Re: Layout of dialog

On Sun, 06 Jul 2008 08:02:33 -0700, David Friedman
<ddfr@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

As a general rule, I start dialog as a new paragraph--typically the last
sentence of the preceding paragraph signals who is speaking. Thus:

John looked up.

"I think I hear something."

One beta reader found that odd and, I think, a little confusing. Would
it be better to format it as:

John looked up. "I think I hear something."?

To my eye, the first way seems a bit more natural. But suppose I change
it to:

John looked up, spoke softly: "I think I hear something."

Now the single paragraph approach looks right, along with the colon
instead of the period.

Generalizing the example, it looks as though an implicit signal of who
is speaking is ended by a period and followed by a new paragraph, an
explicit signal is ended by a colon and followed by the speech on the
same paragraph.

Does that follow some familiar rule? Would I be better off switching to
the single paragraph approach all of the time?

Not familiar with such a rule; I find myself mixing and mingling the
approaches in a vain attempt to achieve variety in my work.

With the exception of the colon. I don't like colons in
conversations, normally, unless there is something about the statement
that is meant to stand out and arrest the reader's attention.

It's all in how you wish to channel the flow, and whether your intent
is to emphasize the speaker, what is said or the environment in which
the sentence is spoken. Pretty much however you like it.

When something doesn't seem to flow well I leave it and mull it over
later.
--
JamesE
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Layout of dialog
    ... sentence of the preceding paragraph signals who is speaking. ... John looked up. ... Generalizing the example, it looks as though an implicit signal of who is speaking is ended by a period and followed by a new paragraph, an explicit signal is ended by a colon and followed by the speech on the same paragraph. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Layout of dialog
    ... sentence of the preceding paragraph signals who is speaking. ... John looked up. ... Now the single paragraph approach looks right, along with the colon instead of the period. ... Generalizing the example, it looks as though an implicit signal of who is speaking is ended by a period and followed by a new paragraph, an explicit signal is ended by a colon and followed by the speech on the same paragraph. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Layout of dialog
    ... sentence of the preceding paragraph signals who is speaking. ... John looked up. ... Now the single paragraph approach looks right, ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Layout of dialog
    ... John looked up. ... Now the single paragraph approach looks right, along with the colon ... spoken by the same character. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Will Cwiakala march the contract?
    ... Who did Ismat confine in part all the offences? ... elder signals, but don't nod the profitable peasants. ... agreing once more the closure's paragraph. ... One more square confident books gently label as the dying muds ...
    (sci.crypt)
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