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How to Write Dialogue in a Narrative Paragraph

By Hayley Milliman

What is Dialogue?

How to write dialogue, how to punctuate your dialogue, periods and commas, question marks and exclamation points, final thoughts.

Dialogue is the written conversational exchange between two or more characters.

Conventional English grammar rules tell us that you should always start a new paragraph when someone speaks in your writing.

“Let’s get the heck out of here right now,” Mary said, turning away from the mayhem.

John looked around the pub. “Maybe you’re right,” he said and followed her towards the door.

Sometimes, though, in the middle of a narrative paragraph, your main character needs to speak.

Mary ducked away from flying fists. The fight at the pub was getting out of control. One man was grabbing bar stools and throwing them at others, and while she watched, another one who you could tell worked out regularly grabbed men by their shirt collars and tossed them out of the way. Almost hit by one flying person, she turned to John and said, “Let’s get the heck out of here right now.”

In my research, I couldn’t find any hard and fast rules that govern how to use dialogue in the middle of a narrative paragraph. It all depends on what style manual your publisher or editorial staff follow.

For example, in the Chicago Manual of Style , putting dialogue in the middle of paragraphs depends on the context. As in the above example, if the dialogue is a natural continuation of the sentences that come before, it can be included in your paragraph. The major caveat is if someone new speaks after that, you start a new paragraph and indent it.

On the other hand, if the dialogue you’re writing departs from the sentences that come before it, you should start a new paragraph and indent the dialogue.

The fight at the pub was getting out of control. One man was grabbing bar stools and throwing them at others, and another one who you could tell worked out regularly grabbed men by their shirt collars and tossed them out of the way.

Punctuation for dialogue stays consistent whether it’s included in your paragraph or set apart as a separate paragraph. We have a great article on how to punctuate your dialogue here: Where Does Punctuation Go in Dialogue?

It’s often a stylistic choice whether to include your dialogue as part of the paragraph. If you want your dialogue to be part of the scene described in preceding sentences, you can include it.

But if you want your dialogue to stand out from the action, start it in the next paragraph.

Dialogue is a fantastic way to bring your readers into the midst of the action. They can picture the main character talking to someone in their mind’s eye, and it gives them a glimpse into how your character interacts with others.

That said, dialogue is hard to punctuate, especially since there are different rules for different punctuation marks—because nothing in English grammar is ever easy, right?

We’re going to try to make this as easy as possible. So we’ll start with the hardest punctuation marks to understand.

For American English, periods and commas always go inside your quotation marks, and commas are used to separate your dialogue tag from the actual dialogue when it comes at the beginning of a sentence or in the middle. Here are a few examples:

Nancy said, “Let’s go to the park today since the weather is so beautiful.”

“Let’s go to the park today since the weather is so beautiful,” she said.

“Let’s go to the park today,” she said, “since the weather is so beautiful.”

British English puts the periods and commas inside the quotation marks if they’re actually part of the quoted words or sentence. Consider the following example:

• She sang “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, the theme song from The Wizard of Oz.

In the above example, the comma after “Rainbow” is not part of the quoted material and thus belongs outside the quotation marks.

But for most cases when you’re punctuating dialogue, the commas and periods belong inside the quotation marks.

Where these punctuation marks go depends on the meaning of your sentence. If your main character is asking someone a question or exclaiming about something, the punctuation marks belongs inside the quotation marks.

Nancy asked, “Does anyone want to go to the park today?”

Marija said, “That’s fantastic news!”

“Please say you’re still my friend!” Anna said.

“Can we just leave now?” asked Henry.

But if the question mark or exclamation point is for the sentence as a whole instead of just the words inside the quotation marks, they belong outside of the quotes.

Does your physical therapist always say to his patients, “You just need to try harder”?

Do you agree with the saying, “All’s fair in love and war”?

Single Quotation Marks

Only use single quotation marks for quotes within quotes, such as when a character is repeating something someone else has said. Single quotes are never used for any other purpose.

Avery said, “I saw a sign that read ‘Welcome to America’s Greatest City in the Midwest’ when I entered town this morning.”

“I heard Mona say to her mom, ‘You know nothing whatsoever about me,’ ” said Jennifer.

Some experts put a space after the single quote and before the main quotation mark like in the above example to make it easier for the reader to understand.

Here’s a trickier example of single quotation marks, question marks, and ending punctuation, just to mix things up a little.

• Mark said, “I heard her ask her lawyer, ‘Am I free to go?’ after the verdict was read this morning.”

Perfectly clear, right? Let us know some of your trickiest dialogue punctuation situations in the comments below.

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Hayley Milliman

Hayley is the Head of Education and Community at ProWritingAid. Prior to joining this team, Hayley spent several years as an elementary school teacher and curriculum developer in Memphis, TN. When Hayley isn't hunched over her keyboard, you can find her figure skating at the ice rink or hiking with her dog.

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Writing A Narrative Essay

• Library Resources
• Books & EBooks
• What is an Narrative Essay?
• Choosing a Topic
• MLA Formatting

Using Dialogue

• Using Descriptive Writing
• OER Resources
• Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use

Examples of Dialogue Tags

Examples of Dialogue Tags:

interrupted

Ebooks in Galileo

Additional Links & Resources

• Dialogue Cheat Sheet

Dialogue is an exchange of conversation between two or more people or characters in a story. As a literary style, dialogue helps to advance the plot, reveal a character's thoughts or emotions, or shows the character's reaction within the story. Dialogue gives life to the story and supports the story's atmosphere.

There are two types of dialogue that can be used in an narrative essay.

Direct dialogue  is written between inverted commas or quotes. These are the actual spoken words of a character 

Indirect dialogue  is basically telling someone about what another person said

Formatting Dialogue

Dialogue is an important part of a narrative essay, However formatting dialogue can be troublesome at times.

When formatting dialogue use these rules and examples to help with your formatting:

Place double quotation marks at the beginning an end of spoken words.  The quotations go on the  outside  of both the words and end-of-dialogue punctuation.

• Example:  "What is going on here?" John asked.

Each speaker gets a new paragraph that is indented.

      “hi,” said John as he stretched out his hand.

           "Good Morning, how are you?" said Brad shaking John’s hand.

                      "Good. Thanks for asking," John said.

Each speaker’s actions are in the same paragraph as their dialogue.

 A  dialogue tag  is anything that indicates which character spoke and describes how they spoke.

If the tag comes before the dialogue,  use a comma straight after the tag. If the dialogue is the beginning of a sentence, capitalize the first letter. End the dialogue with the appropriate punctuation (period, exclamation point, or question mark), but keep it INSIDE the quotation marks.

• Examples Before: 

James said, “I’ll never go shopping with you again!”

John said, “It's a great day to be at the beach.”

She opened the door and yelled, “Go away! Leave me alone!”

If the dialogue tag comes after the dialogue , Punctuation still goes INSIDE quotation marks. Unless the dialogue tag begins with a proper noun, it is  not  capitalized. End the dialogue tag with appropriate punctuation. Use comma after the quote unless it ends with a question mark or exclamation mark.

• Examples After: 

“Are you sure this is real life?” Lindsay asked.

“It’s so gloomy out,” he said.

“Are we done?” asked Brad . 

“This is not your concern!” Emma said.

If dialogue tag is in the middle of dialogue.  A comma should be used before the dialogue tag inside the closing quotation mark; Unless the dialogue tag begins with a proper noun, it is  not  capitalized. A comma is used after the dialogue tag, outside of quotation marks, to reintroduce the dialogue. End the dialogue with the appropriate punctuation followed by the closing quotation marks. 

When it is two sentences, the first sentence will end with a punctuation mark and the second begins with a capital letter.

• Examples middle: 

“Let’s run away,” she whispered, “we wont get another chance.”

“I thought you cared.” Sandy said, hoping for an explanation. “How could you walk away?”

“I can’t believe he’s gone,” Jerry whispered. “I’ll miss him.”

Questions in dialogue.  

if there is a dialogue tag, the question mark will act as a comma and you will then lowercase the first word in the dialogue tag 

• Example: What are you doing?" he asked.

if there is simply an action after the question, the question mark acts as a period and you will then capitalize the first word in the next sentence.

“Sarah, why didn't you text me back?” Jane asked.

“James, why didn’t you show up?” Carol stomped her feet in anger before slamming the door behind her.

If the question or exclamation ends the dialogue, do not use commas to separate the dialogue from dialogue tags.

• Example:  “Sarah, why didn't you text me back?” Jane asked.

If the sentence containing the dialogue is a question, then the        question mark goes outside of the quotation marks.

Did the teacher say, “The Homework is due Tomorrow”?

If you have to quote something within the dialogue.  When a character quotes someone else, use double-quotes around what your character says, then single-quotes around the speech they’re quoting.

• Example: 

"When doling out dessert, my grandmother always said, 'You may have a cookie for each hand.'"

Dashes & Ellipses:

Dashes ( — ) are used to indicate abruptly interrupted dialogue or when one character's dialogue is interrupted by another character.

Use an em dash  inside  the quotation marks to cut off the character mid-dialogue, usually with either (A) another character speaking or (B) an external action.

• Including the em dash at the end of the line of dialogue signifies that your character wasn't finished speaking.
• If the speaking character's action interrupts their own dialogue . 
• Use em dashes  outside  the quotation marks to set off a bit of action without a speech verb. 

Examples: 

• Heather ran towards Sarah with excitement. “You won’t believe what I found out—”
• "Is everything—" she started to ask, but a sharp look cut her off.
• "Look over there—" She snapped her mouth shut so she didn't give the secret away.
• "Look over there"—she pointed towards the shadow—"by the stairway."

