Dialogue Punctuation

[Cia]

Ellipses indicate trailing off or pausing when used in dialogue. Em dashes indicate an interruption that is more abrupt (verbal or physical). These two pieces of punctuation should not be used interchangeably.

[ReaderPaul]

On 12/8/2015 at 1:24 PM, Headstall said:

I have been absolutely guilty of this at times, and it's something I have slowly realized, and am working on. I don't, however, agree with your last sentence.  Regardless of speech tags (and that is another whole topic lol), reading about a conversation/dialogue is not the same as being face to face in a real life situation.  The reader doesn't have the benefit of being there, so we, as writers, have to sometimes help them along.  The use of names, or nicknames/pet names to avoid repetition as Cia pointed out, when strategically placed, can keep the flow as well as the clarity going smoothly so the reader never has to backtrack to figure out who's speaking.  I do agree about overuse, but I also think there can be underuse.  As a reader, I hate rereading a section of dialogue because I got lost.  Cia made a good point about writing in the third person.  I am slowly learning that it is all about balance... we want the story to flow realistically, but we don't want to make the reader have to work too hard.  I also would just like to note, that in real life, some people do use people's names a lot when they are talking.  I have one friend who says 'Gary' so many times when he's talking to me I want to rip his head off, and I've also noticed with my own kids when they were younger... they would pepper each sentence with 'Dad'... like every third word it seemed lol.  I'm not advocating this by any means, but there may be the occasional character who would be prone to this kind of overuse, and if it was only from that character, it could work as someone's idiosyncrasy.  Great post, Meta... cheers... Gary

@Headstall -- Gary, I certainly agree with all you said.  More than once in a story I have had to go back and try to figure out who was speaking.  I did have one boss in college who, in almost every sentence, used the name of the person being addressed.  Example: "Paul and Mike, check with Jamison for lighting issues.  Herb, go with Paul and Mike for an hour, then check with Jim over at the garage on ...  Paul, take some extra bulbs and leave them in Jamison's storeroom.  Then, Paul, check the pickup for supplies, and refill as necessary...."

Two writers I used to read overused job titles for persons.  Example:  "Call Police Chief Herb Drector and Librarian Anna Booker about the committee assignments.  Then call Fire Chief John Sparks And Assistant Chief Chris Burnt about the seminar on Wednesday...."  This was after those persons and titles had already been mentioned in previous paragraphs on the same page.

[Headstall]

23 minutes ago, ReaderPaul said:

@Headstall -- Gary, I certainly agree with all you said.  More than once in a story I have had to go back and try to figure out who was speaking.  I did have one boss in college who, in almost every sentence, used the name of the person being addressed.  Example: "Paul and Mike, check with Jamison for lighting issues.  Herb, go with Paul and Mike for an hour, then check with Jim over at the garage on ...  Paul, take some extra bulbs and leave them in Jamison's storeroom.  Then, Paul, check the pickup for supplies, and refill as necessary...."

Two writers I used to read overused job titles for persons.  Example:  "Call Police Chief Herb Drector and Librarian Anna Booker about the committee assignments.  Then call Fire Chief John Sparks And Assistant Chief Chris Burnt about the seminar on Wednesday...."  This was after those persons and titles had already been mentioned in previous paragraphs on the same page.

Wow,  that post of mine was from 2015. I was a real newbie back then and had soooo much to learn. I'm still learning.  

[ReaderPaul]

28 minutes ago, Headstall said:

Wow,  that post of mine was from 2015. I was a real newbie back then and had soooo much to learn. I'm still learning.  

Yes, it was 9 years and 7 months ago you wrote that.  Still very true today, and you have learned well.