Bell Ringer #3 Write 30-50 words about how you spent your Labor Day weekend. Focus on sensory details (sight, smell, touch, taste, and what you heard others say). You will need this for part of your exit ticket, so make sure to hit that word count!

Dialogue Rules

Rule #1 A direct quotation begins with a capital letter. Jimmy shouted, “See you at the game!” “Is it true?" asked Cindy.

Rule #2 When a quotation is interrupted into two parts with words like “he asked” or “the teacher demanded,” the second part begins with a lower case letter. “What are some of the things,” Mrs. Baskin inquired, “that make school so much fun?” “One thing I like,” replied Sarah, “is recess!”

Rule #3 When writing dialogue, all punctuation marks at the end of the quotation go inside the quotation marks. “Let's visit the museum,” suggested Samantha. Jon replied, “Didn't we go there last weekend?” “But when we did,” Beth added, “we didn't see the Ancient Egyptian exhibit.”

Rule #4 Do not put a period at the end of a quotation followed by things like she said, mom asked, he explained, etc. Use commas, question marks, and exclamation marks but not periods. Periods end sentences. “My Algebra class is driving me crazy!” Paul yelled. “That's my favorite class,” Becky replied.

Rule #5 Make a new paragraph (indent) when a different person begins to speak. "Last night, I dreamt that I ate a giant marshmallow," Kevin said. "Was that anything like the dream you had about eating your way through a mountain of fruit cocktail?" asked Suzy. "Scarier," Kevin explained. "This time I woke up and my pillow was gone."  

Remember when writing dialogue…

Watch the name-calling Don’t overuse character names. Hey Joe. How is everything, Joe? Joe, I can’t believe how long it’s been since we’ve seen you. To tell you the truth, Joe, you really don’t look that great. Are you okay, Joe?

Show while you’re telling Use narrative sentences to show the character’s concurrent acts, thoughts, and perceptions. With a sniffle, Daisy reached for a tissue, “I can’t believe you said that!”

Let your characters talk the way they talk – to a degree It can be easy to get carried away with this one, especially if your character is of another ethnicity or culture or possibly doesn’t talk so good. “Gee golly whiz, pa! I coulda brung in that old crop my ownself if youda let me!

Don’t tell us everything at once Good dialogue shouldn’t reveal everything the character has on their mind at a given moment; it should divulge information the way “normal” speech does, by fits and starts.

Listen You can develop an “ear” for good dialogue by listening to the way people talk. Listen for effective dialogue in movies and television; you’ll know when you hear it.

Say it out loud Test your fictional dialogue by reading it out loud. If it doesn’t sound natural, it probably isn’t.

Dialogue Situations Exit Ticket

Scenario #1 A woman is certain she’s being followed; she ducks into the first open door she finds. She is not alone. (This scenario could be told in a very serious tone – or not.)

Scenario #2 A man opens his front door and is greeted at the door by a crowd of friends and family who have arranged a surprise party in his honor. Except it isn’t his birthday.

Scenario #3 Two business colleagues discuss the fact that their boss seems to be going quietly (or not so quietly) insane. (This scenario could be told in a very serious tone – or not.)

Scenario #4 Two people who very much want to avoid each other find themselves stuck in an elevator together.

Scenario #5 Your character’s cat (or pet of choice) is suddenly able to talk. What does it say? Does your character want to hear it?