Miss Lapp Language Arts 7

What is dialogue? As you write, your characters will speak. Allowing your characters to speak-to others or to themselves-allows them to come alive. You definitely need to incorporate this in your short story.

Two Types of Dialogue Paraphrasing – The fox and the boy greeted each other. Direct Quotation – “Hello,” rasped the fox. “Greetings to you, Mr. Fox,” replied the boy.

Which One Should I Use? You can use both, but don’t rely entirely on paraphrasing. Your dialogue must be purposeful, not boring. Dialogue should be used to: – Move the action forward – Show something about a character

This Is Not a Script One of the biggest mistakes I see is that student’s include TOO MUCH dialogue that doesn’t add significantly to their stories. This isn’t a script. You don’t need to include everything a character says. You can paraphrase some sections to cut down on unneeded length.

How to Cut Down Dialogue “What’s that in the snow?” asked William. “I don’t know,” replied Peter. “Me neither,” exclaimed Susan. “I can’t tell,” responded Angela. “It’s too snowy to see.” William scratched his nose absentmindedly, “Well, maybe we should go check.” “Maybe,” whispered Peter. Susan replied, “Yes, let’s.” “Okay,” Angela agreed.

How to Cut Down Dialogue “What’s that in the snow?” asked William. The other little mice did not know. It was too snowy to see. William scratched his nose absentmindedly, “Well, maybe we should go check.” His friends agreed. Why cut down the dialogue? It doesn’t add significantly to the story. We need to get to the action more quickly. What is in the snow? What will happen next?

Your Strategy for Cutting Down Dialogue Is this necessary? Does this show something about my character or move the story forward significantly? Am I just trying to fill up space? Can I paraphrase this without losing the meaning and impact? Mix up paraphrasing and direct quotations.

How to Make your Dialogue Interesting Besides paraphrasing non-essential, non- interesting sections of speech… follow 1 major rule:

Said is Dead Characters don’t just say something; they say it in a particular way with particular meaning and emotion. “I love it when you take my favorite shirt,” Joe said. “I love it when you take my favorite shirt, “ Joe drawled, his voice full of sarcasm.

Your Turn! The monster approached Greta. “Get back,” she said. Antoine greeted his long-lost twin brother. “Welcome home, “ he said. “Join us,” the trio of snakes said to the field mouse. “Hey,” Jill said, “it’s my turn to talk now.”

Use a Better Word than Said! See our section message board for many, many other words you can use. Unit 4 folder Our section message board is like this tree mouse house-full of interesting things!

How to Format Dialogue Only direct dialogue goes in quotation marks. Direct dialogue is something the character says word for word. Correct: In retrospect, Sam decided that volunteering to be the snowman was a bad choice. Incorrect: In retrospect, Sam decided “that volunteering to be the snowman was a bad choice.” Correct: “Volunteering to be the snowman was a bad choice,” Sam thought. Incorrect: Volunteering to be the snowman was a bad choice Sam thought.

How to Format Dialogue See our section message board for a.pdf of this practice document Look at all the wonderful help you can find on our message board!

What is the difference between paraphrasing and direct quotation? What word do I NOT want to see in your writing? When should you eliminate dialogue? When do the quotation marks NOT hug the question mark at the end of a sentence? In Review,