house. The words the police use will be in a certain style and readers will expect the good cop/bad cop or a police car ride or an integration scene trope.

#2 Character Studies + Annoying Quirks + Authentic Voice

Once you have settled on your genre, you’ll need to figure out the characters in your story. For convenience, we’ll assume that all stories will have at least a victim, a villain (antagonist), and a hero (protagonist). These three characters will clearly talk to each other at some point and need to have enough of a difference so that it’s clear who is talking even without dialogue tags.

A quick character study of a few paragraphs describing the character along with some character-specific quirks will set the tone for how they speak. It’s always a good idea to have character quirks that annoy other characters so that the tension is built into every interaction. 

For example, in the Fargo scene we looked at before, Carl and Gaear have quirks that get on each other’s nerves. Carl talks too much. He thinks he’s the smartest of the two. Gaear is quiet and reserved but will resort to violence when he is annoyed. This makes Carl nervous so he talks more thus annoying Gaear even more. As the movie progresses (spoiler alert), Carl annoys Gaear to the point where Gaear shoots and kills him. Talk about ramping up the conflict + tension.

#3 Ramp up Conflict + Tension

Dialogue should moderate the pace of the story and the best way to do that is to ramp up the conflict and tension between characters. All dialogue should perform the six tasks and conflict is the best way to accomplish that.

The true nature of a character (and frankly people in real life) are revealed under stress and strain. The inner action that’s under control one minute will suddenly explore out when the conflict or tension is ramped up. Great dialogue will masterfully “power of ten” the conflict and tension to a crisis and climax that will surprise and delight the reader (or viewer).

Another way to think of this conflict and tension ramp is to imagine you’re a director of a movie. The actors are in the scene and you’re trying to visually capture the energy of the scene. At your disposal is the shots the camera can get. Wide shots. Narrow shots. Split shots. Out of focus shots. All of these pieces of the scene can be used to reveal what the characters are doing. The same goes for written dialogue.

Being able to “move the shot” around in your dialogue will give different ways to ramp up the conflict or change the pace. Being specific about a certain detail or use of a word or even a group of people off in the distance can make a difference. That’s what’s done in this Die Hard Scene. Image how you would write this into a script or novel:

HAN GRUBER: [On the radio] You are most troublesome for a security guard.

JOHN MCLANE: [Imitates buzzer] Sorry, Hans. Wrong guess. Would you like to go for double jeopardy where the scores can really change?

HANS GRUBER: Who are you, then?

JOHN MCLANE: Just a fly in the ointment, Hans. A monkey in the wretch. A pain in the ass.

It’s a simple exchange but it ramps up the tension and also reveals John’s character, Han’s character and the exposition that John is going to cause all sorts of trouble for Hans. We don’t know how yet and that’s what makes us want to keep watching.

#4 Weave Subtext using Exposition

When characters are under stress and strain, it’s easier for them to reveal hidden secrets or details that they might not want to reveal. It’s these “oops” moments or a reflective moment that makes great dialogue. These moments are what is meant by using exposition as ammunition to reveal character quirks, subtext, and story details.

The challenge is to not make the exposition reveal too obvious or boring or “on the nose.” That type of dialogue will distract the reader from the story and harms the flow of the story. As an example, look at this passage from Little Red Riding Hood to see how exposition is used to reveal story details.

“You will need to wear the best red cloak I gave you,” the mother said to her daughter. “And be very careful as you walk to grandmother’s house. Don’t veer off the forest path, and don’t talk to any strangers. And be sure to look out for the big bad wolf!”

“Is grandmother very sick?” the young girl asked.

“‘She will be much better after she sees your beautiful face and eats the treats in your basket, my dear.”

“I am not afraid, Mother,” the young girl answered. “I have walked the path many times. The wolf does not frighten me.”

This beat of dialogue foreshadows what is to come and while maybe not as subtle as it could be, it gives the reader the necessary background to create tension as the girl sets off to grandma’s house.

#5 Balance Dialogue/Narration for Pace

Dialogue does not live in a vacuum. It needs narration to give subtext, explain the physical world, and to set up the situations our characters find themselves in. While there are no hard fast rules on the split between dialogue text and narration text, I did a brief study of 14 books from Project Gutenberg . See below for the statistics.

dialogue in essays rules

A perfect split between dialogue words and narration words would be 50%. Anything below 50% would be more narration. Anything above 50% would be more dialogue. As you can see from the sample, there tends to be, on average, more narration than dialogue. This intuitively makes sense since narration sets up dialogue and most dialogue uses tags or markers to set it off. My guess is that the Dialogue/Narration ratio will depend on the genre, so take these numbers as such.

Another consideration on the Dialogue/Narration spectrum is the pace of the story. In general, the more narration in a scene, the slower the pace while more dialogue will tend to make the pace faster. That’s one of the reasons that dialogue is not real-life speech. It is stylized speech in which the author, through the characters, has a purpose for each word. When dialogue hits its mark, the pace of the story quickens because all of the sub-text, narration setup, and stylization reveals the character(s) inner action in the least amount of words.

When writing dialogue, it’s good to mix up the dialogue/narration ratio so that the reader can feel the pace quicken or take a break to internalize and synthesize what just happened. This variety in dialogue will keep readers interested and yearning to find out what happens next since story is about change and the way a story changes should be varied.

#6 Read it Aloud

Nothing gives you a better sense of the tone, tenor, and pace of dialogue like reading aloud, preferably in each character’s unique voice and accent (if present). Reading dialogue aloud will connect the words on the page with the processing in your brain. What I mean by this is that when you verbalize dialogue, your attention is heightened because you have to read then speak. That’s a different pathway than the normal shortcuts most people take while reading, skipping connector words or full-on sentences.

