Writing Dialogue Part II

Writing Dialogue

Part 2

Please have paper and pencil with you.

What is dialogue?

Open Ended

What is dialogue? And why do writers put them in stories?

Is this dialogue?

Multiple Choice

Emily ate her sandwich and wondered about the mayo inside.

Is this dialogue?

• Yes

• No

Multiple Choice

Emily shouted, "Boo! All the kids are scared now!"

"Not so fast," said Anthony.

Is this dialogue?

• Yes

• No

Last week we practiced writing dialogue like a script. Today we are changing script writing to paragraph writing.

Dialogue has...

• characters - who are the ones talking?

• setting - what's going on?

• action - what are they doing while they talk?

Let's practice!

On a sticky note or notebook paper, write down a simple conversation about...

Characters:

Emily, a ghost girl

Anthony, a ghost hunter

What's going on: Emily and Anthony got hungry and decided to eat lunch. Emily started eating worms...

Write a short conversation about what they are eating and how they are reacting to each other.

Use scripts!

Emily: -----------------

Anthony: ---------------

Would someone like to share?

He said She said He said

Multiple Choice

The word "said" tells us someone is talking.

• True

• False

Every time someone NEW is talking. They need a new paragraph.

Just like when we write scripts! Each person talking gets a new line! It's the same idea!

Multiple Select

What is an example of turning the lines into a paragraph?

Emily: I love worms!

Anthony: Gosh, I love them only in the ground. (shivers) Gross.

• "I love worms," Emily said.

• Anthony: "Gosh, I love them only in the ground. Shivers. Gross."

• "Gosh, I love them only in the ground," Anthony said. He shivered. "Gross."

• Emily: "I love worms."

Multiple Select

What is an example of turning the lines into a paragraph?

Emily: I hurt my thumb! The worm bit me!

Anthony: I knew we couldn't trust worms!

• Emily screamed, "I hurt my thumb!"

• Anthony: "I knew we couldn't trust worms!"

• Emily whispered, "I hurt my thumb! The worm bit me!"

• "I knew we couldn't trust worms!" Anthony shouted.

Let's go over the lines again.

"I love worms," Emily said.

In the quotation marks, the first letter is capitalized.

There is a comma at the end of what people say.

UNLESS it is a ! or a ?

Emily said, "I love worms."

We can also write dialogue in reverse.

If we start with who is talking, then the comma is after [said]. In the quotation marks, the first letter is capitalized.

There is a comma at the end of what people say.

UNLESS it is a ! or a ?

Poll

Is writing dialogue tricky?

• Yes I need practice

• Yes it's so new to me

• No I think I understand

• No I can prove I got it!

Try making this into dialogue.

Turn the script into dialogue:

Brecky: Wow! Look at the broken building.

Open Ended

Brecky: Wow! Look at the broken building.

Turn the script into dialogue:

Brecky: I feel so excited to be here today.

Open Ended

Brecky: I feel so excited to be here today.

Turn the script into dialogue:

Brecky: I think that is my friend over there. (Brecky walks to the dumpster.)

Open Ended

Brecky: I think that is my friend over there. (Brecky walks to the dumpster.)

The End! Now we can write our Thanksgiving dialogue next time!