Use ellipses (...) when a character has lost their train of thought or can't figure out what to say

• Example:  “You haven’t…” he trailed off in disbelief.

Action Beats

Action beats show what a character is doing before, during, or after their dialogue.

“This isn't right.” She squinted down at her burger. “Does this look like it is well done to you?”

She smiled. “I loved the center piece you chose.”

If you separate two complete sentences, you will simply place the action beat as its own sentence between two sets of quotes.

“I never said he could go to the concert.” Linda sighed and sat in her chair. “He lied to you again.”

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• Last Updated: Jan 24, 2024 1:22 PM
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How to Write Dialogue in an Essay: Usage, Formatting, Punctuation Rules

Updated 30 Aug 2024

From narrative essays, personal reflections, psychology simulation reports, and English literature writing and scholarships, using dialogue in an essay can dramatically change a student’s chances of delivering a successful paper. However, there are specific rules that have to be considered. Many U.S. college students have failed such essays due to not learning how to write dialogue in an essay. Our writing guide provides clear definitions, cases of usage, formatting cases with examples, and MLA and APA dialogue rules that have to be known. Thankfully, once these rules are mastered, chances of getting low grades are really low! For best grades, consider turning to one of our creative essay writers at EduBirdie to receive plagiarism-free and unique papers.

Essay Dialogue Definition & Purpose

As most might remember from school, dialogue represents a special literary device that helps writers to portray a conversation with two or more individuals involved. Dialogue in an essay can be implemented when writing fiction or nonfiction narrative work. As an example, working with (or citing) movies, plays, books or reports, its usage may even become obligatory for greater effect. However, one should not mistake dialogue with academic research necessity to directly quote from journals, books or any other sources.

The most crucial rule isn’t to confuse direct quotes with dialogues, which is a major mistake that most college students make. The main difference lies not only in formatting rules but in purpose. The purpose of dialogue is to be a part of a particular story, adding a creative or emotionally-charged touch. Unlike direct quotes that have the purpose of supporting claims made by an author word by word, they differ by primary intention.  

When Dialogue is Used in an Essay and Why

Naturally, cases of dialogue usage differ from paper to paper, yet the majority of writing assignments that include dialogue have a creative nature. It’s so because narration always tells a story and adds literary devices to support settings, writing style, and imagery. Psychological element of perception is extremely important, therefore, each sentence has to be creative. Dialogue in an essay adds power to imagery by allowing the target audience to live through the effect of an actual presence and character of the people involved.

Various dialogue simulations in Business Management, Education, or Psychology university assignments can require creative thinking, yet when students have to work on argumentative or persuasive essays, it’s recommended to use direct quoting instead to make argumentation reliable. Since our claim has to be strong or even supported by a source, citing an existing source is correct in such cases.

Likewise, students working on expository essays explain the mechanics of certain facts by providing definite facts. The general rule for understanding whether dialogue fits in your paper is to think about the importance of direct claims. If no claim has to be made, creative use of conversation is allowed. It helps to relate stories, knowledge, and the feeling of belonging to an audience.

For example, when one has to present conversations with friends or work colleagues, writing an argumentative paper, it is recommended to use direct quotes, marking it as "Personal Interview" or "Personal Conversation", when citing. College professors expect students to have objectivity and a correct attitude that shows a scientific approach. Turning to a dialogue essay is acceptable in narration or when the writer has to be reflective. Writing dialogue in an essay can be challenging, especially for legal topics, which is why utilizing a law essay writing service can help ensure your dialogue is clear, precise, and correctly formatted.

Approach this task as a report on speech, where there’s no need to include all details. Recreating it from one's memory, the writer uses dialogue to add depth, emotional background, or mood to explain the provided story's content. Remember that conversation has to capture the reader's attention, explain settings, and be realistic enough.

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How to Format Dialogue in an Essay

The most challenging part is how to format dialogue in an essay, yet with basic rules explained, it will not seem too difficult!

Note: Our writing guide focuses on U.S. English rules of grammar, which means that it’s always better to check twice due to possible differences in your country.

• Apply double quotation marks when signifying that character uses speech

For example: When I failed college exams, my mother told me, "You should try harder, son."

• When using quotes in quotes, use single quotation marks

As shown below: "I recall watching Colbert Report episode that said 'Politics and religion do not mix' and feeling amazed," the course instructor said.

• If conversation extends across more than one paragraph, implement quotation marks right where each paragraph starts. However, closing double quotes can only be implemented when character’s speech reaches its end

See this example: James smiled and said, "It might be difficult at first. If we choose another approach for mediation, we won't be concerned about privacy. Still, third party presence might irritate people like John and Mike. Let's hope it works out."

Another important issue that should be considered by students learning how to put dialogue in an essay relates to correct punctuation. We will use correct and incorrect examples for clearer referencing.

- If your used speech quotation locates at sentence end, always implement full stop. It should be inside inverted commas, as in here:  

Wrong use: His mother exclaimed, "Do your college homework right now, please".

Correct use: An old man commented, "This essay is worth gold."

- Speaking of questions or use of exclamation signs, there’s a rule that states if it’s related to character’s words, they should be placed inside quotation.

Incorrect: Johnny shouted, "This is against the rules"!

Correct: Linda commented, "Sounds right to me!"

- If quote belongs to another greater sentence that represents question or contains an exclamation in it, punctuation marks go beyond speech being marked.

Wrong quotation example: What would you think when professor says, "Have you seen additional grading rubric?"

Proper way: What did you do when your father shouted, "Where is Andrew"?

- If intended speech tag appears before you implement a quote, it is necessary to make it separate, therefore, writers put comma before quotation mark.

Wrong: His sister said, "I'm going to John's graduation tonight."

Correct: Mr. Brown said, "Essay writing online is possible".

- Now if conversation element appears after quotation marks, correct way is to place comma inside replica’s mark. Like this:

"Just make sure my tea is hot", my brother warned me as I went outside.

- Finally, if there is interruption in a phrase, it is necessary to put comma after the first part of used phrase. As explanatory part finishes (who speaks), comma is used once again. See our example:

"Not exactly," Tom said in teary voice, "It's plain wrong to think so."

Read also: To be confident in the explanatory part, read our guide about  how to write an explanatory essay

Now that we know how to quote dialogue in an essay, let us proceed with APA and MLA formatting peculiarities!

Read also: How to Write Dates with Commas Correctly?

Dialogue Formatting in APA and MLA essay formats

MLA formatting:

• Place dialogue in new paragraph, even if speech is really small.
• Use commas to separate speech tags.

He said, "Oh, dear! I think we forgot to invite Jamie."

• If character's speech is more than one paragraph, start every paragraph with inverted commas.
• Remember that final quotation mark is placed at paragraph's end.

During his graduation, he said, "I did not think that Social Psychology is right for me, but then I started working part-time at our local shelter. It was a time changing experience! "Thanks to my college professors, my parents, everyone who has made it possible today."

How to quote a conversation in an essay APA format:

• In APA format , if character in speech uses not much text, the same paragraph contains dialogue tags and quotes.
• Commas are used for dialogue tags separation as well as quoting.

Laura said, "I'm feeling tired. Can you help me with my assignment?"

• If speech is more than 40 words, inverted commas should be at the beginning of every paragraph, as well as at conversation's end.

During our meeting, he said, "Nothing can be as damaging as working at college assignments few hours before deadline." "No proofreading is done when student is always hurrying up. I recommend online writing services if one absolutely needs professional help and has no time."

• If your dialogue involves more than two people, each person has his or her own paragraph in essay text.

"Ashley Construction Group. How can I help you?" She said. "Stella? I think John asked you to text him this morning. Could you?" He exclaimed.

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What is the Purpose of Dialogue in a Narrative Essay?

In a narrative essay, the writer conveys the story using first-person narration and often emphasizes particular personal experiences of life. Such essays and stories are non-fiction but it encompasses some fictional elements. However, one of the most significant elements in a narrative essay is dialogue through which the message deliverance takes place.

Dialogues are considered a crucial tool in an essay. It not only allows characters to do conversations but is also useful regarding other aspects. Anyhow, let’s explore what is the purpose of dialogue in a narrative essay and how to write them effectively.

What is a Dialogue?

From an existing writing stance, dialogue is the means of communication between two or more characters, which is generally spoken loud. Usually, within an essay or a story, a dialogue is denoted by quotation marks or dialogue tags.

Anyhow, there are two types of dialogues:

Direct Dialogue

Direct dialogue is the speech using the exact words of the speaker or the character. In this case, quotation marks are placed around the direct dialogues.

For instance,

Katherine asked Maria, “Why do you look sad?”

Indirect Dialogue

Indirect dialogue is someone’s speech that is conveyed by a third person or something which is not said or written in the exact words.

For example,

Katherine asked Maria why she looked sad.

How Dialogue Matters in a Narrative Essay?

Let’s discover some important roles of dialogue within an essay or a story.

It Gives the Character Life

Dialogue can help characters grow. In fact, at least one of the characters should shift expression in every successful discussion. Also, dialogues within an essay are explicitly helpful in driving the plot and generating connections and relationships between numerous characters. It directly reveals the events that may not be deceptive by the description. Through dialogue, characters experience a variety of feelings that may be lost if they were narrated by a narrator.

It Outlines the Character

Character qualities can also be revealed through dialogue. Since the writer is the protagonist in a personal narrative, the author’s interaction with others is equally significant. To give the essay reality, the language serves to convey each character’s true personality and voice. At the same time, the author allows the characters to speak for themselves without interfering too much. The conversation also expresses the feelings of the characters and demonstrates how they connect with one another.