#7 Analysis When Needed

Not all of the dialogue you write will need a detailed analysis discussed above. My guess is that the more dialogue you write, the better you’ll naturally ask yourself the important questions about raising the conflict by power of ten, revealing exposition, keeping a consistent character voice, and distilling the words characters say into tight interactions.

If you do get stuck, then doing the analysis will get you unstuck. Remember that dialogue that’s not working is usually rooted in a fundamental story problem and my guess is that the analysis will reveal an underlying story problem that will need to be fixed.

Pitfalls to Look Out For

Most dialogue pitfalls come from not setting up the subtext enough so that the characters can express their inner action in their authentic voice. Usually, it’s obvious when the exchange is read aloud but sometimes the writer can get so consumed with the process that even an aloud read can’t find it.

The analysis framework will likely catch any problem but as I mentioned before, it can be cumbersome to apply to all your beats of dialogue. That’s why I have come up with a couple of spot checks for your dialogue to quickly catch the majority of the pitfalls that writers run into.

  • Confusion on Who’s Talking : This is especially problematic with more than two people talking. Use the tags liberally to get the flow and then fine-tune in later drafts.
  • Cursing : Too much cursing takes away from the power of the words and will bore the reader. That does not mean that a well-placed f-bomb will not hit the mark.
  • Improper use of Period Speech/Mixing of Speech: If you’re writing period pieces, then getting the words right matters.
  • Misusing Humor: Humor is hard to write and should be used sparingly unless you’re writing a comedy. Pay particular attention to jokes that are meant to break the tension since those are the hardest.
  • Variety of Dialogue Tags : Don’t get carried away with having to mix up different dialogue tags. When in doubt, use said and asked. Having too many different dialogue tags can wear out the reader.
  • On the Nose Dialogue: Avoid stating the obvious or what the characters already know. This is the classic telling problem where the action of the character is more important than them telling the other character what they are doing.

Your best tool for catching dialogue problems will be reading it aloud over and over again so that you get the tone and tenor of the character’s authentic voice down cold. It’s also good practice to step away from the dialogue so you can look at it fresh after doing something completely different.

Dialogue Writing Prompts

The framework above is a good way to create dialogue once you have an idea. Sometimes, those ideas are hard to come by. That’s why having a few go-to writing prompts will make the creation process a little easier. The best resource I found for prompts comes from Daily Writing Tips and their post 70 Dialogue Writing Prompts . At the end of the post, they also have a list of additional resources for even more prompts. The ones I have listed below are a sample of what Daily Writing Tips has as well as the other resources. The sources are denoted in brackets.

  • “Ma’am, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news. Please, sit down.” [Daily Writing Tips]
  • “This is going to be way harder than we thought.” [Daily Writing Tips]
  • “Oh man, I’ve had the worst day ever.” [Daily Writing Tips]
  • “You must have misheard me.” [Daily Writing Tips]
  • “If you could just set it down – very slowly – and then back away.” [Daily Writing Tips]
  • “Do you maybe think, in retrospect, that this was a terrible idea?” [Daily Writing Tips]
  • “I’m so sick of all this gloom and doom. Why can’t people just be happy?” [ Marylee McDonald ]
  • “You’re going in there right now and apologize.” [Marylee McDonald]
  • “I’m asking because I’ve seen the way you look at me.” [ A Cure for Writer’s Block ]
  • “Will you stay the night?” [A Cure for Writer’s Block]
  • “I want to spend the little time I have left with you and only you.” [A Cure for Writer’s Block]
  • “Sometimes, being a complete nerd comes in handy.” [ Chrmdpoet ]
  • “How much of that did you hear?” [Chrmdpoet]
  • “People are staring.” [Chrmdpoet]

Hopefully, you won’t need to use too many prompts. Again, dialogue problems are usually story problems so if your story structure and character design is solid, then your dialogue should follow. If you get stuck and can’t figure a way out, then read one of the masterworks in your genre for inspiration. Chances are, those stories will inspire you and get you past your block. 

The Golden Rule of Dialogue

Dialogue problems are story problems. If you feel that your dialogue is weak or lackluster, chances are, your story fundamentals are not in place. Luckily, you’re reading this on the Story Grid and we can help.

The Story Grid is a framework for telling better stories. It exists to help writers objectively evaluate their stories to see what’s working and what’s not. The best place to start is the editor’s six core questions and the five commandments of story . These macro and micro tools will give you some keen insights into where your dialogue problems are coming from.

If you’re like me, then most of your dialogue problems will come from not setting up scenes properly (five commandments), character development (wants and needs), and moving the story forward (conventions and obligatory scenes).

Clear, concise, and compelling dialogue is achievable the same way you write a great story — by starting out with a clear, concise, and compelling framework. A framework like the Story Grid can help give you objective measures of how well your story works so you can learn how to write dialogue that flows naturally from your character’s authentic voice.

Special thanks to Kim Kessler for reviewing this post and providing some great feedback.

  • Robert McKee: Dialogue: The Art of Verbal Action for Page, Stage, and Screen
  • James Scott Bell: How to Write Dazzling Dialogue
  • Marcy Kennedy: A Busy Writer’s Guide to Dialogue
  • Sammie Justesen: Dialogue for Writers

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Jarie Bolander

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How to Have More Meaningful Conversations

Communication heads

T hink, for a moment, about who you would call if you were having a bad day. If you’d screwed up a deal at work, or gotten into an argument with your spouse, or were feeling frustrated and sick of it all: Who would you want to talk to? There’s probably someone you know will make you feel better, who can help you think through a thorny question, or share a moment of heartbreak or joy.

