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Dialogue - Blog Posts
sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four
Parte 2:Razones por las que a los japoneses jamás se le va a dar bien el inglés: Sean bienvenidos, japonistasarqueológicos, a una nueva entrega, en esta ocasión hablamos del inglés en Japón, una vez dicho esto pónganse cómodos qué empezamos. - Por la que a los japoneses les cuesta el inglés más de una te sorprenderá, los japoneses para poder aprender inglés desde cero les lleva alrededor de 500 horas alcanzar el nivel principiante; sin embargo, se necesitan unas 250 horas para aprender coreano o indonesio al mismo nivel principiante. Una de las razones por las que los japoneses no son buenos en inglés es debido a la pronunciación, esto es un hecho. - La estructura gramatical del inglés es: SVO (sujeto-verbo-objeto) donde el verbo va primero, mientras que en japonés, SOV (Sujeto-Objeto-Verbo) donde el verbo va al final. Además, la estructura de las oraciones difiere entre el inglés y el japonés, el inglés es muy estricto en cuanto al orden de las palabras. En japonés utilizamos unas 120 palabras en un minuto de conversación normal. El inglés emplea aproximadamente 1,5 veces más palabras, razón por la cual los japoneses sienten que hablan inglés más rápido. Por ejemplo, la palabra japonesa “personalidad” tiene tres fonemas. Cuando se trata de inglés, necesitamos cinco fonemas: pa/so/na/li/ti, y para transmitir la misma información, necesitamos hablar más rápido. La razón por la que a los japoneses les resulta difícil escuchar y hablar inglés es probablemente porque se les exige que usen habilidades que normalmente no emplean. パート2：日本人が決して英語が得意にならない理由：日本の考古学者たちよ、新しい回へようこそ！今回は日本の英語について話す。 - なぜ日本人は英語が苦手なのか？日本人がゼロから英語を学んで初級レベルに達するには約500時間かかるが、韓国語やインドネシア語を学んで同じ初級レベルに達するには約250時間かかる。日本人が英語を苦手とする理由のひとつに発音があるが、これは事実である。 - 英語の文法構造はSVO（Subject-Verb-Object）で動詞が先に来るのに対し、日本語はSOV（Subject-Object-Verb）で動詞が最後に来る。また、文の構造も英語と日本語では異なり、英語は語順に非常に厳しい。日本語の場合、通常の会話で1分間に使う単語は約120語。英語はその約1.5倍の単語を使うので、日本人は英語を話すのが早いと感じるのです。例えば、日本語の「パーソナリティ」という単語には3つの音素がある。それが英語になると、パ／ソ／ナ／リ／ティの5つの音素が必要になり、同じ情報を伝えるためには、より速く話す必要がある。日本人が英語を聞くのも話すのも難しいと感じるのは、普段使わない能力を要求されるからだろう。 - 今後の記事でお会いできることを楽しみにしています。 Part 2: Reasons why the Japanese will never be good at English: Welcome, Japanese archaeologists, to a new instalment, this time we are talking about English in Japan, so make yourselves comfortable and let's get started. - Why the Japanese have a hard time with English more than one will surprise you, it takes the Japanese around 500 hours to learn English from scratch to reach beginner level; however, it takes around 250 hours to learn Korean or Indonesian to the same beginner level. One of the reasons why Japanese people are not good at English is because of pronunciation, this is a fact. - The grammatical structure of English is: SVO (Subject-Verb-Object) where the verb comes first, while in Japanese, SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) where the verb comes last. Also, sentence structure differs between English and Japanese, English is very strict about word order. In Japanese we use about 120 words in one minute of normal conversation. English uses about 1.5 times as many words, which is why Japanese people feel they speak English faster. For example, the Japanese word "personality" has three phonemes. When it comes to English, we need five phonemes: pa/so/na/li/ti, and to convey the same information, we need to speak faster. The reason why Japanese people find it difficult to listen to and speak English is probably because they are required to use skills they do not normally use. - I hope you like it and see you in future posts, have a good week.