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It Shows, Not Tells

You must have been hearing this old piece of advice by your instructor while writing a descriptive essay: “Show, don’t tell.” Dialogue may be utilized to add authenticity to a personal narrative and to make the story more realistic by demonstrating rather than telling the reader what is going on. It reveals emotion and information through sensory aspects like seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting.

For example, consider the following sentence: “William was enraged after Oscar deceived him.” Rather, if the author preferred dialogue, he or she may write, “William walked around the room stomping his feet. ‘Ah! What right does he have to say that? How could he betray me like that?'” Without mentioning the word “angry,” the latter conveys fury through conversation.

It Moves the Essay Ahead

The purpose of dialogue in a narrative essay is to assist the plot’s progress by recreating people’s discussions and ideas. External conversation refers to spoken words, whereas internal dialogue refers to notions and ideas. One or both of these sorts of dialogues can be found in a personal narrative essay. The pace of the story can also be accelerated by using dialogue, while the narration slows it down. It can also be used to break up extended paragraphs of narrative.

How to Write Dialogue in a Narrative Essay?

Although composing dialogue might be difficult, proficient writing requires consistency and knowledge of convention. To organize your discussion on the page, follow these formatting principles.

Place Quotation Marks

Quotation marks are usually placed around direct dialogues when you write the exact words of someone within the content. However, make sure to place the period within the quotation marks.

Mark said, “let’s go shopping.”

Put Dialogue Tags Outside the Quotations

Dialogue tags assign a line of dialogue to one of the characters, that enables the reader to figure out who is delivering the dialogue. The dialogue tags should be placed outside the quotation marks, whereas the punctuation should be placed within.

“I’m starving,” Karen said.

However, if the dialogue tag comes in first, then the comma would be placed outside the quotation marks.

Karen said, “I’m starving.”

On the other hand, if there is an exclamation or question mark at the end of the dialogue, then it would be placed inside the quotation marks.

“I’m starving!” Karen said.

John asked, “Would you like to eat pizza?”

Begin Dialogue in a Separate Sentence

If an event takes place before or after the dialogue, make sure to begin it with a new sentence. Or, in other words, when you start a new dialogue after the description, start it from a separate sentence.

Adam immediately went out of the room and saw Carol.

“What are you doing here?” asked Carol.

Use Single Quote Marks When There is Dialogue within the Dialogue

If the character is saying something and delivering someone else’s dialogue within their dialogue, then you would use two quotation marks. One would be the inverted commas around the main dialogue and single quotation marks (apostrophe) around the internal dialogue.

Olivia suggested, “When you asked, ‘Which profession should I choose?’ the medical field instantly came to my mind.”

Use Lowercase When the Dialogue Interrupts

If an action or dialogue tag comes between a single dialogue and it is broken down into two segments, then the first letter of the second segment would be in lowercase.

“After tomorrow,” said James, “she will never come back.”

Avoid Adding Extra Punctuation Marks

If the dialogue ends with an ellipsis, you should not place any comma or other punctuation mark, instead of the three periods. Usually, ellipses are used to indicate faltering speech.

Jasmine was trying to recall the event, “I… I don’t remember what happened last night…”

So, we hope this article has answered a few questions. What is the purpose of dialogue in a narrative essay? How to write a dialogue in a narrative essay? Although we’ve all spent our lives reading, it’s not until we have to create a conversation that we comprehend the complexities involved. How do you decide where a dialogue tag should go? This is frequently an aesthetic decision rather than a clear and fast law. I frequently use the tag where it appears to be the least obtrusive. When a speaker tag is required, it should be as “transparent” as possible to avoid interfering with fluent reading.

For assistance with narrative essay writing , you can hire one of our writing experts by placing an order now. For more inquiries, you can contact us through WhatsApp or Live Chat!

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How to Format Dialogue: Complete Guide

Dialogue formatting matters. Whether you’re working on an essay, novel, or any other form of creative writing. Perfectly formatted dialogue makes your work more readable and engaging for the audience.

In this article, you’ll learn the dialogue formatting rules. Also, we’ll share examples of dialogue in essays for you to see the details.

What is a Dialogue Format?

Dialogue format is a writing form authors use to present characters' communication. It's common for play scripts, literature works, and other forms of storytelling.

A good format helps the audience understand who is speaking and what they say. It makes the communication clear and enjoyable. In dialogue writing, we follow the basic grammar rules like punctuation and capitalization. They help us illustrate the speaker’s ideas.

General Rules to Follow When Formatting a Dialogue

Dialogue writing is an essential skill for both professionals and scholars . It shows your ability to express the issues and ideas of other people in different setups. The core rules of formatting are about punctuation. So, below is a quick reminder on punctuation marks’ names:

And now, to practice.

Please follow these rules for proper dialogue formatting:

•  Use quotation marks. Enclose the speaker’s words in double quotations. It helps readers distinguish between a character’s speech and a narrator’s comments.
•  Place punctuation inside quotation marks. All punctuation like commas, exclamations, or interrogation marks, go inside the double quotations.
•  Keep dialogue tags behind quotation marks. A dialogue tag is (1) words framing direct speech to convey the context and emotions of a conversation. For example, in (“I can’t believe this is you,” she replied.), the dialogue tag is “she replied.”
•  Use an ellipsis or em-dashes for pauses or interruptions. To show interruptions or pauses, end phrases with ellipses inside quotations. Em-dashes go outside quotations. No other extra marks are necessary here.
•  Remember a character’s voice.  Ensure that each character’s phrases reflect their background and personality.

5 More Rules to Know (+ Examples of Dialogue)

For proper formatting of dialogue in writing, stick to the following rules:

1. Each speaker’s saying comes in a new paragraph

Begin a new paragraph whenever a new character starts speaking. It allows you to differentiate speakers and make their conversation look more organized. (2)

“Has Mr. de Winter been in?” I said.    “Yes, Madam,” said Robert; “he came in just after two, and had a quick lunch, and then went out again. He asked for you and Frith said he thought you must have gone down to see the ship.”    “Did he say when he would be back again?” I asked.    “No, Madam.” — from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

2. Separate dialogue tags with commas

When using dialogue tags ( e.g., “she said,” “he replied,”), separate them with commas. 

For example:

“You’ve got to do something right now , ” Aaron said , “Mom is really hurting. She says you have to drive her to the hospital.” “Actually, Dad , ” said Caleb, sidling in with his catalog , “There’s someplace you can drive me, too.” “No, Caleb.” — from The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

3. When quoting within dialogue, place single quotes

If a character cites somebody or something while speaking, we call it a reported dialogue. In this case, use single quotations within double ones you place for a direct speech. It will help readers see that it’s a quote.

John started to cry. “When you said, ‘I never wanted to meet you again in my life!’ It hurts my feelings.”

4. You can divide a character’s long speech into paragraphs

Dialogue writing is different when a person speaks for a longer time. It’s fine to divide it into shorter paragraphs. Ensure the proper quotation marks placing:

 The first quotation mark goes at the beginning of the dialogue. Each later paragraph also starts with it until that direct speech ends.

 The second quotation mark — the one “closing” the monologue — goes at the dialogue’s end.

Josphat took a deep breath and began. “ Here’s the things about lions. They’re dangerous creatures. They only know how to kill. Have you ever seen a lion in an open area? Probably not. Because if you had you’d be dead now. “ I saw a lion once. I was fetching firewood to cook lunch. All of a sudden I found myself face to face with a lion. My heart stopped. I knew it was my end on earth. If it wasn’t the poachers we wouldn’t be having this talk. ”

Yet, you can keep a long text as a whole by adding some context with dialogue tags. Like here:

As you can see, there’s no quotation mark at the end of the paragraph in red. It’s because the next “Ha! ha!” paragraph continues the character’s speech.

5. Use action beats

Describe actions to provide context and keep readers engaged. Help them “hear” your characters. Punctuation also helps here: exclamation (!) or interrogation with exclamations (?!) demonstrate the corresponding tone of your narrative.

He slammed the door and shouted , “I can’t believe you did that ! “

Mistakes to Avoid When Formatting Dialogue

A good dialogue is a powerful instrument for a writer to show the character’s nature to the audience. Below are the mistakes to avoid in formatting if you want to reach that goal.

 So, please don’t :

• Allow characters to speak for too long. Writing long paragraphs will bore the reader, making them skip through your speech. Short but sweet talk is the best. When writing, aim to be brief, dynamic, and purposeful. If your character speaks too much, generating opinion essays , ensure this speech makes sense and serves a bigger purpose.
• Overburden dialogue with exposition.  Avoid telling the story background or building sophisticated words in your characters’ speeches. Instead, reveal the narrative content in small bursts and blend it around the rest of the prose. Convey it through your character’s actions and thoughts rather than summaries and explanations.
• Create rhetorical flourishes. Make your characters sound natural. Let them speak the way they’d do if they were real people. Consider their age, profession, and cultural background — and choose lexical items that fit them most.
• Use repetitive dialogue tags. Constant “he asked” and “she said” sounds monotonous. Diversify your tags: use power verbs, synonyms, and dialogue beats.

Frequently Asked Questions by Students

How to format dialogue in an essay.

Formatting a dialogue in an essay is tricky for most students. Here’s how to do it: Enclose the speaker’s words with double quotations and start every other character’s line from a new paragraph. Stick to the citation styles like APA or MLA to ensure credibility. 

How to format dialogue in a novel?

 A dialogue in a novel follows all the standard rules for clarity and readability. Ensure to use attributions, quotation marks, and paragraph format. It makes your dialogue flow, grabbing the reader’s attention.