That person, for you, is what I like to call a “supercommunicator” (and odds are, for them, you are a supercommunicator, too.) All of us, at times, achieve moments of supercommunication. But there are some people who are supercommunicators much more consistently—they know how to connect with nearly anyone, to make conversations easier, to make us feel like we’ve really been heard. We all know supercommunicators: They’re the people everyone seems to know, the ones likely to be elected to positions of authority, the folks others turn to when they need to discuss something serious or ask for advice.

Over the past three years, I’ve explored the research behind supercommunication, and encountered important lessons. Most notably, we’re not born knowing how to communicate effectively. Rather, communication is a set of skills that nearly anyone can learn. Supercommunicators aren’t inherently more charismatic or extroverted. Rather, they just think about communication a little bit harder, and have mastered the tools that allow them to connect.

Read More: Charles Duhigg on Changing Your Habits

So what, exactly, are those supercommunicators doing that makes you feel so good?

There’s a number of skills they’ve mastered. Research shows that supercommunicators ask 10 to 20 times as many questions as the average person—but many of those questions ( “What did you think about that?” “What did you say next?” ) hardly register, except to make us feel like someone is listening. Other questions—what are known as “deep questions”—ask people to describe their beliefs, values, and experiences in ways that reveal something about themselves beyond the simple facts of their lives. (“How’d you decide to become a lawyer?” “What was it like growing up in a small town?”)

Supercommunicators are also good at reading the room: When a conversation gets stuck, they make it easy for everyone to take a quick break by bringing up a new topic or interrupting an awkward silence with a small joke.

What’s more, supercommunicators often engage in a process known as looping for understanding , which encourages everyone, including themselves, to listen more closely. Looping has three steps: Ask a question; repeat back what you heard in your own words; and then ask if you got it right. This is powerful because one of the strongest human impulses is social mimicry . If someone starts asking questions and looping their companions, everyone else becomes more likely to ask questions, listen closely, and loop in return.

All these skills have something important in common: they allow supercommunicators to show their companions they want to connect.

Take, for instance, laughter. Studies show that roughly 80% of the time, when we laugh, it is not in reaction to anything funny. Rather, we laugh in response to something banal—“Are we finally going to dinner?” — in order to show that we want to connect with someone. And when they laugh back—the most natural reaction—they are showing us they want to connect with us, as well.

The same thing happens with other forms of non-linguistic communication. When someone frowns, or their voice goes quiet and intimate, we have an instinct to mimic them, to apply what is known within psychology as the Matching Principle of Communication. Supercommunicators listen to those instincts and nurture those urges, because they know that when we match someone, we show them we want to listen—and they, in return, become more willing to listen to, and trust, us.

The truth is, anyone can become a supercommunicator. We can all learn to hear more clearly, to speak so we’re easier to understand, to connect on a deeper level. And, today, learning to have meaningful conversations is, in some ways, more urgent than ever before. It’s no secret the world has become increasingly polarized, that we struggle to hear and be heard. If we know how to sit down together and listen, then, even if we can’t resolve every disagreement, we can find ways to coexist and thrive.

When we show each other that we want to connect—by asking questions, looping for understanding, and matching people when they become emotional, practical, or when the discussion goes in an unexpected direction—we usually find something we have in common, something we can build on to form a real relationship.

Every meaningful conversation is made up of countless small choices. There are fleeting moments when the right deep question, or a vulnerable admission, or a kind word can completely change a dialogue. A silent laugh, a barely audible sigh, a friendly expression during a tense moment: Some people have learned to spot these opportunities, to detect what kind of discussion is occurring, to understand what others really want. They have learned how to hear what’s unsaid and speak so others want to listen. And that’s important, because the right conversation, at the right moment, can change everything.

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Raisina Dialogue 2024: Strengthening partnership with India should be cornerstone of Europe's foreign policy, says Greek PM Mitsotakis

In an address at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue, Mitsotakis described the conflict in Ukraine as much more than a “local war on European soil” and that it is a “brutal challenge” to international stability and the rules-based order that India has supported.

Raisina Dialogue 2024: Strengthening partnership with India should be cornerstone of Europe's foreign policy, says Greek PM Mitsotakis

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis emphasised the significance of India as a crucial ally in the pursuit of global peace and security during his address at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue on Wednesday.

Mitsotakis advocated for strengthening the partnership between Europe and India, suggesting that it should be the cornerstone of Europe’s foreign policy.

Describing the conflict in Ukraine as much more than a “local war on European soil” Mitsotakis in an address at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue said that it is a “brutal challenge” to international stability and the rules-based order that India has supported.

#WATCH | At the ninth Raisina Dialogue in Delhi, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says "India is the world's fastest big economy. Greece has over the past years enjoyed some of the fastest growth rates of any European country. Mutual investment is a major goal of our… pic.twitter.com/WJ49P8lJVi — ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2024

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, foreign ministers from a number of countries and a galaxy of strategic affairs experts and academicians attended the session.

When it comes to shaping global debates and addressing great challenges, India is now often regarded, and rightly so, as a consensus builder and a voice of reason in an increasingly polarised world, the Greek prime minister said.

“Today, India is a great power on the world stage and an important ally in pursuit of peace and security – a rising force at the heart of G20 and a leading player in the fight against climate change,” said Mitsotakis, the chief guest at the Raisina Dialogue.

“Strengthening our partnership with India should be the cornerstone of Europe’s foreign policy and this is certainly true for my country,” he said.

Highlighting the significance of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), Mitsotakis said Greece is sitting right at the centre of it.“We are your natural doorstep to Europe and beyond,” he said, calling the IMEC as a “peace project”.

