Dialogue, in literature, is a verbal exchange between two or more characters (but can also involve strategic use of silence).^[1] If there is only one character talking aloud, it is a monologue.

Identifiers[edit]

"This breakfast is making me sick," George said.

George said is the identifier.

The identifier has also been called an attributive,^[2] a speaker attribution,^[3] a speech attribution,^[4] a dialogue tag,^[5] and a tag line.^[6]

Said is the verb most writers use because reader familiarity with said prevents it from drawing attention to itself. Although other verbs such as ask, shout, or reply are acceptable, some identifiers get in the reader's way. For example:

"Hello," he croaked nervously, "my name's Horace."
"What's yours?" he asked with as much aplomb as he could muster.^[7]

Stephen King, in his book On Writing, expresses his belief that said is the best identifier to use. King recommends reading a novel by Larry McMurtry, who he claims has mastered the art of well-written dialogue.^[8]

Substitutes are known as said-bookisms. For example, in the sentence "What do you mean?" he smiled, the word smiled is a said-bookism.^{[citation needed]}

Punctuation[edit]

The first line of each paragraph should be indented.^[9]

Dialogue should be enclosed in quotation marks.^{[10][11][12][13]}

If a single speaker speaks more than one paragraph, each paragraph should begin with an opening quotation mark, but only the final paragraph should end in a closing quotation mark.^[14]

A dash should be used to mark the interruption of a sentence of dialogue.^[15]

Ellipses should be used in dialogue to indicate incomplete or interrupted statements or thoughts.^[16]

Ending punctuation should always be placed inside the closing quotation mark.^[17][18]

A new paragraph should be used to introduce each new speaker; that is, only one speaker per paragraph.^{[19][20][21][22]}

The identifier, if not at the beginning or end of a sentence, should be placed where the first natural break would come in speech; that is, where the speaker would pause for emphasis, or take a breath.^[23][24]

See also[edit]

• Exposition
• Fiction writing
• Pace
• Show, Don't Tell

Notes[edit]

References[edit]

• Browne, Renni; King, Dave (1993), Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, New York: Harper Perennial, ISBN 0-06-272046-5

• The Chicago Manual of Style (13th ed.). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 1982. ISBN 0-226-10390-0.

• Crews, Frederick (1977), The Random House Handbook (2nd ed.), New York: Random House, ISBN 0-394-31211-2

• Gerke, Jeff (2010), Plot versus Character: A Balanced Approach to Writing Great Fiction, Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, ISBN 978-1-58297-992-2

• Hacker, Diana (1991), The Bedford Handbook for Writers (3rd ed.), Boston: Bedford Books, ISBN 0-312-05599-4

• Kempton, Gloria (2004), Write Great Fiction: Dialogue, Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, ISBN 1-58297-289-3

• King, Stephen (2000), On Writing, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, ISBN 0-684-85352-3

• Lamb, Nancy (2008), The Art and Craft of Storytelling: A Comprehensive Guide to Classic Writing Techniques, Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, ISBN 978-1-58297-559-7

• "Proper Manuscript Format". Proper Manuscript Format / Shunn. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2024.

• Sebranek, Patrick; Kemper, Dave; Meyer, Verne (2006), Writers Inc.: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning, Wilmington: Houghton Mifflin Company, ISBN 978-0-669-52994-4

• Steele, Alexander, ed. (2003). Writing Fiction: The Practical Guide From New York's Acclaimed Creative Writing School. New York: Bloomsbury. ISBN 1-58234-330-6.

• Strunk, William, Jr.; White, E. B. (1979), The Elements of Style (3rd ed.), New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc., ISBN 0-02-418220-6{{citation}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

• Turco, Lewis (1989), Dialogue, Cincinnati: Writer's Digest Books, ISBN 0-89879-349-1

External links[edit]

• Wiehardt, Ginny (November 20, 2019). "Top 12 Tips for Writing Dialogue". liveaboutdotcom. Archived from the original on December 18, 2005. Retrieved December 17, 2005.
• "Dialogue". Debbie Lee Wesselmann. 2007. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
• Marble, Anne M. (2001). ""Stop Using Those Said Bookisms," the Editor Shrieked: The Use and Abuse of Dialogue Tags". Vision. Forward Motion for Writers.