Mon's Writing Tips

Dialogue & other things

This is something I see a lot in new writers, and I myself did this when I first started writing. That thing is multiple characters talking, or even just two, in one paragraph.

When writing dialogue, you should always make a new paragraph when someone new speaks. This makes it easier for the reader to understand, and even for the author.

What dialogue should not look like.

"Maybe I just like writing like this" author said, pouting at Mon. Mon shrugged."Sure, it's your story, but it'll be hard to understand" they said. "It isn't that hard to read" author said. "I know, but I'm picky and a complete grammar/spelling Nazi. Suffer!"

What dialogue should look like

"How about you just give it a try?" Mon asked, a hopeful smile on their face.

"I guess it won't hurt." Author said as they pulled out their phone.

"See? This is much better! And I can clearly see when a new person is speaking"

"You're right, but I might mess up"

"Well, then the next chapter will help you with that! All that matters is that you try"

See? Even though I didn't say, you could probably tell who was speaking. It was clear and easy to understand. Of course, writing is about what you want, so you don't have to do this.

Here's a little quote that I really like. You might like it too.

Better to write for yourself and have no public, than write first the public and have no self.

You might not get many reads on your stories, and that's fine! If you enjoy what you're writing and how you're writing it than that's all that matters.

Back to dialogue! A good tip is to use the word said. I'm sure you might think that using it is boring or repetitive as many teachers have to lead you to believe.

It's not! And it's actually better to use it over "she breathed" or "he muttered". 'Said' is invisible: it blends into the background and usually becomes obsolete to the reader. Adding adverbs like 'she said harshly' is perfectly fine but should be done sparingly. It tends to look quite amateurish.

There are many ways to express dialogue without using the basic 'he said she said'

"I'm so excited I'm going to burst!" Moka said excitedly,  bouncing about mindlessly.
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An excited squeal escaped the short girl as she bounced about. "I'm so excited I'm going to burst!"
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"Im so excited I'm going to burst" Moka squeaked, barely able to contain her excitement as she bounced on the balls of her feet.
_

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See? Changing up how you present things can make a difference in the style and feel of the text. :)

And because I haven't posted me such a long time, I'll give you a quick tip followed by love and info.

A quick tip: Writer's block is a sucky thing, I think speak for all writers when I say that. Even though it seems tough, you just gotta keep pushing through. You can always go back over it and fix it up, but just getting it all out on the page, or screen, is the important thing. Who knows, maybe it'll start smoothing out the longer you're at it.

If you're really stuck and can't make things work, ask for help. There are tones of people who are willing to help. Try writing something else, or even just searching up quick prompts to get your brain working.