“The war in Gaza and the turmoil in the Middle East are undoubtedly destabilising but it has not undermined the profound and powerful logic behind the IMEC,” he said, noting that the stakeholders in the project must work tirelessly to implement the project.

“The IMEC is a peace project which can bring peace and prosperity,” Mitsotakis said. On Ukraine, the Greek leader said it is not a local war on European soil.“Ukraine is much more than a local war on European soil. It is a brutal challenge to international stability and the international rules-based order that India has supported and has every interest in maintaining it,” he said.

“We all have a responsibility to use the power we have on the international stage and none of us can afford to sit on the sidelines,” he said.“I am convinced in Ukraine, India has an important role to play. It has a voice that should be heard. Our common humanity and interconnectedness are inescapable…the Hindu scriptures put it so powerfully that the World is One Family,” Mitsotakis said.

Delving into major geopolitical challenges, he said the Indo-Pacific is a major area of focus for the European Union. The Greek leader also talked about challenges facing democracies and democratic values.

Society functions best when all its citizens are equal and have the right to share in the running of the state, he said.“We must, if necessary, own up to our mistakes, but above all we must listen to each other with mutual respect and without preaching or exhibiting any sense of moral superiority,” he said.

Democracy can work best if all our citizens have the information they need to make informed decisions in the ballot boxes, he said. On India-Greece ties, Mitsotakis said good progress has been made.“We are at a unique moment of mutually beneficial opportunities – one in which Greece, given its geographic, cultural and strategic proximity, can act as an interlocutor between India and Europe and even between Global North and Global South as well as between East and West,” he said.

The Raisina Dialogue is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geo-strategy. The theme of the three-day conference is “Chaturanga: Conflict, Contest, Cooperate, Create”.

With inputs from PTI.

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With Everything on the Line, Fani Willis Delivered Raw Testimony

Ms. Willis, the district attorney overseeing the Georgia prosecution of Donald J. Trump, searingly refuted allegations that she had a disqualifying conflict of interest.

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Ms. Willis, in a magenta dress, speaks from the witness stand as Judge Scott McAfee looks on from the bench.

By Richard Fausset

Reporting from Atlanta

Fani T. Willis walked unaccompanied through the front door of a Fulton County courtroom on Thursday afternoon in a bright magenta dress and announced she was ready to testify. She was interrupting her lawyer, who at that very moment was trying to convince a judge that she should not have to testify at all.

“I’m going to go,” Ms. Willis said.

And so she did.

For roughly three hours on Thursday, Ms. Willis, the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., engaged in the fight of her life from the witness stand to try to salvage the case of her life, the prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump.

In a raw performance, Ms. Willis, 52, presented herself as a woman in full — by turns combative and serene, focused and discursive (at one point she declared her preference for Grey Goose vodka over wine). Her language toggled between casual (a thousand dollars was “a G”) and precise: On numerous occasions, she prefaced her statements with variations on the phrase, “I want to be very clear.”

She upbraided Ashleigh Merchant, one of the defense lawyers questioning her, alleging that Ms. Merchant’s court filings — which accused Ms. Willis of having a disqualifying conflict of interest stemming from a romantic relationship with Nathan J. Wade, the special prosecutor on the case — were full of lies. At one point her voice approached a yell, prompting Scott McAfee, the mild-mannered judge, to call a five-minute recess in an apparent effort to cool things down.

Georgia Prosecutor Fani Willis Delivers Tense Testimony

The fulton county district attorney, who is overseeing the state’s prosecution of donald j. trump, was combative and accused the defense of spreading lies..

“You and Mr. Wade met in October 2019 at a conference?” “That is correct, and I think in one of your motions you tried to implicate I slept with him at that conference, which I find to be extremely offensive.” “Your office objected to us getting Delta records for flights that you may have taken when Mr. Wade.” “Well, no, no, no, look. I object to you getting records. You’ve been intrusive into people’s personal lives. You’re confused. You think I’m on trial. These people are on trial for trying to steal an election in 2020. I’m not on trial no matter how hard you try to put me on trial. It’s interesting that we’re here about this money. Mr. Wade is used to women that, as he told me one time, the only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich. We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal. I don’t need anything from a man. A man is not a plan. A man is a companion. And so there was tension always in our relationship, which is why I would give him his money back. I don’t need anybody to foot my bills. The only man who’s ever foot my bills completely is my daddy.” “Mr. Wade visit you at the place you laid your head.” “When?” “Has he ever visited you at the place you laid your head?” “So let’s be clear, because you’ve lied and this – Let me tell you which one you lied in. Right here. I think you lied right here. No, no, no, no. This is the truth. And it is a lie. It is a lie.” “Ms. Willis.” “Mr. Sadow, thank you. We’re going to take five minutes. Be back in five.”

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Elsewhere, Ms. Willis chided Mr. Trump’s lawyer, Steven Sadow, when he asked if she had been in contact with Mr. Wade in 2020. Noting that Mr. Wade had cancer at the time, she said, “I am not going to emasculate a Black man.”

She spoke of giving Mr. Wade a trip to Belize for his 50th birthday — earlier in the day, Ms. Merchant had asked Mr. Wade about the couple visiting a tattoo parlor there. She also admitted, in a digression that the lawyers’ questions did not seem to prompt, that she thought Mr. Wade had a sexist view of the world, and said it was the reason they broke up last summer.

“Mr. Wade is used to women that, uh, as he told me one time: The only thing a woman can do for him is make him a sandwich,” she said. “We would have brutal arguments about the fact that I am your equal. I don’t need anything from a man, a man is not a plan, a man is a companion.”

