Dialogue

DIALOGUE

Writing, formatting, and punctuating the words that characters say!

WHAT IS A DIALOGUE?

A dialogue is a conversation between two or more characters in a story. 

FOR EXAMPLE:

"What's sideways in time?" his twin asked.

Neils shrugged and said, "Sideways is sideways."

"This is dumb," declared Emmy.

DIALOGUE CONTAINS TWO MAJOR COMPONENTS:

• The dialogue tag/lead-in

• What the character said

• FOR EXAMPLE: I called, “Grandma? Could you come into the living room?”

"They're the smallest bees in the world," Tina said.

• In this example, the dialogue tag/lead-in is: Tina said.

• The dialogue tag, also known as a lead-in, indicates who said the quote and how they said it!

"Play ball!" cried the second tiny voice.

• In this example, what the character said is "Play ball!"

• Quotation marks are used to indicate that this is the part of the dialogue that was spoken

When writing dialogue, indent new lines!

Each time a new person talks in your story, start a new line of dialogue. To do so, press enter, then tab to indent the line.

—> "I would love to buy one of his books as a keepsake," she said.

—> "Well, you're welcome to take any one you'd like," he replied.

Let's review what we've learned so far!

Get ready to answer some questions on your device...

Multiple Choice

What is dialogue?

• Dialogue is a conversation between/amongst characters

• Dialogue is when the narrator tells you what is happening in a story

• Dialogue is when you directly use a quote from a book and cite it

• Dialogue is when the author tells you what a character is thinking

Multiple Select

What are the TWO major components of dialogue?

• What the character said

• The dialogue tag/lead-in

• The citation of the quote

• The setting of the conversation

Multiple Choice

Which part of the following example did the character say?

"What is that?" she asked in disbelief.

• "What is that?"

• she asked in disbelief.

Multiple Choice

Which part of the following example is the dialogue tag/lead-in?

"I'm very disappointed," she said.

• "I'm very disappointed,"

• she said.

Multiple Choice

What punctuation tool is used to indicate that words are spoken?

• Italics

• Quotes

• Parenthesis

• Asterisks

Multiple Choice

What is the purpose of a dialogue tag/lead-in?

• It tells the reader what the author thinks

• It tells the reader who said the quote and how they said it

• It tells the reader what the narrator sees

• It tells the reader what is happening in the background

Multiple Choice

What should you do when you start a new line of dialogue?

• Delete

• Shift

• Indent

• Bold

Multiple Choice

Which dialogue example below is written correctly?

• this is real? he said

• This is real. He said.

• "This is real," he said.

• "This is real" he said.

But how do I punctuate my dialogue?

Watch the video on the next slide to review the different elements of dialogue and learn how to use proper punctuation for quotes as well as tags/lead-ins. After you watch the video, you will answer a few more questions!

Multiple Choice

After a dialogue tag and before a quote, which punctuation mark should you use?

• a comma

• a period

• a question mark

• an exclamation point

Multiple Choice

Which dialogue example below is punctuated correctly?

• She asked "Did you see that?"

• She asked Did you see that?

• She asked, "Did you see that?"

Multiple Choice

What purpose does the comma serve?

• It separates the speech from the dialogue tag.

• It ensures that the reader takes a breath.

• It serves no purpose and is not necessary.

Multiple Select

Which TWO punctuation marks should you NOT change into commas?

• Question marks

• Exclamation points

• Periods

• Semicolons

Multiple Choice

TRUE or FALSE:

The dialogue tag MUST come BEFORE the quote!

• TRUE

• FALSE

Multiple Choice

According to the video, a comma with dialogue "pretty much acts as a ______."

• Runway

• Catwalk

• Aisle

• Lane

Match

To make your dialogue more descriptive, try to words other than "said" in your tags! Match the simple tag words below to their stronger synonym!

• asked

• said

• yelled

inquired

commented

exclaimed

• inquired

• commented

• exclaimed