Dialogue Examples Use these dialogue examples to strengthen your own writing.

Dialogue Guide: Writing Realistic Dialogue Use punctuation appropriately. Most sentences end with a statement and require a period to end the sentence. Of course, a direct question ends with a question m ark. Where is there room for an exclamation point (!) in dialogue? Exclamation points aren't necessary most of the time. The reader, through the wr iting, will understand when a character is upset or angry. So use exclamation po ints sparingly.

Use quotation marks effectively. Here's an example of how to use quotation marks in dialogue. Sit in a public place and listen to people having conversations. Vary the people you are easing dropping in. Listen in on an older couple and make note of how t hey speak. And then do the same with other "real life characters." Write down wh at they say. This exercise will help you develop a good hear for dialogue. Examples of Dialogue Dialogue example #1: Typical Dialogue is formatted the following way: "It's too late," said Samantha, "by the time I get to the airport he'll be gone. " "Try. Just try," said Maria. Samantha shook her head. "Life isn't like the movies. Tom won't be waiting for m e at the door of the plain." As you can see, when a new character speaks a new paragraph is required. Internal dialogue example #2: With internal dialogue, you can either italicize t he statement or put the statement within quotes. "She doesn't think I know," thought Bryan, "but I know. I know alright." She doesn't think I know, thought Bryan, but I know. I know alright.

Telephone dialogue example #3: Telephone dialogue follows the same rules as in e xample #1. Later that night the phone rang. Larry let the call go to voice mail several tim es, but felt compelled to answer the phone when the caller called back a fourth time. "This better be an emergency," said Larry. "It's, um,-" Larry heard the caller's voice catch. He couldn't make out who it was. He should have checked caller ID he thought. With a string of words falling over each other, the caller said, "I'm pregnant a nd your the father." Larry remained silent. "Do you know who this is?"

Larry did not. He remained silent. "It's Elizabeth." Larry remembered her. He met Elizabeth on her honeymoon. How could she be sure t he baby is his? Dialogue that Doesn't Work Get down to the meat of the dialogue. Leave out pleasantries. Example dialogue: Glen was nervous to tell Janet he impregnated his ex-girlfriend. "Hi." "How are you dong?" replied Janet. "Fine. And you?" "Not too bad." That sample dialogue is boring. Readers are interested in reading dialogue that moves the story forward. Go straight into the heart of the conversation. Example : Glen enters the room to find Janet sitting in a yoga position with her eyes clos ed. "We need to talk." "You're interfering with my Zen-like state. Can't you wait?" "I got a girl pregnant." Glen couldn't believe he blurted it out. Janet's eyes sprung open. "What?"