Greetings from the Hermit WRiter.
Some notes I've made over the years on dialog.
- Never have long stretches of dialogue.
- Break up large blocks at strategic places with
- Physical action
- Replies
- Description and
- Other story elements.
- This enriches the rhythm of the dialogue and brings the conversation to life in your reader's mind.
- Space the conversation within the page by giving each person their own paragraph.
- This makes the page less overwhelming (not an endless scroll of words)
- Gives readers a spatial beat between speakers that makes following the conversation easier.
- Don't hide dialog within narrative.
- Never include the main character's narrative with another character's dialog. This reduces the impact of the dialogue.
- If the narrative doesn't tightly connect to the character's words, put it in its own paragraph.
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