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Dialogue
“Quotations”
by, Sharon K. Yntema
September 6, 2016

Do we need quotation marks? Who needs punctuation? Times are a-changing. One of the signs punctuation marks are in flux is the air quotations people make with their fingers when using words ironically. In print, we’ve seen the rise of single quotation marks around sarcastic words or phrases, even though the standard rule for single quotation marks are for use inside double quotation marks to… [Read More]

Filed Under: APA Style, David Crystal, Dialogue, double quotation marks, guillemet, How to Start a Fire and Why, Jesse Ball, Making a Point, Manual of Style, MLA, Punctuation, single quotation marks, The Chicago Manual of Style
2 Comments
In memoir, the narrator IS the protagonist
by, Jill Swenson
March 12, 2013
Memoir Writing Workshop

Memoir is not fiction, yet some of the literary conventions used in the genre of memoir are the same as those used in novels. Plot, dialogue, and character are three shared devices. Fiction and memoir share a structural emphasis on narrative arc. In fiction, this is called a plot line. After setting the scene and introducing the characters through some dialogue and action, there is… [Read More]

Filed Under: Author, Dialogue, fiction, narrator, protagonist, self presentation
2 Comments
Dialogue Rules
by, Jill Swenson
June 5, 2012

Writing dialogue is about capturing a character’s voice and revealing her or his motivations. Good dialogue engages the reader in a dynamic exchange between characters. It quickens the pace when there is no action and moves the plot forward. Bad dialogue only relays expository information, which doesn’t feel real to the reader who can’t believe your characters would talk like that to each other. Although… [Read More]

Filed Under: Dialogue, Grammar, Italics for internal dialogue, Punctuation, Quotation Marks, Rules, Style
1 Comment
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