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Reading and Writing 6-8 / Week 06 / Wednesday
3/6
Week 06 · Narrative Writing

Wednesday

Writing Lab: dialogue
// From the hook to the last line
⏱ about 20 min

Wednesday: Writing Lab

Raven reads Rocket's draft and stops at the first line of talk. "Rocket said wait this one is not ours."

"That is what I said," Rocket says.

"I believe you," Raven says. "But the reader cannot tell where your voice starts and the story stops."

Nova draws two small curved marks of light in the air. "Quotation marks," she says. "The doors of dialogue."

"And a comma before the door closes, if a tag comes next," Raven says. "And a capital letter when the talking starts."

Rocket rewrites it. "Wait," Rocket said. "This one is not ours." He reads it aloud. "Now it sounds like me."

"It always sounded like you," Raven says. "Now it looks like you too."

Learn it: writing dialogue

Dialogue is what characters say. It shows who they are and moves the story faster than description can.

The rules keep the reader from getting lost. Quotation marks open and close the spoken words. The first spoken word gets a capital letter.

A comma sits inside the closing quotation mark when a tag like she said follows. A period sits inside when the sentence ends.

Raven thinks aloud: "The text starts a new line when Nova speaks, so I always know who is talking."

  • Open and close the spoken words with double quotation marks.
  • Capitalize the first spoken word.
  • Use a comma inside the closing quotation mark before a tag: "Wait," Rocket said.
  • Put a period, question mark or exclamation point inside the closing quotation mark.
  • Start a new line each time the speaker changes.
RuleRightNot yet
Comma before a tag"Wait," Rocket said."Wait." Rocket said.
Capital first wordNova said, "Nobody is hurt."Nova said, "nobody is hurt."
Mark inside the quotes"What does it say?" Nova asked."What does it say"? Nova asked.
New speaker, new line"Thanks," he said. / "You are welcome," I said.both lines run together
WHICH LINE IS PUNCTUATED CORRECTLY?
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Pick the correct line.
Pick the correct line.
Pick the correct line.
Two people speak in a row. What should the writer do?

Read it: the mentor text

Read it
The Day the Corkboard Fell (part three)
"Wait," Rocket said. He was holding the last card. "This one is not ours."
I took it. The handwriting was small and neat and not mine and not his.
"What does it say?" Nova asked, drifting closer.
"It says: Thank you for the paper. We read every word. From the yellow house." I turned it over. "Nothing else."
"When did it get on our board?" Rocket asked.
"I do not know," I said. "It was under all the others. It could have been there for months."
Rocket sat down on the porch steps. "Someone pinned a thank-you to our board," he said, "and we never saw it."
"We see it now," Nova said.
"Because the board fell," I said.
Rocket looked at the empty wall, then at the card, then at me. "Then I am glad I moved that pin," he said.
"You are not getting credit for this," I told him.
"A little credit?" "No."
CHECK IT: PART THREE
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What did the dialogue reveal that description alone did not?
Rocket sat down on the porch steps. This action between lines of talk shows
A little credit? No. Why is this exchange so short?
Which spelling is correct?
TAGS AND ACTIONS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
Which line uses an action instead of a said tag?
Why can "We see it now," Nova said have no description of her voice?
A little credit? No. Who says No?
Try it
Listen to two people talking for one minute. Write down three lines exactly as they said them.
Punctuate them with the rules. Read them back to the speakers.
What punctuation mark goes inside the closing quotation mark before a tag like Rocket said? Type the name of the mark.
Who sent the thank-you card? Type the color of their house.
SentenceTrue or false?
The first spoken word in a quotation gets a capital letter.?
A question mark that belongs to the spoken words goes outside the quotation marks.?
Each new speaker starts on a new line.?
In part three, Raven gives Rocket full credit for finding the card.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEMarks that belong to the speech stay inside the quotes. Raven says he is not getting credit.

Write it: Writing Lab

Checklist
My scene has at least six lines of dialogue between two or more characters.
Every spoken part has opening and closing quotation marks.
The first spoken word is capitalized, and the comma or period sits inside the closing quotation mark.
Each new speaker starts on a new line.
At least one action sits between lines of talk, so the reader can see the characters move.

Dialogue is the fastest way into a character. Tomorrow we slow down for the senses and land the ending.

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