Dialogue in Fiction: Tags and Beats

Tips on writing dialogue in fiction. Read on for the 5 samples discussed in the video.

1.
"Come on now, Baby," she said. "You don't need that knife. What are you going to do with that?"
"I just can't stand it anymore!" he said. "I've had it!"

2.
"Come on now, Baby," she cajoled. "You don't need that knife. What are you going to do with that?"
"I just can't stand it anymore!" he ejaculated. "I've had it!"

3.
She approached him cautiously. "Come on now, Baby," she cooed. "You don't need that knife. What are you going to do with that?"
He swung the knife in a wild arc. "I just can't stand it anymore!" he exclaimed. "I've had it!"

4.
"Come on now, Baby. You don't need that knife. What are you going to do with that?"
"I just can't stand it anymore! I've had it!"

5.
She approached him cautiously. "Come on now, Baby. You don't need that knife. What are you going to do with that?"
He swung the knife in a wild arc. "I just can't stand it anymore! I've had it!"

(Adapted from Stanbrough, Writing_Realistic_Dialogue_and_Flash_Fiction)

This is a snip from my talk at the 2009 Write on the Sound Conference. I wish it was better quality, but my laptop is a lousy cameraman. For more writing tips, see http://noveldog.com.

Category:

Howto & Style

Tags:

• writing
• fiction
• dialogue
• novel
• Write on the Sound
• noveldog

[danogzilla]

"I love hotdogs," Tom said with relish.

[stacyhm]

"This a wonderful piece of teaching," he said, swinging the knife wildly.

"It explains 'beats' so well." She raised her eyebrows archly.

Seriously, nice job.

[Baculus]

Nice video!