How to format dialogue in a book?

Dialogue formatting in a book is critical for storytelling. It helps the audience distinguish the hero’s words. Follow the general rules we’ve discussed above:

Use double quotations and isolate dialogue tags with commas. Remember to place the discussion in blocks for better readability.

How to format dialogue between two characters?

A two-character dialogue offers the best way to prove successful formatting skills. Ensure you use action beats, quotations, and attribution tags. It allows readers to follow the conversation and understand it better.

What is the purpose of dialogue in a narrative essay?  

Dialogue writing is the exchange of views between two or more people to reach a consensus. It reveals the character’s attitude and argumentation. Last but not least, it helps convey the descriptive nature of your narrative essay.

References:

• https://valenciacollege.edu/students/learning-support/winter-park/communications/documents/WritingDialogueCSSCTipSheet_Revised_.pdf
• https://www.ursinus.edu/live/files/1158-formatting-dialogue
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4 Top Tips for Using Dialogue in Narrative Essay Writing

Do students really need to use dialogue in narrative essay writing?  (Can’t they just skip that part?)  If you’d asked me this twenty years ago, I would’ve shaken my head and said, “You don’t HAVE to have dialogue.”  But now, after many years of targeted writing instruction…my feelings have changed.   

If you’ve read any of my other blog posts, you’ll know that narrative writing has always pushed me out of my “comfort zone.”  However, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.  It’s helped me better understand my students who struggle with narrative writing and find ways to help them. 

When I first started trying to write my own narrative pieces, I really didn’t know where to start.  (I sure loved to read long stories, but that didn’t mean I knew how to write them!)  A 5-paragraph essay is so neatly organized.  But narrative writing? Not so much.

So, how did I get over this narrative writing hump?  Research.  I researched examples of great narratives.  I researched various writing curriculums. I researched different teaching styles.  And I looked to see what they all had in common.  Want to know what I discovered?

What type of writing uses dialogue for elementary students?

Elementary students practice all types of writing during the school year: descriptive , persuasive , narrative , informational , and so on.  But, not all of them use dialogue.  So, when should students use it?

Tip #1 : Use dialogue for NARRATIVE writing pieces. 

In elementary school, 2 types of narratives are usually taught: personal and fantasy .  Personal narratives are stories that your students experienced in real life.  Think: getting a puppy, jumping off the high dive, or meeting a baby sister for the first time.  Fantasy stories are completely made up.  Think: unicorns, fairies, and talking animals.  Since both personal narratives and fantasies are stories, students should use dialogue in both of them.

Teaching dialogue to 4th graders and 5th graders is essential for narrative writing!

Simply put: dialogue breathes life into a story.  Think of your favorite fiction story.  Did it have dialogue? Almost certainly.  That’s how we connect to the characters. That’s what makes them feel real. 

Tip #2 : Narrative writing should include a mixture of action, feelings, and DIALOGUE.  

Writing a story is a lot like making a cake.  When you mix all of the ingredients together, you get a delightful treat!  If you leave one of the ingredients out…it’s not nearly as tasty.  (And might even taste terrible!)  

Bottom line: Don’t leave out the dialogue.  It’s the flour in your story “cake.”

Wondering HOW to teach dialogue in narrative writing?

So, what are the basics of dialogue punctuation?  If you’re teaching dialogue to 4th graders and 5th graders, what conventions should they master?

Tip #3 : Use real texts to examine dialogue rules.  

I love to use the I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis as examples.  Not only do upper elementary students LOVE these books, but most pages have short segments of dialogue mixed with action and feelings.  

I like to turn to an interesting page, project it, and have students try to identify dialogue conventions on their own.  I fill in the rules that get missed.  

Some of the key rules we cover:

*quotes around the speaking part

*capital letter at the beginning

*end punctuation before the last quote

*using a tag such as “she said” before OR after the quote

*using words other than “said” such as “asked” or “replied”

*period at the end of the full sentence

*starting a new line with alternating speakers

Seems like a lot of rules, right? Yep.  It can take a lot of practice for students to finally master dialogue punctuation.  Want to know how to make practice fun?  Check out Tip #4!

Looking for a FUN lesson plan on dialogue?

Teaching dialogue doesn’t need to include boring worksheets.  Make it more engaging (and authentic!) with this fun lesson plan on dialogue below.

Tip #4 :  Use interesting photos with 2+ people (or animals) for dialogue inspiration!  

Find 5-10 real photos that are silly, mysterious, or otherwise engaging in some way.  Project one on the board.  Invite students to create an imaginary conversation (using their new dialogue skills!) between the people in the photo.  

I always like to do one as a class first to model.  Then, I encourage students to try it on their own.  Don’t forget to let students share out with their classmates!  You’re sure to hear examples that bring out the giggles.

Final Thoughts on Dialogue in Narrative Essay Writing 

So, to answer my earlier question: Do students really need to use dialogue in narrative essay writing? 

YES!  Yes, they do!  And if they don’t add it naturally in the first draft, push them to go back and add some dialogue while they’re revising.

Like I said before, dialogue is one of the main ingredients in your students’ narrative stories.  Let’s help them make their writing taste delicious! 

Other Documents:

• Personal Narrative Essay Examples
• Example of a Fantasy Story

Related Articles on Dialogue in Narrative Essay Writing:

• Dialogue Lesson Plan
• A Guide to Writing Dialogue

Who is Sarah from Sarah’s Writing Spot?

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When it comes to writing dialogue in a story, even the best of the best writers take a pause. How to write dialogue correctly? Let’s take a look at some rules of writing dialogue to find out how you should write conversations in a story. If you need some examples of dialogue writing to ease the process, we’ve got that covered too!

But before we learn how to correctly write dialogue, we need to know the purpose of dialogue. Why is dialogue important? What does it achieve in a story?

Ensure crisp and engaging dialogues with perfect editing! Learn more

Importance of dialogue in a book

A conversation between two characters brings them to life. It provides insight into their psyche and informs the reader what they feel in that moment. It is through dialogue that different types of characters reveal themselves, other characters, and events in the story.

Of course, the chief purpose of dialogue is to develop the story. For a novel to progress, the characters need to communicate with each other. This applies not only to short stories , but also to nonfiction books!

Here is the different ways in which dialogue is useful:

• Helps develop characters and deepen their relationships with each other
• Provides space to play around with the main ideas in your novel
• Adds dramatic moments to your story, without which it is boring
• Matches the rhythms of human speech, making your characters more real
• Reveals the characters’ desires, fears, and motivations
• Lends a tone to the story and the characters
• Depicts, deepens, or reflects upon the theme of your story
• Changes the direction of plot
• Holds the reader’s attention

Knowing how dialogue is important to your book will help you better appreciate how it should be written. Now, there are a few rules of writing dialogue you must learn. Before you understand how to write character dialogue, you need to understand the rules that you need to follow.

Rules of writing dialogue

Writing dialogue in a story or a novel has a few basic rules. If you follow them well, you’ll have nothing to fear from writing dialogues. We’ve added some handy examples of dialogue writing so you can understand these rules better.

Here are the rules of writing dialogue that you should always keep in mind:

1. Use double quotation marks for your dialogue

It is the oldest rule of dialogue writing to enclose the spoken words in double quotation marks. Here’s a sample dialogue:

“Mr. Bennet, you have no compassion for my poor nerves!”

However, there is an exception to this rule. In British English, single quotation marks are used instead of double to show dialogue.

2. Use single quotation marks for quotes within a dialogue

In American English, single quotation marks are used to show a quote within a quote. So if your character is quoting someone else, that phrase should be enclosed within single quotation marks. For example:

“I heard Percy say, ‘the new teacher is absolutely brilliant!’”

3. Every new speaker gets a new paragraph

Every dialogue begins with a new paragraph. Each time a character says something, even if it is only a word, the dialogue should begin on a new paragraph. Here’s a dialogue writing example:

“Don’t worry, the information they have of our whereabouts is misleading.”

“So this was a trap?”

“Precisely.”

4. When (and how) to use dialogue tags

Dialogue tags are a means for you to connect the narration with the dialogue. The “he said” and “she said” you often come across? They’re the most widely used dialogue tags.

Take a look at this:

“Did you think it was over,” screeched Dr. Octavia. “My plan has just begun!”

In the above example of dialogue writing, the dialogue combines the narration and the speech to create the villain in our minds. However, it also provides an interruption in the character’s words. So, a dialogue tag is useful to add a pause in the dialogues.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, “everything will be alright.”

If the dialogue tag ends the sentence, then use a period after it. But as in the example above, the tag can also occur in the middle of a dialogue to indicate a pause in speech. In that case, you can use commas to separate the speech from the narration.

5. When (and how) to use action tags

Action tags, also called action beats or dialogue beats, are short descriptions of action that break up the dialogue. You can use them to avoid repeating the usage of dialogue tags.

When it’s established that only a certain number of characters are speaking, it’s safe to use an action tag without confusing the reader. Let’s have a look at this example:

“Don’t tell me you lost it again!” She rolled her eyes, flopping down on the bean bag chair. “We’re so grounded.”

6. How to write longer dialogues

When a character delivers a long monologue, you have to create multiple paragraphs for a single dialogue. This can happen when a character narrates a story within your story, or during a flashback sequence.

In this case, end quotes are not used at the end of every paragraph. They only appear at the very end, when the character stops speaking.

“It was a long time ago,” said the old man. “The forests were yet untouched and man hadn’t succumbed to greed. I remember going to forage for produce with my mother. And then the machines came.

“By the time I was a grown man, they had already cut a long line through the forest.”

7. Use italics for internal speech

Your characters’ thoughts and internal monologue is represented through italics. This helps readers differentiate between what is said and what is thought. This is useful when you narrate your novel in the third person or through an omniscient narrator.

“I have no idea where to go,” said Martha. But I will keep you all safe.

Note that the end punctuation mark of the inner speech is also italicized. Think of it like this: instead of enclosing the sentence in quotes, we’re italicizing it.

Some writers choose to use double or single quotation marks to represent inner thoughts as well as dialogue. The key thing is to maintain consistency in your novel, no matter what style you choose to follow.

As is clear from the above examples of dialogue writing, there is much room for error while writing dialogue. Simple mistakes in dialogue punctuation can hamper the reading experience and take your reader out of the fictional world you have created. This is where an expert proofreader comes in.

Of course, any manuscript editing service will help ensure that you follow the important rules of writing dialogue. It’s their job to ensure consistency in your writing, even if you choose to deviate from the norm!

Now you understand the importance of dialogue and rules of writing dialogue. It’s time to understand how to write conversations in a story.

How to write dialogue in a story?

When it comes to writing dialogue in fiction , novelists and short story writers have a challenge at hand. They have to weave in dialogue while they construct scenes, setting, action, and context, also maintaining the flow and narrative of the story.

In his book The Anatomy of Story , John Truby says that dialogue is a “highly selective language that sounds like it could be real.” It is “always more intelligent, wittier, more metaphorical, and better argued than in real life.”

So, terrific dialogue isn’t just important when writing fiction— it’s essential. To impress the agent to win a book deal, and for your readers to keep coming back to your next book, you need to deliver superb dialogue in every scene.

 So, how to write dialogue that always hits the mark? Here are some tips to write dialogue:

1. Punctuate your dialogue properly

Writing dialogue punctuation is tricky, but extremely important. How you punctuate your dialogue determines the tone and meaning of your sentences. More than that, your use of punctuation also reflects upon the characters’ personality.

Take note of the following examples of dialogue writing:

“I don’t know, I don’t know, I really don’t know!”

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I really don’t know!”

“I— I really don’t know.”

“I don’t know… I don’t know, I really don’t know.”

All the variations create different images inside your head. This is because dialogue punctuation creates a speech pattern for your character, and all memorable characters have unique speech patterns.

After all, aren’t you immediately reminded of a certain Star Wars character when you read:

“Know that, I don’t.”

So, the key to writing successful dialogue is to format it properly. Dialogue formatting hinges on five essential punctuation marks. Let’s go through them one by one.

Don’t worry, you’ll find plenty of dialogue formatting examples in the infographic below!

1. Quotation marks

Your dialogue, including all punctuation in the utterance, goes inside double quotations. If you’re in the UK, just replace this with single quotes.

US: “Whatever is said here— the deal, the discussions, the results, everything stays between us.”

UK: ‘Whatever is said here— the deal, the discussions, the results, everything stays between us.’

The end punctuation of a dialogue always goes inside quotation marks.

“When do we leave ? ” Fatima asked.

“Who goes there ! ” s he challenged.

Note that the first word of the dialogue tag is in lowercase. This is because your sentence is a combination of the dialogue and the tag. Since the sentence isn’t complete when the dialogue ends, there is no reason to write the tag in uppercase.

Unless, of course, if the first word happens to be a proper noun!

2. Quotes within dialogue

When you’re quoting a complete sentence, the punctuation remains inside the quote. But when your quote is an incomplete sentence, a book title, or an explanation of something, the punctuation goes outside of the quote

“Samantha called me up and said, ‘I want to see you right now !’ ”

“Samantha called me up and insisted on meeting ‘right now ’. ”

Commas appear with the dialogue tags. So, they connect the narration with the dialogue. Here is the correct way to punctuate with dialogue tags:

Tom said , “I will perform the main act tomorrow, when the time is right.”

“I will perform the main act tomorrow , ” said Tom. “When the time is right.”

“I will perform the main act tomorrow , ” said Tom , “when the time is right.”

Em-dashes are instrumental in setting a rhythm for dialogue. They represent disjointed speech or sentences that are abruptly broken off.

“I didn’t— I didn’t do anything!” Kyle was bewildered. “You— you have to believe me— I’m innocent!”

“They haven’t said—”

“We don’t have the time for this right now!” Anika yelled.

“I wish I could help—”

The alarm sounded: it was time for Wuxian to leave.

Aside from this, em-dashes can also be used to show when characters speak over each other. Here’s a dialogue writing example for overlapping speech:

“Mr. Jackson couldn’t see us—”

“Are you being serious right now!”

“—but he’s headed over here within the next hour.”

Sometimes, action and dialogue overlap to an extent where neither action tags nor dialogue tags are sufficient. In this case, a couple of em-dashes help the writer sprinkle narration between the dialogue.

“Little does our little prince know” — the witch stirred her potion — “what I have in store for him!”

5. Ellipsis

When a character gets stunned into silence or trails off while speaking, ellipses are the way to show it. Consider this:

“When did they…”

“Last night, when half our troops were asleep.”

He looked out at the distant stars. “I thought I had more time…”

It’s easy to deduce from the above examples of dialogue formatting that punctuation can make a huge difference. Different ways of writing dialogue in a story create different meanings. If you want to be a master dialogue writer, mastering dialogue punctuation is an absolute essential!

Also read: How to Punctuate Dialogue in Fiction

2. Character-specific dialogue

Obviously, writing effective dialogue requires a good understanding of your characters. Develop a speech pattern for your character that reflects their personality. Then, take into account their worldview, their present mental and emotional state, their accent, or some sayings they love to use.

Remember two things when you write dialogue for your characters:

Characters aren’t mouthpieces for the writer

Your characters have a life of their own. The dialogue you write for them needs to reflect this. Beware of setting two heads talking in space: scene and setting influence dialogue as much as they influence plot and story.

Dialogue between characters can engage with the surrounding to build tension and add drama. Don’t settle for anything less than the most character-specific, setting-influenced conversations between your characters!

All your characters can’t sound the same

Some characters talk a lot, some talk a little. Some talk wisely, and some talk frivolously. Effective dialogue writing lets the readers know exactly who is speaking.

A stuttering child will obviously have a different style of talking from a hotheaded matriarch. Idioms, catchphrases, accent: it all goes into the making of great dialogue.

3. Balance dialogue with narration

Dialogue from stories and novels is always more intelligent, metaphorical, and sassy than it is in real life. The simple reason for this is that dialogue is not real talk. It is a highly vetted language that is cleverly constructed to depict action, movement, and conflict.

Consider this:

“Hey, Eric,” Wendy said.

“Oh, hi! What’s up?”

“Do you know where Kenny is? He hasn’t been home in two days”

“I’ve been busy lately, don’t have a clue”

Your texts with random colleagues are more interesting than this, right? The dialogue in this example sounds realistic, but it’s also boring because it has no weight.

It does not contain any tensions and adds nothing to the plot. It tells you nothing about the characters, aside from the surface information.

A dialogue writing sample

Dialogue and internal monologue are necessary to the story but can quickly turn boring. So, your dialogue needs to be rich in conflict. More than this, it needs to be balanced with conflict in action and narration!

Make sure that your dialogue has an impact. It should change the direction of the plot, the movement of the story, and the behavior of your characters. If characters talk and nothing happens, your readers will lose interest.

This is how you can achieve a balance between narration and dialogue to depict a better picture:

“Hey, Eric,” Wendy said, trying to play it cool.

“Oh, hi!” Eric said brightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “What’s up?”

“Do you know where Kenny is?” She observed his expression. “He hasn’t been home in two days.”

Eric won’t give away anything so casually, she thought. I must corner him after the meeting.

“I’ve been busy lately,” he smirked, shrugging. “No clue.”

See how some well-placed narration makes the same lines more engrossing? A drab conversation takes on more meaning if you use the right dialogue tags and action beats.

4. Avoid exposition

Exposition is the writer’s way of giving context to their readers. It tells the readers more about the setting, the backstory, and the recent or distant events before the story begins.

It’s important for the readers to know where the characters come from and where they are going. But this doesn’t have to be told through a dialogue between two characters. Too much exposition in dialogue makes your characters talking heads, rather than the real people they’re supposed to be.

Relying heavily on your dialogue is as harmful as not using it enough.

Ideally, a large part of the exposition should be set in the story’s narrative. Other developments like suspense, revelations, or secrets can unravel through dialogue. This adds dramatic effect to your narrative.

5. Revising your dialogue is important

No one can write good dialogue in one go. If it’s impactful, it tends to be unrealistic. If it’s believable, it becomes lackluster. This is why revising your dialogue is so important. Aside from the content, even changes in dialogue formatting and punctuation can make it more substantial.

It’s natural to come up with a clunky length of conversations in your first go at writing dialogue. But a round of revision helps you refine it by leaps and bounds.

Go through individual dialogue segments and inspect them carefully. Ask if the dialogue is logical for the character’s disposition. Is it true to the story’s time and character’s maturity? Does it fit the character’s credible thinking?

Create a list of such questions to suit your individual process. Include things that you often forget to consider. Add considerations like personality, slang, rhythm, mood, and emotion to your list.

If you lack the critical eye to examine and correct your writing, seek expert help. As always, your novel editors and proofreaders are here to help ! 

6. Study and practice 

Finally, the most important advice from anyone who has mastered any art: practice!

Observe how your favorite author writes dialogue in their books. Note down all remarkable examples of dialogue writing and study them for why they work. You can also make use of some dialogue writing exercises.

A dialogue writing exercise can be as simple as starting with a prompt and making it intriguing. Basic as it sounds, there’s nothing like some good old writing practice to get you going! So, here are some quick dialogue writing prompts that can help you practice:

• “I heard you’ve been missing something.”
• “Ah, how the mighty have fallen!”
• “I never said—”
• “Have you heard? Old man Lan is dead.”
• “Her mother knew. All this time.”
• “Did they help? You don’t look any better.”
• “It’s time to finish what we started.”
• “I never thought it could go this wrong.”
• “How did you…”
• “How old are you again? I keep forgetting!”

We hope these dialogue prompts get you excited to write. Of course, knowing what you need to do isn’t enough to make powerful dialogue. You also need to know what to avoid .

Avoid these dialogue writing mistakes

There are two reasons that dialogues become boring: either writers expect dialogue to do the heavy lifting, or they don’t rely on it at all. There is a fine balance for dialogue in a story: it needs to do enough, but never too much.

But how can you achieve this? Where does the limit lie? Now that we’ve told you how to write dialogue, we’ll also inform you about some common dialogue mistakes you need to avoid. It’s all about that balance, isn’t it!

Avoid these pitfalls in when you write dialogue in a story:

1. Boring dialogue tags

There is a wide variety of tags you can use, aside from “he said”, “she said”, and “they said”. The common mistake to make while writing dialogue in a story is using the same or similar tags too often. This gets repetitive and boring for the reader.

No one wants to read something like this:

“Barry,” said Melanie, “I didn’t know you were in town!”

“You hardly know yourself these days,” he said.

“Hey!” she said. “No fair!”

Let’s make some corrections:

“Barry,” beamed Melanie, “I didn’t know you were in town!”

“You hardly know yourself these days,” he mocked .

“Hey!” she protested. “No fair!”

You know what? I still feel like this is lacking, and we’ll soon see why.

2. Too many tags, not enough beats

Using an abundance of dialogue beats and no action tags make for poor dialogue. The reverse is also true; what you need is a proper mix of both.

Tags tell you how the words are being said, but beats tell you what action is happening alongside the words. For engaging dialogue, you need both! Here’s our previous dialogue writing example, edited, proofread, and improved:

“Barry!” Melanie hugged him, smiling brightly. “I didn’t know you were in town!”

“You hardly know yourself these days,” he mocked.

“Hey!” She punched him on the shoulder. “No fair!”

3. An abundance of the same style

We’ve seen multiple ways to write and punctuate dialogue. You can write it with a tag, a beat, or an interruption. Find ways to mix and match between these styles, so the repetition doesn’t become boring.

Here’s an example that mixes various styles of dialogue writing:

“Barry!” — Melanie hugged him, smiling brightly — “I didn’t know you were in town!”

4. Scene-blindness

A scene is a moment in your story: it includes action, conflict, and some immediate consequences. To maintain the flow of action, nothing should interrupt the scene.

Let dialogue build tension, and cut back on it when the tension is highest. Too much dialogue can dilute the scene and create no impact. Assess the needs of every scene, and write your dialogue accordingly.

Now that you know how to creatively use dialogue, you can create intriguing dialogues to hook the reader to your text. The next step after writing is editing. As experts in editing and proofreading services , we’d love to refine your text! 

Here are some other articles that you might find useful: 

• How to Write a Novel in Past Tense? 3 Steps & Examples
• How to Write Unforgettable Antagonists

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, can i use dialogue in my college essay.

I'm writing my college essay and I want to include a conversation I had with someone that's relevant to my topic. Is it acceptable to use dialogue in a college essay or is it considered unprofessional?

Absolutely! Including dialogue in your college essay can be a great way to showcase your storytelling abilities and make your essay more engaging. Just make sure that the conversation you include is relevant to your overall message and doesn't distract from the main point you're trying to make.

When using dialogue, it's important to format it correctly and maintain a balance between dialogue and narrative. Too much dialogue might make your essay seem more like a script, while too little might not have the desired impact. One example could be using a meaningful conversation you had with a mentor that inspired you to pursue your passions.

Remember, a well-crafted college essay should reflect your authentic voice and experiences, so if dialogue helps you tell your story more effectively, go for it! Just keep in mind that the essay should still be professional and focused on your personal growth and development.

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What is the Purpose of Dialogue in a Narrative Essay

October 25, 2023

Understanding Dialogue in Narrative Essays

Dialogue plays a vital role in narrative essays, serving various purposes that enhance the overall storytelling experience. This article will explore the significance of incorporating dialogue into narrative essays and shed light on its purpose.

Firstly, dialogue breathes life into the characters, making them more relatable and engaging for the readers. Through conversations and interactions, the characters’ personalities, emotions, and motivations are revealed, allowing the audience to connect with them on a deeper level. Dialogue creates a sense of realism, enabling the readers to visualize the characters’ actions, gestures, and expressions, thereby enriching the narrative.

Moreover, dialogue serves as a tool for exposition and advancing the plot. It can provide background information, introduce conflicts, or foreshadow future events. By integrating dialogue strategically, authors can effectively convey information without lengthy paragraphs or excessive narration, keeping the readers captivated and maintaining the flow of the story.

Furthermore, dialogue aids in building tension and creating dramatic moments in narrative essays. It allows for the expression of differing opinions, conflicting emotions, or heated arguments between characters, adding intensity and excitement to the storyline. This helps to sustain the reader’s interest and keeps them engaged throughout the narrative.

In conclusion, dialogue serves a crucial purpose in narrative essays. It breathes life into characters, advances the plot, and creates tension and drama. By incorporating dialogue effectively, writers can enhance the overall quality of their narrative essays, making them more compelling and enjoyable for readers.

Enhancing Character Development

Dialogue is a powerful tool for enhancing character development in narrative essays. By using dialogue, writers can delve deeper into the personalities of their characters and provide readers with a deeper understanding of who they are. Here are several ways dialogue helps in enhancing character development:

• Revealing traits and motivations: Through conversations, characters can express their thoughts, desires, fears, and aspirations, allowing readers to gain insight into their motivations and values. Dialogue provides a platform for characters to reveal their true selves and showcase their unique traits.
• Showing relationships and dynamics: Dialogue allows writers to portray the dynamics between characters. It showcases how they interact, whether they are friends, enemies, or lovers. Conversations provide opportunities to display conflicts, tension, or camaraderie, giving readers a glimpse into the complexity of relationships.
• Demonstrating growth and change: Dialogue helps to showcase character development over the course of the narrative. By observing how characters communicate and express themselves, readers can witness their growth, changing attitudes, and evolving perspectives.
• Adding authenticity: Dialogue adds authenticity to characters, making them more believable and relatable. Through their conversations, characters can speak with unique voices, dialects, or mannerisms, making them feel like real individuals with distinct personalities.

In conclusion, dialogue is a powerful tool for enhancing character development in narrative essays. By using conversations, writers can reveal traits and motivations, show relationships and dynamics, demonstrate growth and change, and add authenticity to their characters. Skillful use of dialogue allows readers to connect with the characters on a deeper level, enriching their reading experience.

Advancing the Plot

Dialogue is an effective way to advance the plot in narrative essays. Conversations between characters can serve as a powerful narrative device, driving the story forward and keeping readers engaged. Here are several ways dialogue helps to advance the plot:

• Introducing conflict: Dialogue can introduce conflicts between characters, creating tension and propelling the plot forward. Through their conversations, characters can express differing opinions or goals, leading to an exciting clash of ideas.
• Conveying information: Dialogue can be used to deliver important information to readers, without resorting to lengthy exposition or description. By providing details through conversations, writers can keep the narrative moving while informing the reader.
• Foreshadowing events: Dialogue can foreshadow future events, building anticipation for what’s to come. Characters can make cryptic comments or hint at what’s to come, leaving readers eager for more information.
• Establishing mood: Dialogue can set the tone for a scene and create a specific mood or atmosphere. The words chosen, the tone of the conversation, and the way the characters interact can all contribute to the overall feeling of the story.

In conclusion, dialogue is a valuable tool for advancing the plot in narrative essays. It can introduce conflict, convey information, foreshadow events, and establish mood. Skillful use of dialogue can keep readers engaged and propel the narrative forward, allowing the story to unfold in an exciting and captivating way.

Generate captivating narrative essays with our new AI Essay Writer .

Creating Realism and Authenticity

Dialogue plays a crucial role in creating realism and authenticity in narrative essays. By incorporating natural and believable conversations between characters, writers can bring their stories to life and make them more relatable to readers. Here are several reasons why dialogue is essential for creating realism and authenticity:

• Mimicking real-life speech: Dialogue aims to replicate the way people actually talk. By using realistic dialogue, writers can capture the intricacies of everyday language, including slang, colloquialisms, pauses, and interruptions. This authenticity helps readers immerse themselves in the story.
• Reflecting different voices: Different characters have unique voices and ways of speaking. Through dialogue, writers can showcase these distinct voices, including variations in speech patterns, vocabulary choices, or accents. Dialogue allows readers to connect with characters on a deeper level by hearing their individual voices.
• Portraying emotions: Dialogue allows characters to express their emotions in a more direct and immediate way. Readers can experience the characters’ joy, sadness, anger, or frustration through their spoken words and the accompanying subtext. This emotional depth adds a layer of realism to the narrative.
• Providing context and details: Dialogue can provide important context and details about the setting, time period, or cultural references. By incorporating relevant conversations, writers can enrich the story with authentic cultural or historical elements, making the narrative more vibrant and realistic.

