fandom_grammar . Entries tagged with writing tips:dialogue

Happy Monday, fellow grammarians! Today we're going to answer the question, "How do you punctuate in dialogue?", a topic previously covered about two years ago, and we even have an initial example from Stargate SG-1 to work with that was provided by our anonymous questioner.

So let's take a look at the basic rules of punctuating dialogue, with examples from our friends over at Stargate SG-1, to determine if the bolded and bracketed section of the provided example is correct or not.

( How do you punctuate in dialogue? )

Mood: busy

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chomiji

china_shop asked us "Does the word order in speech tags change based on whether a pronoun or proper noun is used?"

Or in other words, are there actual rules about whether you should be saying "Sebastian said" or "said Sebastian" – or, for that matter, "He said" or "Said he"?

( With help from the cast of Kuroshitsuji (or in English, Black Butler) )

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supercheesegirl.livejournal.com

west_side asks, "How do you eliminate and replace extraneous adverbs?"

First of all, what's an adverb? An adverb is at its root a word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb. In any sentence, an adverb answers the questions how, when, where or to what degree something is happening. If you're not clear on what exactly an adverb is or does, check out our Grammar 101 post on adjectives and adverbs to learn more!

So now you've got a sense of what an adverb is and how to spot it in your sentence - and now that you're spotting them, you're noticing an awful lot of them. It's very easy to misuse adverbs - in fact, the "very" in this sentence is an example of an adverb that gets overused frequently. Let's take a look at a few techniques to cut down on excess adverbs in our writing.

( With examples from Doctor Who. )

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green-grrl.livejournal.com

Although we've run features on dialects before (British for Americans, American for Brits), LOLCAT is something new for

fandom_grammar in that it's an English dialect derived from a non-English language. It's also a fairly new dialect, only coming into being with the advent of computer keyboards—pens and typewriter keys having been beyond the abilities of cat anatomy to master.

Native Cat has certain grammatical peculiarities compared to English, which become apparent in the dialect. ( Let's look at some, with some examples from Torchwood and Inception fanfic. )

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chomiji

Dialogue is one of several tools that an author uses to establish characters and make them distinct from one another. If you're writing fanfiction (or parody, or pastiche), getting the voices of your borrowed characters to match the author's original renditions can be as important as making their physical descriptions accurate. Still, it's likely that all of us have had the experience of writing a scene in which our favorite characters simply don't sound like themselves. How can this situation be remedied?

( With examples from Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Saiyuki, and Rosemary Sutcliff's Eagle of the Ninth )

Mood: relieved

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chomiji

riverfox wants to know "Is there a rule/permission that allows for the literal drawl of words? ('Jaaaaaaaaack!' versus 'Jack,' Daniel drawled)."

The only answer that's been discovered is "Not exactly."

( With examples from Saiyuki )

Mood: relieved

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http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/

starwatcher307 asked: Is it correct to add "out" after a vocalization? (i.e. "he hissed out", "he gasped out", etc.)

With examples from Harry Potter.

( It's clearly apparent that we need to completely destroy all evidence of abundant words )

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lady-ganesh.livejournal.com

Dialogue: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

With examples from Saiyuki, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, NICS, and Weiss Kreuz.

Dialogue is the backbone of most stories. It's a rare story that doesn't feature dialogue, and that's even more true in the world of fanfiction, where setting a scene usually comes second to letting familiar characters interact with one another.

Good dialogue can make your story more believable and interesting. Bad dialogue can make your story leaden, confusing, or dull. So it's important to know both the grammatical and the stylistic rules of dialogue.

Let's start with The Good and the Bad.

( I hate listening to people's dreams. It is like flipping through a stack of photographs. If I'm not in any of them and nobody is having sex, I just don't care. )

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momebie.livejournal.com

Paragraphs, with answers for

haldoor and

callistosh65's questions on dialogue and paragraph formatting. – Examples from bandom(Panic at the Disco/Fall Out Boy), Trigun, and Good Omens.

What is a paragraph?

m-w.com defines a paragraph as 'a subdivision of a written composition that consists of one or more sentences, deals with one point or gives the words of one speaker, and begins on a new usually indented line'. While these things are all very true, the most important thing to remember when making sure your paragraphs are complete, is that a paragraph will always be a self-contained piece of writing that handles one complete point.

( Rather uncreatively taken from the Greek paragraphos. )

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theemdash

with examples from Stargate: SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Fullmetal Alchemist

velocitygrass asks: What is the correct punctuation for speech that "trails off"? What is the punctuation for interruption (either by yourself or someone else)?

Many people will tell you that trailing-off punctuation is largely a result of stylistic choices. Personally, I disagree. Punctuation tells you how to read a sentence. It's as scientific as writing ever gets. Each symbol for punctuation correlates to a different, specific meaning and the punctuations for pauses each determine a different length of pause. Punctuation that indicates trailing off or interruptions can be very different, as well, and if not properly punctuated could convey a meaning very different from the intended meaning.

( Ellipses and Em Dashes )

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Fandom Grammar

Entries tagged with writing tips:dialogue

Answer: How do you punctuate in dialogue?

Answer: Word Order for Dialog Tags That Use Pronouns

How do you eliminate and replace extraneous adverbs?

Writing Tips: LOLCAT for Fanfic Writers

FEATURE: Writing Canon-Consistent Dialogue

Answer: Spelling Out a Drawl

Answer: Adding "Out" After a Vocalization

Dialogue 101: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Friday Feature: Paragraphs and Dialogue

Answer: What is the correct punctuation for speech that "trails off"?

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