How To Write Dialogue

Summary

Mr. Gold explains how to write dialogue by turning the words in comic-book speech bubbles into sentences. In written stories, dialogue helps readers understand who is speaking without pictures.

Main Rules for Writing Dialogue

• Put quotation marks around the words a character says.
• Place punctuation that belongs to the spoken words inside the quotation marks.
• Include a speaker tag—a phrase that identifies who is speaking, such as she said or he asked.
• Use appropriate punctuation when the speaker tag comes before, interrupts, or follows the dialogue.
• End the sentence with the correct punctuation.
• Use dialogue to reveal or develop a character.
• Start a new paragraph whenever a different person speaks.

The video invites viewers to practice writing a quoted sentence with a speaker tag, then write a conversation between two or more people.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Mr. Gold — instructor and narrator.
• Sophia, Blaze, Mila, and Eric — example characters used to demonstrate dialogue and speaker tags.
• An animated girl character — appears in an exercise prompting viewers to write a conversation.