Her testimony unfurled in a courtroom that crackled with dramatic tension, and a peculiar mix of dread and titillation over the fact that a criminal case against a former president had taken a bizarre detour into a melodrama centered around questions about two prosecutors’ love lives — questions that Ms. Willis insists should have never been publicly aired in the first place.

The veteran prosecutor has been put on the defensive in the criminal election interference case she is leading against Mr. Trump and his supporters. Lawyers for Mr. Trump and his co-defendants say she has an untenable conflict of interest because she hired Mr. Wade to manage the case after their relationship began, and then went on fancy vacations with him that he paid for, at least in part.

The accusation that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had been romantically involved was first lodged on Jan. 8 in a court filing by Ms. Merchant, a lawyer for Michael Roman, a co-defendant of Mr. Trump who once worked for his campaign. Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade did not directly respond to the allegations for nearly a month, though they eventually did so in their own legal filing.

Ms. Willis’s performance Thursday was a different kind of response — shot through with pride, hurt and blustery verbal jousts. It was the antithesis of the buttoned-up approach taken by Jack Smith, the laconic special counsel leading the two federal criminal cases against Mr. Trump. And it was pitched not only to Judge McAfee, who will determine whether she should be able to keep the case, but also to the Fulton County voters who will decide whether to re-elect her later this year — and who would make up a jury in the case.

She may have also been speaking to a nation that is now entertaining doubts about the validity of her prosecution.

Whether her efforts will succeed is one of a number of questions left unanswered by Thursday’s hearing. Earlier in the day, a former friend and employee of Ms. Willis’s, Robin Bryant Yeartie, testified against her will, via videoconference, saying that Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade had begun their relationship before Ms. Willis hired him in November 2021.

Ms. Yeartie’s testimony contradicted Mr. Wade’s version of events, in which he claimed that the romantic relationship began later, in 2022. But Ms. Yeartie could not offer many details about her conversations with Ms. Willis, and it is unclear whether the judge will find her testimony credible.

Mr. Wade also took the stand, where he was subject to lengthy and sometimes hostile bouts of questioning from Ms. Merchant, as well as by Mr. Sadow and Craig Gillen, a veteran lawyer who represents a defendant who used to head the Georgia Republican Party.

Mr. Wade ran cool where Ms. Willis ran hot, answering questions carefully and with minimal emotion. Ms. Willis acknowledged the difference in her testimony, calling him a “Southern gentleman.”

She tartly added, “Me, not so much.”

Both Ms. Willis and Mr. Wade did their best to push back against the idea, which Ms. Willis deems to be preposterous, that they were prosecuting a former president to gain access to money and expensive vacations.

Mr. Wade said that Ms. Willis repaid him for “roughly” half the cost of the trips. He also said that she paid him back for tickets and other purchases, totaling thousands of dollars, in cash.

The defense lawyers found this difficult to believe, and asked both of them a barrage of questions about the practice. Ms. Willis said that she learned to keep a lot of cash on hand from her father, a retired lawyer and former Black Panther, who taught her that stockpiling cash was a practical way to assert one’s independence.

The hearing resumes on Friday at 9 a.m. Ms. Willis is expected to take the stand for more grilling. The defense lawyers will likely crowd, again, onto one side of the packed courtroom. They are, in aggregate, a sea of boxy wool suits and white male faces (with Ms. Merchant, a white woman, a stark exception).

The contrast with Ms. Willis, in glowing magenta, could not be more glaring.

Richard Fausset , based in Atlanta, writes about the American South, focusing on politics, culture, race, poverty and criminal justice. More about Richard Fausset

Our Coverage of the Trump Case in Georgia

Former president donald trump and 18 others face a sprawling series of charges for their roles in attempting to interfere in the state’s 2020 presidential election..

RICO Charges:  At the heart of the indictment in Georgia  are racketeering charges under the state Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act . Here’s why such charges  could prove to be a powerful tool for the prosecution .

Who Else Was Indicted?:   Rudy   Giuliani , who led legal efforts in several states to keep the former president in power, and Mark Meadows , the former White House chief of staff, were among the 18 Trump allies  charged in the case.

Plea Deals: Sidney K. Powell , Kenneth Chesebro  and Jenna Ellis  — three lawyers indicted with Trump in the case — pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors   against the former president.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones: Since the indictment of Trump and his allies, a question has gone unanswered: Would charges also be filed against the longtime Trump supporter? It is now up to a state agency to find a special prosecutor to investigate him .

Politics latest: 'Fuming' SNP claims Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle and Labour agreed 'stitch up' - as 57 MPs back no-confidence motion

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is under pressure over his handling of the SNP's motion for a ceasefire in Gaza. His decision to allow a vote on a Labour amendment saw Tory and SNP MPs storm out - and he is now facing questions over his future in the role.

Thursday 22 February 2024 11:02, UK

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  • 57 MPs now say they have no confidence in Speaker
  • Full list of who has signed the motion
  • Hoyle apologises for handling of Gaza votes
  • Explained: What on Earth went on in the Commons
  • Explained: Why Speaker's move sparked such anger
  • How MPs can force Speaker out of office
  • Sam Coates: Speaker has 24 hours to save his political life
  • Live reporting by Charlotte Chelsom-Pill

News is moving fast here in Westminster as the Speaker faces pressure after yesterday's chaos in the Commons over the Gaza ceasefire votes.

This post has the very latest figure for how many MPs have signed a no-confidence motion in Sir Lindsay Hoyle.

Context: It's important to note this early day motion won't necessarily force Sir Lindsay out.

He is not bound to resign if a certain number of MPs back it and there is unlikely to be a debate on it.