Drawing and Reference:
"What have you done to me? I'm a unicorn!"
"I'M A UNICORN!!!"
"I wish you let the Red Bull take me!”
“I wish you left me to the Harpy!”
“I can feel this body DYING all around me!!!"
"I'm afraid of this human body, more than I was of the Red Bull. Afraid....." Scene Here:
Inspired by @teddie-bear420 and their Cold Hazbin Hotel AU, please check them out for more of their amazing art!!!
things people do in real world dialogue:
• laugh at their own jokes
• don’t finish/say complete sentences
• interrupt a line of thought with a sudden new one
• say ‘uh’ between words when unsure
• accidentally blend multiple words together, and may start the sentence over again
• repeat filler words such as ‘like’ ‘literally’ ‘really’ ‘anyways’ and ‘i think’
• begin and/or end sentences with phrases such as ‘eh’ and ‘you know’, and may make those phrases into question form to get another’s input
• repeat words/phrases when in an excited state
• words fizzle out upon realizing no one is listening
• repeat themselves when others don’t understand what they’re saying, as well as to get their point across
• reply nonverbally such as hand gestures, facial expressions, random noises, movement, and even silence
Writing Prompt #9
"You talk as if you're in a goddamn 80s fantasy movie."
Writing Prompt #8
"I despise having to take orders from you."
"Well, that's what you get for being in debt to a mafia leader," she pointedly remarked, closing the car door and strutting towards the hotel entrance.
Writing Prompt #2
"Drop dead."
"I believe you forgot 'gorgeous' on the end of that sentence, darling. Why don't you take a picture? It'll last longer than any career you'll ever have."
Your whump word(s) of the day
“Get in the trunk.”
Exasperated caretaker/team member dialogue
“What part of stay there don’t you understand?!”
“I swear- you’ll be the death of me!”
“I’m going grey- You’re making me go grey.” “You are not going grey, you’re 25!”
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!”
“Okay, new rule- From now on your plan is not allowed to be ‘run in head-first and see what happens’.”
“Is asking you to shoot me a little ‘I’m not dead’ text every now and again really too much to ask??”
“So let me get this straight. You heard gun-fire. And you ran. Towards it?!”
“That’s it- You’re in time out.” “What?! I’m not a child-“ “I don’t care! Time out!”
“Must you bleed on everything I own??”
Big fan of characters who are just so done lmaoo, part 2??
--Hey, didja hear what happened to Brett?
--No, tell me!
--Well, last night, some assholes came out to his dock and ripped off his Johnson.
--What?! Is he gonna be okay?
--Yeah, he was in bed, he slept through the whole thing.
--How can someone sleep through getting their Johnson ripped off?
--Yeah, he's a pretty heavy sleeper, I guess.
--That's... so weird. But is he gonna be okay?
--Oh, he's not hurt at all. They never even came in the house.
--Wait, what?!
--They didn't actually make much noise. But now he needs to borrow your truck.
--To go to the hospital?
--Huh? No, to pick up his spare.
--His spare what?
--His spare Johnson. It's in his shop.
--Okay, why are you messing with me like this?
--What! He's got his spare Johnson up at his shop. He just needs your truck to bring it down here.
--He needs my truck. To pick up his spare Johnson. And attach it, right? After getting his original Johnson ripped off, and he didn't even wake up... or bleed out! Look, what the...
--Well, they didn't actually rip it off, I meant he got ripped off. They had tools, and they unbolted it from the back of the transom.
--...Transom??
--Yeah, you know, the board at the back of the skiff? Where the motor sits?
<long pause>
--You're talking about an outboard motor. A fucking Johnson brand outboard fucking motor.
--Uh, yeah? What did you think I was talking about?
flirty or threatening? dialogue prompts
@celestialwrites for more!!
“good god, you are a pain.” “then why are you even here?” “maybe i’m a masochist.”