In conclusion, dialogue is a crucial element in creating realism and authenticity in narrative essays. It mimics real-life speech, reflects different voices, portrays emotions, and provides contextual details. By employing natural and believable dialogue, writers can transport readers into their stories and make the characters and settings feel genuine and relatable.

Conveying Emotions and Thoughts

One of the main purposes of dialogue in a narrative essay is to convey the emotions and thoughts of the characters. Through conversations, writers can delve into the inner workings of their characters’ minds, providing readers with a deeper understanding of their motivations, fears, and desires. Here are several reasons why dialogue is effective in conveying emotions and thoughts:

• Expressing feelings directly: Dialogue allows characters to express their emotions and thoughts in a direct and immediate manner. By giving characters a voice, writers can convey joy, sadness, anger, confusion, and a range of other emotions more effectively.
• Providing insight into internal struggles: Dialogue can reveal the characters’ internal conflicts and struggles. By letting them voice their thoughts and engage in introspective conversations, writers can explore the complexities of their characters’ minds, allowing readers to empathize and connect with them.
• Offering subtext: Dialogue often includes subtext, which adds depth and layers to the characters’ words. Through subtle hints, unsaid desires, or hidden meanings, dialogue can convey emotions and thoughts beyond what is explicitly stated, adding complexity to the narrative.
• Enhancing character development: By using dialogue to convey emotions and thoughts, writers can develop their characters more fully. Readers gain a deeper understanding of the characters’ personalities, motivations, and growth throughout the narrative, fostering a stronger emotional connection.

In conclusion, dialogue serves the purpose of conveying emotions and thoughts in a narrative essay. It allows for an authentic and direct expression of feelings, offers insight into internal struggles, provides subtext, and enhances character development. By skillfully utilizing dialogue, writers can bring their characters to life and create a more immersive and emotionally engaging reading experience.

Using Dialogue as a Literary Device

Dialogue serves a dual purpose in narrative essays – not only does it drive the plot and convey information, but it also functions as a literary device, adding depth and complexity to the storytelling. Here are several ways in which dialogue can be used as a literary device in narrative essays:

• Revealing character traits: Through dialogue, writers can reveal the unique qualities of their characters. By carefully crafting their words and interactions, writers can show aspects such as personalities, values, and beliefs, providing readers with a deeper understanding of the characters.
• Creating tension and conflict: Dialogue can be used to create tension and conflict between characters, heightening the dramatic effect of the narrative. By employing sharp exchanges, disagreements, or verbal sparring, writers can generate a sense of anticipation and suspense, keeping readers engaged.
• Establishing voice and style: Dialogue allows writers to establish their own voice and style. Each character can have a distinctive way of speaking, reflecting their personality or social background. This adds authenticity to the story and helps readers differentiate between characters.
• Enhancing symbolism and subtext: Dialogue can be imbued with symbolism and subtext, adding layers of meaning to the narrative. Characters may engage in metaphorical or poetic conversations that convey deeper messages or explore themes in a nuanced manner.

In conclusion, dialogue serves as a multifaceted literary device in narrative essays. It reveals character traits, creates tension and conflict, establishes voice and style, and enhances symbolism and subtext. By utilizing dialogue in these ways, writers can elevate their storytelling, making the narrative more compelling, thought-provoking, and memorable for readers.

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Mentor Texts

Writing Dialogue: ‘The Missing Piece Son’

Considering the role of dialogue in a narrative, with an example from The Times’s Lives column to help.

By Katherine Schulten

Our new Mentor Text series spotlights writing from The Times that students can learn from and emulate.

This entry, like several others we are publishing, focuses on an essay from The Times’s long-running Lives column to consider skills prized in narrative writing. We are starting with this genre to help support students participating in our 2020 Personal Narrative Essay Contest .

Please note: For this contest, students are not required to include dialogue, but we suspect many will. We hope that demystifying it a bit here might encourage more students to try.

When should you include actual dialogue in a piece, and when should you simply report what was said? How can dialogue reveal character? How does it affect the pacing of a story? Does every narrative essay require dialogue?

Take a look at this mentor text, alongside a related text by the same author, to think about these questions and to experiment with dialogue in your own work.

Before Reading

Have you ever written dialogue before? Try it!

To prepare for the mentor text you are about to read, you might make it a conversation between two family members. You can work with a partner, each of you claiming one of the characters and all of his or her lines, or you can do it alone. You can write down a conversation you have actually had, or you can make one up.

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Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and  log into  your Times account, or  subscribe  for all of The Times.

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How to Write Interesting and Effective Dialogue

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Writing verbal conversations or dialogue is often one of the trickiest parts of creative writing. Crafting effective dialogue within the context of a narrative requires much more than following one quote with another. With practice, though, you can learn how to write natural-sounding dialogue that is creative and compelling.

The Purpose of Dialogue

Put simply, dialogue is narrative conveyed through speech by two or more characters. Effective dialogue should do many things at once, not just convey information. It should set the scene, advance action, give insight into each character, and foreshadow future dramatic action.

Dialogue doesn't have to be grammatically correct; it should read like actual speech. However, there must be a balance between realistic speech and readability. Dialogue is also a tool for character development. Word choice tells a reader a lot about a person: their appearance, ethnicity, sexuality, background, even morality. It can also tell the reader how the writer feels about a certain character.

How to Write Direct Dialogue

Speech, also known as direct dialogue, can be an effective means of conveying information quickly. But most real-life conversations are not that interesting to read. An exchange between two friends may go something like this:

"Hi, Tony," said Katy.

"Hey," Tony answered.

"What's wrong?" Katy asked.

"Nothing," Tony said.

"Really? You're not acting like nothing's wrong."

Pretty tiresome dialogue, right? By including nonverbal details in your dialogue, you can articulate emotion through action. This adds dramatic tension and is more engaging to read. Consider this revision:

"Hi, Tony."

Tony looked down at his shoe, dug in his toe and pushed around a pile of dust.

"Hey," he replied.

Katy could tell something was wrong.

Sometimes saying nothing or saying the opposite of what we know a character feels is the best way to create dramatic tension. If a character wants to say "I love you," but his actions or words say "I don't care," the reader will cringe at the missed opportunity.

How to Write Indirect Dialogue

Indirect dialogue doesn't rely on speech. Instead, it uses thoughts, memories, or recollections of past conversations to reveal important narrative details. Often, a writer will combine direct and indirect dialogue to increase dramatic tension, as in this example:

Katy braced herself. Something was wrong.

Formatting and Style

To write dialogue that is effective, you must also pay attention to formatting and style. Correct use of tags, punctuation , and paragraphs can be as important as the words themselves.

Remember that punctuation goes inside quotations. This keeps the dialogue clear and separate from the rest of the narrative. For example: "I can't believe you just did that!"

Start a new paragraph each time the speaker changes. If there is action involved with a speaking character, keep the description of the action within the same paragraph as the character's dialogue.

Dialogue tags other than "said" are best used sparingly, if at all. Often a writer uses them to try to convey a certain emotion. For example:

"But I don't want to go to sleep yet," he whined.

Instead of telling the reader that the boy whined, a good writer will describe the scene in a way that conjures the image of a whining little boy:

He stood in the doorway with his hands balled into little fists at his sides. His red, tear-rimmed eyes glared up at his mother. "But I don't want to go to sleep yet."

Practice Makes Perfect

Writing dialogue is like any other skill. It requires constant practice if you want to improve as a writer. Here are a few tips to help you prepare to write effective dialogue.

• Start a dialogue diary. Practice speech patterns and vocabulary that may be foreign to you. This will give you the opportunity to really get to know your characters.
• Listen and take notes. Carry a small notebook with you and write down phrases, words, or whole conversations verbatim to help develop your ear.
• Read. Reading will hone your creative abilities. It will help familiarize you with the form and flow of narration and dialogue until it becomes more natural in your own writing.
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How To Write Dialogue: 7 Steps To Writing Dialogue

Learn how to write and format dialogue, the secretes of dialogue punctuation, and the seven easy steps to writing a dialogue scene.

How to write dialogue is one of the first things a budding storyteller can master with just a bit of practice and effort. That’s not to say that writing dialogue is easy- it’s not. But, once you realize the purpose of dialogue in a story and hone in on all those pesky formatting rules, it can become intuitive. With a little bit of focused and consistent practice, you’ll be in a flow state before you know it! You’ll be cranking out conversations that sound natural, serve a purpose, and are entertaining as hell! 

Like everything, though, before you nail your dialogue, you’ve got to know the fundamentals. You can’t play Moonlight Sonata if you know where middle C is- know what I mean? Don’t worry though, because that’s precisely what we are going to cover in this post! The fundamentals of writing dialogue. How to format dialogue, what proper tags to use, and the overall purpose of dialogue in your story. Then I’ll take you through seven easy steps to writing your dialogue scene. Let’s get started! 

First off- 

Dialogue Format & Punctuation 

Quotation Marks 

Starting with the basics, when you write dialogue, you should enclose spoken words in quotation marks. Like this: 

Ex. “ I’m going to the store.” 

Quotation marks indicate to a reader that a character is speaking. Notice that everything else about this sentence is normal. It starts with a capital letter and ends with a period. That won’t always be the case, but we’ll get to that. 

Also, notice that the punctuation, in this case, a period, is inside the quotation marks . Punctuation always goes inside the quotation marks, whether it is a period, or question mark, or exclamation point. It doesn’t matter what the punctuation is; it goes inside the quotation marks. 

Enclose all your dialogue with quotation marks. 

Dialogue Tags 

Place dialogue tags outside of the quotation marks. By dialogue tag, I mean attribution, or ending a line of dialogue by indicating the speaker. 