Rather, the EDM is being used as a mechanism by his critics to show the strength of feeling in parliament after what happened yesterday with the Gaza ceasefire votes.

Sir Lindsay sparked outrage among SNP and Tory MPs when he selected a Labour amendment to the SNP's motion.

Convention dictates that only the government can amend an opposition motion, but Sir Lindsay opted to choose Labour's amendment as well as the government's.

Scroll down for more detailed updates the latest reaction and analysis from our team of correspondents.

Political editor Beth Rigby has been hitting the phones and speaking with those in the know in Westminster to get a sense of where things stand with the future of the Speaker.

A senior Labour source tells her they don't think Sir Lindsay Hoyle will go - on the basis that the government will not try to force him out and neither will Labour. 

A former Conservative cabinet minister tells her they "doubt he'll go at the moment", but adds the "anger on the Conservative benches is intense".

They've told her: "Tory MPs backed him to be different from Bercow. And he's done a Bercow. 

"I hope it blows over. Maybe after the weekend will be better."

John Bercow was Sir Lindsay's predecessor as Speaker and was a controversial holder of the role.

He irked a lot of MPs by making what they saw as politically-motivated interventions against Brexit.

Beth says the Speaker has his work cut out in coming days not to lose the House.

But she says there is sympathy too from some MPs who genuinely believe he was trying to do the right thing and not stoke more tensions for MPs over the difficult and divisive matter of the Israel-Gaza war.

Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is back in the Commons this morning as more MPs add their names to a motion of no confidence in him (see post at 10.40).

An urgent question is asked about the Post Office Horizon scandal. 

The question asks about the status of compensation for subpostmasters relating to the scandal.

Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake says his appetite for compensation for postmasters is "undiminished".

But he says: "I accept we need to increase the pace of the delivery of compensation claims. 

He says as of this month,  £160m has been paid in financial compensation to more than 2,700 victims.

He adds that 102 convictions have been overturned. 

The Post Office scandal saw hundreds of subpostmasters wrongly prosecuted after faulty software recorded shortfalls in what is considered the widest miscarriage of justice in British history.

The SNP wants the Speaker to "make a personal statement" detailing all of his meetings and communications with Sir Keir Starmer and Labour ahead of his decision on yesterday's Gaza ceasefire motion, political editor Beth Rigby reports.

It comes after SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn told Beth he believed there was "stitch up" between Speaker and Labour over what amendments were selected.

Labour has denied the party put pressure on Sir Lindsay to accept the party's amendment.

The Speaker went against convention and selected Labour's amendment to the SNP's motion on a Gaza ceasefire, sparking fury from the SNP and the Conservatives. 

Westminster's third largest party is "still fuming" over yesterday's events, Beth adds.

By Faye Brown , political reporter

Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is being urged to "come clean" about whether Labour tried to influence his handling of a debate on Gaza which descended into chaos.

Sir Lindsay, who is facing calls to resign, is meeting with Leader of the House Penny Mordaunt and party chief whips later today in a bid to smooth things over.

The number of MPs who have signed a no-confidence motion has now reached more than 50.

The row broke out on Wednesday night after he allowed a vote on a Labour amendment to an SNP motion calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Opposition parties are not usually able to amend opposition motions, only the government, so some Tory MPs saw the decision as unfair given Sir Keir Starmer was expected to face a significant rebellion had his party's amendment not been chosen.

The SNP was also left furious that Labour's amendment was chosen to be voted on first - leading to accusations Sir Lindsay had allowed the debate to be "hijacked" by Labour and resulting in Conservative and SNP MPs storming out of the chamber.

Health minister Maria Caulfield told Sky News "the rumours are that Labour were going to lose quite heavily and they tried to influence the Speaker with that".

"He needs to come clean about what discussions were had," she added.

Labour has denied this and suggested the Tories boycotted the proceedings because they were worried about a rebellion on their own side.

Read more here:

The number of MPs who have signed a motion of no confidence in Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is still climbing.

It now stands at 57.

It comes amid fury at the Speaker over his handling of the Gaza ceasefire vote yesterday evening.

The motion reads: "That this House has no confidence in Mr Speaker".

Our  deputy political editor  Sam Coates   has said it seems the motion is "only going one way" (see post at 10.05am).

This motion won't necessarily force Sir Lindsay out - he is not bound to resign if a certain number of MPs back it and there is unlikely to be a debate on it.

We're speaking to MPs this morning to get their thoughts on last night's events in the Commons - and the future of the Speaker.

One of the issues the events have thrown up is around MPs' safety.

Sky News understands Sir Lindsay Hoyle had MPs' safety at the forefront of his mind when he decided to take the unusual decision to select amendments tabled by both Labour and the government to the SNP's Gaza ceasefire motion.  

Speaking to political reporter Faye Brown,  Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood told her: "It’s an issue MPs on all sides are increasingly worried about. 

"But it's totally wrong for the speaker to start making judgements about parliamentary motions on this basis."

Our  deputy political editor Sam Coates   has been giving his take on the news that more than 50 MPs have now signed a motion of no confidence the Commons Speaker (see post at 09.37am). 

He says it seems the motion is "only going one way".

"I know there are people who haven't signed the motion who believe in it," he says.

"It just smells really bad."

Sir Lindsay sparked outrage among SNP and Tory MPs yesterday when he selected a Labour amendment to the SNP's motion on a ceasefire in Gaza.

Sam Coates says looking at the names of the MPs who have signed the motion, including chairman of the 1922 Committee Sir Graham Brady and the number of SNP MPs, makes this "increasingly ominous" for Sir Lindsay.

"It appears that he is losing the confidence of the third biggest party in Westminster, the SNP, and the rump of Tory backbenchers. 

"If you lose just those two groups alone, then it is really, really hard to continue to oversee the Commons. Something you can only really do with the consent of the Commons."

There are now 57 MPs who have signed a motion of no confidence in Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle (see 09.37am post).

Here's the full list of Conservatives:

  • William Wragg
  • Gary Sambrook
  • Jill Mortimer
  • John Stevenson
  • Kieran Mullan
  • Anthony Mangnall
  • James Duddridge
  • Chris Green
  • Bob Blackman
  • Tom Randall
  • Jonathan Lord
  • Karl McCartney
  • Derek Thomas
  • Jack Brereton
  • James Grundy
  • Brendan Clarke-Smith
  • Lee Anderson
  • Graham Brady
  • Eddie Hughes
  • Geoffrey Clifton-Brown
  • Marco Longhi
  • Simon Baynes
  • Shaun Bailey
  • Matt Warman
  • Steve Double
  • Danny Kruger
  • Miriam Cates
  • Robert Goodwill
  • Jonathan Gullis
  • Kelly Tolhurst

And from the SNP:

  • David Linden
  • Stewart Malcolm McDonald
  • John McNally
  • Gavin Newlands
  • Pete Wishart
  • Patricia Gibson
  • Joanna Cherry
  • Alison Thewliss
  • Anum Qaisar
  • Douglas Chapman
  • Carol Monaghan
  • Drew Hendry
  • Anne McLaughlin
  • John Nicolson
  • Kirsty Blackman
  • Ronnie Cowan
  • Dave Doogan
  • Amy Callaghan
  • Brendan O'Hara

Independent:

  • Rob Roberts

The number of MPs who have signed a motion of no confidence in Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has now increased to 51. 

The motion won't necessarily force Sir Lindsay out - he is not bound to resign if a certain number of MPs back it and there won't be a formal vote on it.

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dialogue in essays rules

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  1. Basic Rules for Dialogue writing

    dialogue in essays rules

  2. Basic Rules for Dialogue writing

    dialogue in essays rules

  3. Basic Dialogue Writing

    dialogue in essays rules

  4. 7 Dialogue Rules for Writing Fantastic Dialogue

    dialogue in essays rules

  5. Picture This!: Dialogue Rules

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  6. Formatting Dialogue In An Essay

    dialogue in essays rules

VIDEO

  1. Dialogue Rules

  2. Dialogue writing rules #video #ssc

  3. Dialogue writing rules #video #ssc

COMMENTS

  1. A Guide to Writing Dialogue, With Examples

    You can separate a line of dialogue with an action. When you do this, capitalize the dialogue and action the same way you would capitalize any other sentence. Here are two examples: "Every night," he began, "I heard a rustling in the trees.". "Every day," he stated. "Every day, I get to work right on time.".

  2. How to Write a Dialogue in an Essay: The Ultimate Guide

    From narrative essays, personal reflections, psychology simulation reports and up to English literature writing and scholarships, using dialogue in an essay can dramatically change student's chances of delivering a successful paper.However, there are specific rules that have to be considered. Many U.S. college students have failed such essays due to not learning how to write dialogue in an ...

  3. 12 Dialogue Rules for Effective Writing (With Examples)

    12 rules of dialogue. Below are some rules you can use to help you improve your ability to write dialogue: 1. Use dialogue tags. A dialogue tag is the part of a sentence that indicates who's speaking. Common examples of dialogue tags include: He said. She replied.

  4. 6 Unbreakable Dialogue Punctuation Rules All Writers Must Know

    6 essential dialogue punctuation rules: 1. Always put commas and periods inside the quote. 2. Use double quote marks for dialogue (if you're in America) 3. Start a new paragraph every time the speaker changes. 4. Use dashes and ellipses to cut sentences off.

  5. How to Write Dialogue: Formatting, Examples, & Tips

    For writing dialogue paragraphs, you want to leave the quotations off the end of the paragraph and begin the next paragraph with them in order to indicate that the same person is just telling a long story. [NOTE: These dialogue rules apply to American English. Other parts of the world may use different dialogue formatting, including single ...

  6. How to Write Dialogue: Rules, Examples, and 8 Tips for ...

    Here are the need-to-know rules for formatting dialogue in writing. Enclose lines of dialogue in double quotation marks. This is the most essential rule in basic dialogue punctuation. When you write dialogue in North American English, a spoken line will have a set of double quotation marks around it. Here's a simple dialogue example:

  7. How to Write Dialogue in an Essay

    Ms. Jackson asked. Rule 3: If a person in your essay has more than a paragraph of dialogue, use the opening quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph, but use closing quotation marks only at the end of the dialogue. Example: Sarah nodded and said, "I think you're right.

  8. How To Format Dialogue (includes examples) • First Manuscript

    Dialogue Format Rules. If you are writing dialogue in a manuscript, then the first line of each paragraph is indented. (The same as every other paragraph in the manuscript.) See our article on Proper Manuscript Format for full details on manuscript formatting. 1. Enclose the spoken words with double quotation marks. "I love it when that ...

  9. LibGuides: Writing A Narrative Essay: Using Dialogue

    Dialogue is an important part of a narrative essay, However formatting dialogue can be troublesome at times. When formatting dialogue use these rules and examples to help with your formatting: Place double quotation marks at the beginning an end of spoken words. The quotations go on the outside of both the words and end-of-dialogue punctuation.

  10. How to Write Dialogue: A Guide for Beginners

    The rules around dialogue are somewhat complicated. The good news—it gets easier with practice. ... Pros and Cons of Writing Dialogue What dialogue Does well: Making an otherwise-abstract conflict or problem more vivid: You can describe a fight or really show a verbal fight. One is likely more interesting and intense than another.