“say that again i dare you.” “what are you going to do about it if i do?”
“your existence unnerves me.” “aw, i’m flattered.”
“hi honey.” “don’t honey me, you just threw a book at me!”
“huh, you know when you’re not scowling at me your eyes look a little more blue than green.”
“what if one day you wandered off a cliff?” “would you join me?”
“sometimes i feel like you want to get hit.” “by you? most certainly.”
“miss me?” “i had wondered where my headache went.”
“you are certainly interesting.” “is that a compliment or are you making fun of me?” “yes.”
“i’m not docile by any means.” “i’ve noticed, i notice everything about you.”
“i need help to bury a body.” “and you thought of me? aw.” “actually, i’m the only one that would miss you if you went to prison.” “you’d miss me?”
“i hate you!” “as long as you feel something towards me.”
“watch it!” “it’s cute how easy i can rile you up.”
“do you truly hate me?” “i wish that was possible.”
REBLOG TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WRITERS!!<3
five dialogue prompts for characters who have a hard time resting :)
"Don't sit up. You'll rip your stitches."
"You need to calm down. Your heart rate is spiking."
"Stop trying to get up. I don't want you fainting again."
"Lie back down, please. Your fever is too high for you to be moving around."
"I know we have to keep moving, but if we don't treat that wound now, it'll slow us down even more."
What if hit and freeza got together instead of frost
….I…. haven’t actually thought about that?
Tbh, and i’m sorry if this isn’t the answer you were hoping for, I don’t really know too much about how that would go or work out…..
Perhaps it could work a bit better than I might expect, but I’m not sure Hit is the type of guy to get involved with genocidal tyrants like Frieza. :3
Pineapple.
“I take it back” I say with disgust, “Keep that piece, it has pineapple on it!” I say, I look up to Louis who’s face etched with disappointment with his furrow eyebrows and pouty like expression, looking at me as though I shattered his pineapple heart.
I giggled. I regret nothing.
I take that back.
I regret what happened...years later.
Louis looked at me, his eyes filled with tears as he held the gun towards me. He looked as though at any moment he could shatter. That he could drop the gun, shoot me or...or worse.
“T-That...That wasn’t suppose to happen.” I say with a grim like tone as he falters with the gun in his grasp. I know he’s tempted to.
Tempted to do what? It’s definitely not shooting me. I’ll show you.
“L-Louis-“
“DON’T TELL ME TO CALM DOWN!” Louis yelled with such pain it sent needles of pain all the way down my spine. His voice when he was upset always made me uneasy. Which is an understatement-
Louis, with his furrowed eyebrows and beautiful brown eyes looked into my soul with tears clouding him.
Those beautiful eyes were misty with pain, confusion...betrayal.
W-What have I done to you, my Amore...
——would you like to continue ?——
RANDOM DIALOGUE IDEAS #12
Feel free to use any of these dialogue ideas in your writing. Be creative with the context!
“I want to go home”
“take it back”
“I can’t remember”
“it’s not funny”
“I lied”
“don’t tell me to calm down”
“I need a hug”
“that wasn’t supposed to happen”
“hurry back”
“stop interrupting me”
“I can’t take you seriously”
“I don’t want to talk about it”
“problem solved”
“I need more time”
“let me go”
“that was embarrassing”
“never do that again”
“I have an idea”
“it’s freezing in here”
“you’ve changed”
Me: hey, God. May I ask for this?
God: Mmm..
Me: How about that?
God: Mmm? You sure?
Me: God..God.. I change my mind
God: O...kay
Me: God, I want that big prize but can I have it with lesser effort?
God: Young lady.... (shaking head)
“I almost didn’t recognize you.”
“The scars are new.”
“Who…who gave them to you?”
“Doesn’t matter. They’re dead.”
dialogue prompts for ~injury~
!!please credit/tag me!!
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, c’mere.”
“Someone get the medic. Get the medic!”
