the delphic expanse

DIALOGUE 101 -- authors, please read!

A tool kit of links and book suggestions for fanfic authors who want to hone their craft.

Re: DIALOGUE 101 -- authors, please read!

Postby Aquarius » Thu Apr 28, 2011 1:19 pm

I believe your above example is correct. Inner thoughts were actually going to be the next brush up/lesson I post, but I haven't had time between finishing finals and moving. I need a chance to double check a few sources, etc. Contrary to what a few people seem to have thought, I don't just pull this stuff out of my butt. ;)
Avatar by Misplaced.
User avatar
Aquarius
Site Admin
 
Posts: 5516
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:30 pm

Re: DIALOGUE 101 -- authors, please read!

Postby Linkin » Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:26 am

Ah, I have a question (Is this thread still open :?) Can you use brackets in dialogue? English Teacher says no, but I spotted them when I was re-reading Harry Potter the other day.
Image
User avatar
Linkin
Lieutenant
 
Posts: 211
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:54 am

Re: DIALOGUE 101 -- authors, please read!

Postby Aquarius » Thu Jul 28, 2011 10:39 am

Not sure how you mean they were used. Also, do you mean brackets as in [ ] or { }, or do you mean parentheses as in ( ) ?

Either way, my inclination is to say no. I've seen parentheses in dialogue, but the move these days is to avoid them all together. They kind of say "Oh, wait, I have to tell you this really important or unrelated thing first before I go on." If it was that important, then it should've been said first any way. And if it's unrelated, it doesn't belong there.

If you're using them to show rambling, stream-of-consciousness dialogue, there are better ways to do it than parentheses.

Yes, you do see some things in pro fic that grammarians say "no" to. Sometimes it's a matter of understanding a rule well enough in order to justify breaking it effectively. Sometimes it's a matter of a publisher's Really Big Client getting their own way. And sometimes it's gray area where there's no "rule" against it, but doing it has negative consequences like pulling your reader out of the story, or it's out of favor for other reasons.

Hope that helped.
Avatar by Misplaced.
User avatar
Aquarius
Site Admin
 
Posts: 5516
Joined: Sat Sep 11, 2010 2:30 pm

Re: DIALOGUE 101 -- authors, please read!

Postby Kathy Rose » Thu Jul 28, 2011 3:55 pm

I tend to avoid brackets and parenthesis altogether in fiction, whether it's in dialogue or not. Somebody once told me that "people don't talk with parenthetical phrases," but with ellipses or dashes, when their thoughts aren't being voiced in standard sentence construction. Kind of makes sense, I think.
Old enough to know better, but that's never stopped me before.
Kathy Rose
Captain
 
Posts: 2873
Joined: Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:50 pm
Location: Central Illinois

Re: DIALOGUE 101 -- authors, please read!

Postby Linkin » Thu Jul 28, 2011 6:32 pm

Yeah, I mean parenthesis. I really need to break the habit of using the word 'brackets' when I mean parenthesis, it's a really horrific mistake for me (and I had a full fifteen minute rant at someone for using double-negatives).

Thanks Aquarius, it did help.
Image
User avatar
Linkin
Lieutenant
 
Posts: 211
Joined: Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:54 am

Previous

Return to Resources for Writers

  • Who is online

    Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest