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| Tips & Advice Share your tips, tricks and advice. |
04-05-2008, 11:59 PM
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#1
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Addict
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 149
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Is it acceptable to write dialogue this way?
Would it be acceptable to write dialogue the way its being spoken? What I mean is:
"Dude....are you saying you're NOT coming back?"
vs
"Dude, are you saying you're not coming back?"
or would it be better to use punctuation more, such as:
"Dude? Are you saying you're not coming back?!"
Is there a proper way to indicate pauses, and emphasis on certain words? I don't really like the way it looks to write certain words in all capitals, but I'm not sure how to emphasize the word otherwise.
Any tips?
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04-06-2008, 12:11 AM
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#2
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Best Seller
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: America.
Gender: Male
Posts: 613
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Quote:
Originally Posted by starseed
Would it be acceptable to write dialogue the way its being spoken? What I mean is:
"Dude....are you saying you're NOT coming back?"
vs
"Dude, are you saying you're not coming back?"
or would it be better to use punctuation more, such as:
"Dude? Are you saying you're not coming back?!"
Is there a proper way to indicate pauses, and emphasis on certain words? I don't really like the way it looks to write certain words in all capitals, but I'm not sure how to emphasize the word otherwise.
Any tips?
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Never use an extra punctuation mark, as it is ugly--so too are capitals. The tried and true method is to use italics.
"Dude? Are you saying you're not coming back?"
Hope that helps. |
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04-06-2008, 12:34 AM
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#3
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Addict
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 149
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Italics! Good idea, and you are right, multiple punctuation is my horrible habit to break.
Italics look so much better, I just didn't know if using them was acceptable in a work you are trying to get published. I'm 12 pages into my novel and want to avoid making too many rookie mistakes from the start. You answered my question well, I appreciate the help.  |
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04-06-2008, 12:37 AM
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#4
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Addict
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: California
Gender: Male
Posts: 178
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You can, however, use ellipses if you want too. Dashes too. Just try not to overuse them.
~Christian
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04-06-2008, 10:34 PM
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#5
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Addict
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 149
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^Can you demonstrate the use of elipses and dashes you are talking about?
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04-06-2008, 11:55 PM
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#6
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Addict
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: California
Gender: Male
Posts: 178
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You kind of did.
Quote:
John came up to me quietly after the meeting.
"Hey Bill, you know that project you were working on?"
I gave him a strange look. "Yeah...the one for Sunsift Systems right?"
"Yep, that's the one. Look...I don't know how to say th-"
"I'm off the team aren't I?"
"Sorry, but it wasn't my decision."
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Rather unrealistic scene, but you get the idea. Dashes are usually used to indicate being cut off, while the ellipse is used to show an extended pause, generally longer than a comma would give you.
~Christian |
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04-07-2008, 12:37 AM
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#7
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Addict
Join Date: Mar 2008
Posts: 149
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^Thanks, I see what you mean. I agree about trying not to overuse them.
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