“Hey, hey, shhhh. Shhhh. You’re okay.”
“You did so good. Don’t worry, you-you did so good.”
“Here, lean on me. I can carry you.”
“We’re gonna fix you up, brand new. I promise.”
“No. No, stop. Stop talking like that. You’re gonna be fine.”
“Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do—fuck.”
“I know, I know it hurts.”
"I don't care. I'm not leaving you."
“I’m going to lift you up, okay? Tell me if it hurts.”
“Where are they? Where are they?!”
"I would believe that you're fine, but you have a goddamn knife sticking out of your leg, so."
"You just watched them die."
"This is going to hurt, okay?"
"God, I'm so sorry, it'll be over soon, I promise."
"How many fingers am I holding up? ... I don't have six fingers."
"Stop. No. Wake up. Wake up! I said wake up!"
"I came as soon as I heard."
“Get away! You’re hurting them!”
“Please be okay. Please be okay, please be okay—”
“Shit. Shit, that’s a lot of blood.”
“You dumbass. Don’t do that. Ever again.”
"Help them! Please!"
"You scared us all back there. I... Including me."
"[name]? [name], this isn't funny. Stop... please..."
"Breathe... breathe. Look at the stars, kid."
"It was supposed to be me... please, no, [name], please..."
"Tell me where it hurts, and be specific."
“You’ll be fine.” *silence* “You’ll be fine. Hey! Wake up! Please. Please wake up…”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
Living, A Lie
So you’re really doing it?
Yeah.
And you’ve thought everything through?
Jesus, yes.
Are you sure? I mean this isn’t something you can just change back if you’re not happy!
Would you just stop! I haven’t considered this lightly. This is what I want. Would you just support me in this?
Well look I’m here for you. No question. But this sort of thing...it makes me...uncomfortable. I’m sorry but I can’t help it. You are talking to the wrong person. I mean you know what I’m like...what my nature is...
I know, I know. A lot of people are going to feel that way but that’s their problem and it’s yours too. I can’t live my life as...a li...as this...just to make you feel better.
You’ve picked a name then?
Yes.
Care to share?
Ha, it'll be very accurate or maybe even Gospel.
Slandy won’t like it. Slandy can take a running jump. Or a rumoured one.
Well if you do this, you two can’t hang out anymore!
I know. Maybe that’s a good thing. Slandy is always talking shit about people. I've never liked it.
Oh wait a minute! Never liked it?! You were in cahoots! I saw the two of ye take apart many a person over the years.
Well I’ve changed. That stuff we used to do.I did it cause I felt I was supposed to. Playing a part that was decided for me by others...But no. I’ve changed.
Not yet. But you’re going to. You know...you won’t be able to wear the same clothes. They'll be less colourful...
I’ll have nicer clothes. Plus I dig the style. It’ll suit me.
And your family. Are they being cool about this?
Ha, well considering my family I’d have to expect to never know what they’re really thinking!
Well Fib is being...well Fib. I mean Fib has his own problems. He got married recently to Guess. She’s very much an Educated one, that girl but it’s still hard work. A member of the Lie family with someone who may or may not be right.
So it’s Guess-work then ammiright?
Har har. What about your Myther? How is she coping with all this?
She doesn’t want to talk to me about it and that’s fine.
She’s from an older generation. My grandfather Fable wouldn’t be able to handle this either. She keeps asking me, didn’t I learn anything from his stories?
When is the operation?
Honestly...and ha...I better get used to that word, I’ll be using it a lot more, I haven’t decided yet.
I’ll have to tell Slandy..I mean Slander before it’s all over the Libel Express! But it’s happening? You’re really getting a text change?
Yes, really! The Lie you see before you today, the Lie you’ve been living with these last few years has decided to change its gender. This time next year I’ll be a Truth. Always honest, sometimes uncomfortable but never wavering from what is right. I want people to see me walking on the street and say: "Well aint that...the truth?" I mean I had fun, all my running around, living in that rough Falsehood with all those Frauds but my last relationship with Deceit showed me. I’m just not happy any more. So what do you think about that Ms. Prejudice?