  11. How to Write Dialogue

    For example, in the Chicago Manual of Style, putting dialogue in the middle of paragraphs depends on the context. As in the above example, if the dialogue is a natural continuation of the sentences that come before, it can be included in your paragraph. The major caveat is if someone new speaks after that, you start a new paragraph and indent it.

  12. How to Properly Format Dialogue (With Examples)

    5 More Rules to Know (+ Examples of Dialogue) For proper formatting of dialogue in writing, stick to the following rules: 1. Each speaker's saying comes in a new paragraph. Begin a new paragraph whenever a new character starts speaking. It allows you to differentiate speakers and make their conversation look more organized.

  13. FORMATTING DIALOGUE Center for Writing and Speaking

    Center for Writing and Speaking. Dialogue is a crucial aspect of nearly every narrative. Dialogue makes the story dynamic, enlivens the characters, and moves the action along unobtrusively. However, the guidelines governing how to arrange and punctuate dialogue can be confusing. This handout demystifies the technical aspects of writing dialogue.

  14. Basic Dialogue Writing

    Dialogue Tips. 1. Find synonyms for said. Have students look through books or use a thesaurus to find and record synonyms that you can use in place of 'said' when writing dialogue. Create an anchor chart with words to replace 'said' that students can reference when writing dialogue. Use the list below to get started.

  15. How to Write Dialogue: 7 Great Tips for Writers (With Examples)

    Tip #2: Write Realistic Dialogue. Good dialogue should sound natural. Listen to how people talk in real life and try to replicate it on the page when you write dialogue. Don't be afraid to break the rules of grammar, or to use an occasional exclamation point to punctuate dialogue.

  16. How to Write Great Dialogue

    Try these four prompts to hone your dialogue-writing skills. 1. Go to a public place where people tend to talk to one another. Try a cafe, bar, or public transportation. Spend 10 minutes eavesdropping on a conversation. Record everything they say and how they say it as specifically as you can.

  17. Tips on Writing Effective Dialogue

    First, you should know how to use your punctuation correctly, but once you have a good grasp, play around with it. Here's an example: "Stop…" versus "Stop!". Moving commas and periods around changes the way a line reads just as much as ending punctuation does. Here's another example: "Get. Away. From. Me." versus "Get away ...

  18. How to Write Dialogue: 7 Rules, 5 Tips & 65 Examples

    Here are the rules of writing dialogue that you should always keep in mind: 1. Use double quotation marks for your dialogue. It is the oldest rule of dialogue writing to enclose the spoken words in double quotation marks. Here's a sample dialogue: "Mr. Bennet, you have no compassion for my poor nerves!".

  19. Writing Dialogue: Really Useful Links by Lucy O'Callaghan

    Episode 2 - Dialogue (castos.com) This episode from The Creative Writer's Toolbelt shares practical, accessible advice on using dialogue to develop character, build tension, and progress the plot of your story. Dialogue in your story must earn its place. It must have a purpose for being there and push your story forward.

  20. How to Format Dialogue in Your Novel or Short Story

    1. Use Quotation Marks to Indicate Spoken Word. Whenever someone is speaking, their words should be enclosed in double quotation marks. Example: "Let's go to the beach.". 2. Dialogue Tags Stay Outside the Quotation Marks. Dialogue tags attribute a line of dialogue to one of the characters so that the reader knows who is speaking.

  21. How to Write Fabulous Dialogue [9 Tips + Examples]

    These beats are a commonly used technique so you can find plenty of examples — here's one from Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro . 4. Use 'said' as a dialogue tag. If there's one golden rule in writing dialogue, it's this: 'said' is your friend. Yes, 'said' is nothing new.

  22. How to Write Dialogue in an Essay

    Rule 2: A new speaker - a new line. Your dialogue will consist of two and more people. As a result, you must visually divide them into different sections. That's why the text of each new speaker starts with a new line. Even if the phrase consists of one world you must form text this way.

  23. How to Write Dialogue: Step-by-Step and Infographic

    How to Format Dialogue. The rules for formatting dialogue are straightforward for 90% or so of the dialogue you'll write. It's best to start with the simple and expand as you get better at writing dialogue. There are two formats to consider when writing dialogue — what tag or markers to use and proper punctuation. Dialogue Tags

  24. How to Have More Meaningful Conversations

    What's more, supercommunicators often engage in a process known as looping for understanding, which encourages everyone, including themselves, to listen more closely. Looping has three steps ...

  25. Raisina Dialogue 2024: Strengthening partnership with India ...

    In an address at the inaugural session of the Raisina Dialogue, Mitsotakis described the conflict in Ukraine as much more than a "local war on European soil" and that it is a "brutal challenge" to international stability and the rules-based order that India has supported.

  26. How to Write Dialogue: 7 Rules, 5 Tips & 65 Examples

    Rules of writing dialogue. Writing dialogue in a story or a novel has a few basic rules. If you follow them well, you'll have nothing to fear from writing dialogues. We've added some handy examples of dialogue writing so you can understand these rules better. Here are the rules of writing dialogue that you should always keep in mind: 1.

  27. Fani Willis Testifies, With Everything on the Line, in the Trump

    With Everything on the Line, Fani Willis Delivered Raw Testimony. Ms. Willis, the district attorney overseeing the Georgia prosecution of Donald J. Trump, searingly refuted allegations that she ...

  28. Politics live: Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle clinging on to job as 33 MPs

    Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle is under pressure this morning over his handling of the SNP's motion for a ceasefire in Gaza. His decision to allow a vote on a Labour amendment saw Tory and SNP ...