1. Writing Dialogue

2. What is Dialogue??? What someone says.
Usually a conversation between two or more people.
Is essential in fiction writing
Dialogue brings characters to life and adds interest.
Dialogue can be complete sentences or just a word or two.
Quotation marks are used to show exact dialogue.

3. The Parts of Dialogue Quotation marks
“Maybe the weather will be warmer tomorrow,” Sara said.
speaker tag
What the character is saying

4. Dialogue Punctuation
Use quotation marks to surround exact spoken words (direct quotes)
Indent each time someone new is speaking.
Punctuation marks go inside the quotation marks.

5. For Example……
Can you come over and play video games with me today Sure, what games do you have My favorite is Maddon The graphics are incredible Oh great, I like that one too

6. To make your dialogue more clear, just add speaker tags.
Without speaker tags
With speaker tags
“Can you come over and play video games with me today?” “Sure, what games do you have?” “My favorite is Maddon. The graphics are incredible!” “Oh great, I like that one too.”
“Can you come over and play video games with me today?” asked Chris.
“Sure, what games do you have?” replied Sara.
“My favorite is Maddon. The graphics are incredible!” exclaimed Chris.
“Oh great, I like that one too,” answered Sara.

7. “Oh great, I like that one too.”
Look at the sentences below. How does the second sentence change when you add a speaker tag?
“Oh great, I like that one too.”
“Oh great, I like that one too,” answered Sara.

8. Sometimes speaker tags make you change your punctuation.
Without a speaker tag, the period goes inside the quotation marks. For example: “Our soccer team won big yesterday.” With a speaker tag, you must put a comma inside the quotation marks and a period after the speaker tag. For example: “Our soccer team won big yesterday,” Ken said.

9. Speaker tags can go in three places in dialogue.
At the beginning:
Mom said, “Go to your room!”
In the middle-Interrupting:
“Go to your room,” Mom yelled, “and finish your homework!”
“Go to your room,” Mom said. “I’ll deal with you later.”
At the end:
“Go to your room,” Mom demanded.

10. Now it is your turn…… “How old are you?” Sara asked.
Put the correct punctuation in the dialogue below.
How old are you Sara asked
“How old are you?” Sara asked.

11. Now it is your turn……
Put the correct punctuation in the dialogue below.
Sara replied I’ll be 13 on Saturday
Sara replied, “I’ll be 13 on Saturday.”

12. Now it is your turn……
Put the correct punctuation in the dialogue below.
Well Marie wondered are you having a party
“Well,” Marie wondered, “are you having a party?”

13. Now it is your turn……
Put the correct punctuation in the dialogue below.
At first I was going to have it on Saturday Sara explained Then something came up so we’re celebrating tonight
“At first I was going to have it on Saturday,” Sara explained. “Then something came up so we’re celebrating tonight.”

14. Now try to write some dialogue on your own.
Write a conversation between two teachers at Silver Hills Middle School. What do you think they talk about when kids aren’t around. You must include speaker tags at the beginning, middle and end of dialogue. Good Luck and use your notes!