The folly of Truth, as my mother would say.
She’s biased.
No, her name is just Bias.
Coldness -> Hunger Headcanon (and it includes reference to Rafal's infamous plate-smashing habit):
Disclaimer: There's only a little evidence for this being true, and I might be projecting, so I could be far off. It just made sense in my head and I've been thinking about it lately.
There could be other, more human reasons for Rafal’s coldness aside from magic, a formerly Evil soul, or He’s Just Like That.
This thought was inspired by the characterization of BBC’s Sherlock, and myself to a much lesser extent. (I tend to crank Rafal's traits up to extremes because he's an even worse all-or-nothing person than I am.)
Also, apparently, according to Google, I seemingly have zero “normal” hunger cues? I wasn't aware that being cold was “abnormal” until now. Does anyone relate to this or is it just me? I know it cannot reasonably be just me.
Moving on, the canon evidence is:
The "skinny snowman" line from Rise, if the implication of thermal (not figurative) coldness follows "snowman."
That one time when he sat watching torture for a few days without moving at all.
So, the headcanon is that Rafal forgets to eat. Or thinks he’s too absorbed in stuff going on to eat or that eating is beneath him. Any explanation will do. And, his hands (or body) become cold as a result, as the only physical signal of hunger, extremities first.
The second headcanon that incidentally came out of this is that Rafal would make a incredibly talented Gamemaker for the Hunger Games, haha—not good.
⸻
[In the silver tower:]
Rhian: Rafal! EAT something. That is an order.
Rafal: [petulantly] No! I haven’t finished these Trial plans! I can't decide if death trap #263 should go in the Cyan Caves or Pine Glen. The caves would trap them—so only one exit, which could be blocked for best results in eliminating the greatest number of competitors at once. But, the pines are disorientingly-spaced at extremely regular intervals this year—meaning, they'll get lost sooner without distinct landmarks or will feel unsettled and dizzy by the uncanny repetition of the maze since it'll be man-made...
Rhian: Well, actually, about that—
Rafal: [derisively] Don't need your input, Sir-'Only-Kill-In-Self-Defense.' I'm not reconsidering at this late stage. If this is about your famous health-aging-and-mortality lecture, that doesn’t work on me anymore. We’re immortal. It doesn’t matter and never will. Now, stop wasting time on right silly things.
Rhian: I know you think digestion of a large meal will slow you down, but at least eat something small or regular-sized. Please. Aren't you hungry? It's been three days.
Rafal: No. I don't feel a thing. I haven't felt a thing in... I've lost count. Stop bothering me and go away. I have to finish this first.
Rhian: Have you looked in the mirror lately?
Rafal: No. Why would I need to? I always look excellent, I'll have you know.
Rhian: [sighs] You’re cold. Have you noticed? For all your keen powers of observation, you're tremendously bad at paying attention to your physical self. I bet you're tired, too, and in denial about it.
Rafal: I'm not tired and I’m always cold. I shouldn't even have to dignify those sorts of questions with a response. Your point?
Rhian: [points at Rafal.] You're being a child. And you're irritable.
Rafal: Well, I wouldn't say I'm a proper delight either. Learn to moderate your expectations like the rest of them. Now, say something worth my time or leave.
Rhian: We don't have to go through this every time. Look. Your fingers and lips have turned blue.
Rafal: So?
Rhian: All right. I’m leaving this plate, with this food on it, next to you. You haven't forgotten what food is, have you? And I'm not talking about that inedible slop your students eat.
Rafal: [rolls his eyes] Don't need it. [Has stopped paying attention—] Utensils... too finicky... plate takes up surface area on desk. No room for paper. Then I won't be able to concentrate on this. Deadlines.
