okay, so this was requested and when i saw it i got excited because 1. i didn't exactly think anyone would request and 2. i think i'm pretty good at writing it so i should be good at explaining.
as you all know, dialogue is writing out the words that someone speaks. dialogue is a large part of every story, and, personally, if there's not enough dialogue everything is ruined. so, i'm gonna teach you how to write it without it being horrible.
1. PUNCTUATION
alright, so punctuation changes a lot. exclamation points, question marks, periods, etc. you wanna make sure to put them in a place where they're needed. they add emotion.
so if you had a protagonist who's made at her boyfriend, watch how punctuation would change the same sentences.
"you know, i thought things would be different between the two of us, but it looks like you're a pig just like every other guy i've dated."
"you know, i thought things would be different between the two of us, but it looks like you're a pig just like every other guy i've dated!"
2. WHAT GOES AFTER
when you write dialogue, 90% of the time you're going to put a name after it. but, everything gets better when you add some description after it. for example :
"you deserve better," her roommate looks up at the girl through her long eyelashes, taking her lips between her teeth.
but if you don't. . .
"you deserve better."
see, that just leaves a hole! you don't know what they're doing, and using that description will slowly lead to more and more character development.
3. GRAMMAR
your - belonging to or associated with the person the speaker is addressing
you're - you are
there - in, at, or to that place or position
their - belonging to or associated with the people or things previously mentioned or easily identified
they're - they are
those are some grammar mistakes commonly made and their definitions. considering the fact that 99.9% of the people on the internet are grammar nazis, you wanna make sure you're using the correct grammar (and punctuation) when you write dialogue.
4. QUOTATION MARKS
i see this mistake made a lot on here, but when someone is writing a large chunk of text then start a a new paragraph with the same person talking, they don't do what they're supposed to. here's an example.
"no one could exactly believe that a talking dog had been caught on camera. most believe that it's a myth. for years us humans have lived in a world where we think we know the truth behind everything, when in reality there has been a complete generation of dogs that can speak, and it has somehow been kept from the human race.
"regardless the fact that no one exactly knows where they came from or how long they've been around. talking dogs have been spotted in new york city, the truth has spread, and now there has been one large discovery for mankind."
don't even ask what that was.
anyway, if you noticed the quotation marks - these is one at the beginning of the first paragraph, but the next one doesn't appear until the next paragraph, and is at the end of the second paragraph !!!! but you only do that when THE SAME PERSON is speaking !!!
5. JUST A PET PEEVE
this is such a pet peeve of mine, but please do NOT put more punctuation than needed in your actual story.
"are you okay??" NO !
"are you okay?" YES !
"i'm fine!!!" NO !
"i'm fine!" YES !
6. DON'T CHANGE TOPICS RANDOMLY
when you're writing dialogue there is most likely one main thing that needs to be focused on. so, when you're writing, STAY ON THE TOPIC ! i promise you it helps
alright, well there was my list of passive aggressive tips on writing dialogue. i hope it helped :D