Rhian: It's a sandwich. You'd know if you bothered to look up for even one second. Problem solved. The plate can go on the floor. No wastes of space. Nothing encroaching on your papers. You can use one hand to eat it and the other hand to finish writing down your plans. And light a lamp. You'll strain your eyes. [He sets the plate on the desk.]
Rafal: Bah—whatever. The dark suits me. [He tries to sweep the plate off the table like usual—]
Rhian: [snatches it out of his reach and sets it down safely on the floor.] When I come back, I want it gone. Not via sorcery. Not via loophole exploitation. But eaten. You will eat it and not throw it out the window at the birds. You will not stuff it under the carpet or in the rubbish. It will go into your stomach and that's final.
Rafal: [not listening] Yes, yes. Sustenance. Yatter-yatter about this and that and tosh. Got it.
Rhian: Look, I know you don’t need to eat, but you ought to. I also expect the same of this glass of water, [he sets it on the desk] and if they’re still here when I return, I will sabotage your all-important project and tell my Evers your Trial strategy, so they win. I'll even tell the pots and pans to cook something with actual nutrients in it for your students, which you seem to have forgotten about. Did you know they've been cutting classes? They don't work like you, you know, and you can't deprive mortals.
Rafal: [scoffs] You wouldn’t. You’re too Good to do it. And I'll tell Humburg to handle my Nevers, thank you very much.
Rhian: Ever heard of the greater Good? You’re looking right at it. Now eat.
Rafal: [groans and picks up the sandwich.]
Rhian: [smugly] Good.
Rafal: [mutters something about: what's the point of endurance and asceticism if they're never put to use? What's the point of training if it's never practiced? What's the point of immortality if you can't make use of your superiority over mortals with their trivial bodily needs—he peeks at what's between the bread.] Ah. Cucumber. You're forgiven.
Rhian: The things I have to live with— [He leaves and slams the door.]
Eloy: You are my light
Hello everybody. This is a new year so here I bring you a new drawing of Eloy and Mitsuki. There is not much context but they have been talking about how Eloy's life changed after meeting Mitsuki and how important she is to him. I hope you like it.
Dialogue Punctuation Cheat Sheet
This is just a friendly little guide on how to use punctuation in dialogue since (at least for me) this isn’t something that I was taught in school and had to learn on my own. That being said, I am not an expert! I don’t have an English degree or anything like that! I’m just an avid reader and writer and wanted to share what I have learned in a concise format.
A lot of this information is from “How to Write Dazzling Dialogue: The Fastest Way to Improve Any Manuscript” by James Scott Bell, “The Best Punctuation Book, Period” by June Casagrande, and “The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation” by Jane Straus, Lester Kaufman, and Tom Stern. If you’re able to get these books, I highly recommend them!
(Also, yes I used Disney quotes for most of my examples lol)
---
Rule 1: Dialogue punctuation includes the following:
Period
Comma
Question mark
Exclamation point
Em-dash
Ellipsis
All dialogue will include some sort of punctuation before the closing quotation.
---
Rule 2: Punctuation goes inside the quotes.
Correct
“Do you want to build a snowman?” Anna asked.
Correct
“You can’t marry a man you just met,” Elsa said.
Incorrect
“Do you want to build a snowman”? Anna asked.
---
Rule 3: Don’t capitalize a pronoun used for dialogue attribution.
Correct
“I was hiding under your porch because I love you,” he said.
Incorrect
“I was hiding under your porch because I love you,” He said.
---
Rule 4: Capitalize for action beats.
Correct
“A llama? He’s supposed to be dead!” She slammed her fist on the table.
Incorrect
“A llama? He’s supposed to be dead!” she slammed her fist on the table.
---
Rule 5: Use a comma when introducing a quotation, such as when dialogue attribution comes at the beginning. The first word of the dialogue is capitalized.
Correct
Scar leaned forward and said, “Run away, Simba.”
Incorrect
Scar leaned forward and said. “Run away, Simba.”
Incorrect
Scar leaned forward and said, “run away, Simba.”
---
Rule 6: Use single quotation marks for quotations within quotations. Punctuation goes inside both quotations (I’ve heard this can vary depending on country).
Correct
“My father said, ‘Everything the light touches is our kingdom.’”
Incorrect
“My father said, ‘Everything the light touches is our kingdom’.”
---
Rule 7: If there are two or more sentences, the speaker attribution should be put before or after the first complete phrase.
Correct
Grandmother said, “Great. She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should’ve brought home a man.”
Correct
“Great,” Grandmother said. “She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should’ve brought home a man.”
Incorrect
“Great. She brings home a sword. If you ask me, she should’ve brought home a man,” Grandmother said.
(Note: This is a rule I break all the time, but I thought I would include it in this list anyway! Usually when the first sentence or two are very, very, short and go together, but they still need that “breath” of a dialogue tag in between. But it’s a good thing to be aware of!)
---
Rule 8: Use commas to interrupt a complete sentence with a dialogue attribution. Don’t capitalize the next word after the comma.
Correct
“Aren’t you,” Hercules said, “a damsel in distress?”
Incorrect
“Aren’t you,” Hercules said, “A damsel in distress?”
---
Rule 9: Use ellipses to illustrate a character trailing off, showing hesitation, or a pause.
“Aren’t you… a damsel in distress?”
---
Rule 10: Em-dashes can be used for interruptions, indicating simultaneous actions that do not cause an interruption, or a change in thought/tone. Don’t use dialogue attribution after an em-dash.
Another Person Interrupts
Correct
“He would never do anything to hurt me. He—”
Hades threw up his hands. “He’s a guy!”
Correct
Meg said, “He would never do anything to hurt me. He—”
Hades threw up his hands. “He’s a guy!”
Incorrect
“He would never do anything to hurt me. He—” Meg said.
Hades threw up his hands. “He’s a guy!”
Self Interruption
“I—” Hercules reached into his pocket and pulled out a small doll. “I’m an action figure!
Simultaneous Action
“I am surrounded” — Scar dragged his paw over his face — “by idiots.”
Change In Thought/Tone
“It’s not that you’re awkward. I’m awkward. You’re gorgeous — wait, what?”
---
Other Notes (these might just be my personal preferences, feel free to ignore)
Don’t use semi-colons in dialogue. Use a period instead.
Use exclamation points sparingly. Extremely sparingly. Maybe once per 10k words or even less.
After using an ellipsis, saying “he/she trailed off” is redundant. Just skip to the next action. The ellipsis already implies someone trailed off.
New speaker (or character action that serves as a response) = New paragraph.
“Said” should be your most commonly used dialogue tag. Any dialogue tag other than “said” or “asked” will stick out to the reader, and should be used sparingly.
If there is anything I missed, got wrong, or should add, PLEASE KINDLY LET ME KNOW! Again, I don’t have an English degree, I’m not a professional, and I’m actually a bit of a pea-brain, but these are the general rules that I know of and follow in my writing.
more otp prompts
"I'm not sure what to do with all these feelings for you."
"you're blind- you're so blind! why would i even do half the things that i do for you for anybody if i wasn't head over heels for them!"
"you really can't tell, can you?" A says. "I'm embarrassed by my feelings for you. I'm so dumb for keeping them alive. i love you. there. you heard it. happy now?"
"i wish i could spell your name with the stars."
"i think we both need a therapist to figure out whatever the hell this is." A mumbles against B's lips. "It's getting to my head."
"Me?" A asks. "Are you sure? Out of the billions of people out there, I'm the one you chose to love?"
"I'm not sure how long i can go on for without driving myself insane with all this love for you. Please just... just do with this confession what you will and set me free."
"I like how obsessed with me you are," A smiles. "Makes me feel like the most important person in the whole world."
"Stop smiling. It does things to me I'd rather not talk about."