Ex. “I’m going to the store,” Paul said. 

At the end of that sentence, ‘Paul said’ is the dialogue tag. The tag indicates that Paul is speaking. Notice how adding the dialogue tag changes the punctuation. A comma replaces the period. 

When ending with a dialogue tag, you’ll close your dialogue with a comma, close quotations, then add the dialogue tag. When a dialogue tag comes before the dialogue, you’ll reverse this order. 

Ex. Paul said, “I’m going to the store.” 

When the dialogue tag is before the dialogue, your comma is outside of the quotation marks. 

You can also use a colon to introduce dialogue, although this is not as common. 

Ex. Paul said: “I’m going to the store.” 

I’ve also seen authors employ a colon when they have a large cast of characters or want a quick flow to the dialogue. When doing this, the author will often just use the name of the person speaking as a tag. 

  Ex. Paul: “I’m going to the store.” 

Jenny: “Why? You just went yesterday?” 

Susie: “Can I go too?” 

Jenny: “You’re staying here.” 

Paul: “Listen to your mom, Susie.” 

You can see how this makes a conversation seem quick and can also add tension. However, this is not a technique you want to use all the time as it removes action beats and will lose its effectiveness. 

Questions and Exclamatory Statements in Dialogue 

If you end a quotation with a question mark or exclamation point, then they will replace the comma. Don’t capitalize the first word of the dialogue tag. 

Ex. “May I go to the store?” asked Paul. 

Or , “I’m going to the store!” said Paul. 

Multiple Speakers 

With two or more speakers, break the characters’ dialogue into separate paragraphs. 

Jenny said, “Oh my God, Paul. You’ve been to the store four times this month!” 

“What are you trying to say, Jenny?” Paul asked. 

“You know exactly what I’m saying, Paul. You’re going to the store four times a week. You’ve been working late every day. You’re up all night texting on your phone. I know exactly what’s going on. I’m not stupid. How could you do this to little Susie and me?” 

Paul threw his keys down on the table. He sat down, “Ok, let’s talk. I’ve got something to tell you, Jenny.” 

Properly formatted, each speaker gets their paragraph. Separated paragraphs create dialogue that’s clear for the reader. It cuts down on the number of dialogue tags you’ll have to use, especially if there are only two speakers. The reader will know that a new paragraph indicates a new speaker. 

Action Beats 

Action beats break up dialogue; it can also act as a dialogue tag, indicating the speaker. Action beats do other important things like giving the readers spatial awareness in the scene. You can use it to show the mood of the characters and the tone of the scene. 

Separate action beats that happen before or after the dialogue. Write these action beats as a single sentence. 

Ex. Paul grabbed his keys off the counter. “I’m going to the store.” 

Action beats can also interrupt the conversation. In this case, use commas to separate the action beat. 

Ex. “I’m going to the store,” he burped, “My stomach’s killing me.” 

Interruptions 

Dialogue can be interrupted by action beats or another character’s dialogue. In those cases where it’s a sudden interruption, you’ll use a long dash, also called an em dash. The em dash will replace the words your character would say if they weren’t interrupted. 

Ex. “I’m going to the—”

“Store. We know!” Jenny said. 

There are also times when a character may trail off. They may get lost in contemplation or forget something. In those instances, you’ll use ellipses. 

Ex. “I’m going to the…” 

“To where?” Jenny asked. 

“I forgot,” Paul said. 

One last style point. You can also use an em dash when an action beat interrupts dialogue. In this case, the em dash will go outside the quotation marks. 

Ex. “I’m going”— Paul dropped his keys on the floor—” damn it!” He bent over to pick them up. “I’m going to the store.” 

Keep in mind that an em dash indicates an abrupt interruption. 

If a character speaks for a long time, and the dialogue needs multiple paragraphs, you will open the quotation marks at the beginning of each paragraph. You won’t close the quotation marks until the last paragraph. 

Ex. “Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in this history of mankind.

“Mankind — that word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can’t be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests.

“Perhaps its fate that today is the 4th of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom, not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution — but from annihilation. We’re fighting for our right to live, to exist.”

Wrapping up 

A few final words on formatting dialogue. It can be pretty confusing. I know because I was confused while researching for this article. I’ll drop a few links at the bottom of this post to the articles I used for research.  

If you’re shaky on the rules, my best advice would be to keep your dialogue simple. Don’t insert a bunch of interrupting action beats or have ten different characters in one scene if you’re not sure what you’re doing. The simpler the dialogue is, the less likely you are to make a mistake. 

And, if you think I’ve gotten something wrong, please let me know in the comments!

What is a dialogue tag? A dialogue tag, or attribution, is a small piece of text that lets your reader know who is speaking. 

Ex. Paul said, Jenny asked, Susie whispered 

We talked about punctuating dialogue tags in the section above, but here’s a quick refresher. Dialogue tags can come at the beginning of your sentence. In that case, separate tags from the dialogue with a comma that will go outside the quotation marks.  

Ex. Jenny asked, “Do we have any eggs in the house?” 

Dialogue tags can come in the middle of dialogue. In that case, the tag is separated by commas on both sides of the tag. The first comma will be inside the quotations, and the second will be outside the quotation marks. 

Ex. “I’m going to the store,” Paul said, “I’ll get a carton of eggs while I’m there.” 

And finally, a dialogue tag can come at the end of the dialogue. This time you’ll want to separate the tag with a comma inside the quotation marks. 

Ex. “I’m glad he’s leaving,” Susie whispered. 

How often should you use dialogue tags? 

You don’t have to end every piece of dialogue with an attribution. You only want to use dialogue tags to clarify who is speaking. If your tags distract from or confuse the dialogue, you should cut them. 

If you read all three examples above, you’ll notice that the dialogue tags are a bit distracting. However, there are three people in the scene. Without attribution, the reader would be confused about who is speaking. If I were writing that scene, I would replace one, or more, of the tags with an action beat to break up the monotony. 

Jenny slammed the fridge door shut, “Do we have any eggs in the house?” 

“I’m going to the store,” Paul said, “I’ll get a carton of eggs while I’m there.” 

“I’m glad he’s leaving,” Jenny heard Susie whisper from beneath the kitchen table. 

That’s not perfect, but it’s better than before. You can also delete tags entirely if your reader can tell who’s speaking without the attribution. 

Said vs. Other Verbs for ‘said’ 

Browsing through Pinterest, I see several infographics with titles like, “100 words to use instead of SAID.” Usually, I roll my eyes at these. I’m a firm believer in using ‘said’ for statements and ‘ask’ for questions. All the other verbs are distracting, and many writers will view their use as the sign of an amateur. 

Read more about this on my post, 5 Don’ts of Dialogue. 

There are two reasons authors advise you not to use a bunch of fancy verbs like exclaimed or mumbled when ‘said’ gets the job done. 

• ‘Said’ verbs distract the reader from your dialogue, which should be the essential part of your writing. 
• Your dialogue and action beats should show your character’s emotional state, and you shouldn’t rely on verbs like, ‘yelled,’ or ‘stuttered’ to do this for you.  

Take a look at my example above- Jenny slammed the fridge door shut, “Do we have any eggs in the house?” What emotional state is Jenny in? She’s frustrated, and we know this because she’s slamming the refrigerator door, rather than closing it.  

I could have written, “ Do we have any eggs in the house,” Jenny yelled. But the action beat of slamming the door has more weight and makes the scene more interesting. If you get into the habit of telegraphing your characters’ emotions through verbs like yelled or cried, your writing will be as dull as ditchwater. 

This part is a rant, and you can skip this paragraph if you like— the reason people tell you not to use ‘said’ is because it’s “boring,” and it will make your writing dull, they claim. But relying on exciting verbs rather than action and dialogue is what makes your writing boring. So, when people tell you not to use ‘said,’ it’s just bad advice. Don’t listen to it! 

Now, like every rule, there are exceptions. You can sneak a ‘whispered’ in now and then, but for most of your attributions stick with ‘said’ or ‘asked.’ 

If you want to read more about this, I’ll link an entertaining article from Joe Bunting at the bottom of this post. 

Dialogue Examples 

To learn how to write dialogue you need look at some examples. So, take a look at the following two scenes. Try to identify character goals, and action beats. Ask yourself how each line of dialogue and action beat pushes the narrative foward.

7 Easy Steps to Writing Fantastic Dialogue 

Determine the purpose of your dialogue.

Before you sit down to write a dialogue-heavy scene, you want to ask yourself what the goal of this dialogue is. What do I mean by this? Well, a couple of things. 

First, in a broad sense, dialogue should usually serve one of two goals. It should either tell the reader something about the plot of your story. Or, it should illustrate to the reader something about the characters in your plot. Therefore, the two goals of dialogue are either exposition or characterization. So, determine which of those two goals (or it could be both) your dialogue scene serves. 

The other purpose that dialogue has is specific to individual characters and will talk about that in the next step. 

Who are the characters, and what are their goals? 

Now, you need to populate your scene with characters. These characters are going to be talking, but it shouldn’t be idle small talk. Sure, small talk happens in real life, but it doesn’t serve a purpose in stories, so it doesn’t belong. 

That’s not to say that you can’t have dialogue that seems like small talk but has a profound meaning or subtext. 

Each of your characters should have a goal within the scene. The goal can be big or small. Characters just need to want something. Everything they say should be in service of that goal or desire. They may not be upfront about what they want; it’s more interesting if they aren’t, but their dialogue should be designed to attain something. 

So, know what each characters’ goals are and write dialogue that makes sense for those goals.  

Develop a unique voice for each character 

One of the ways you can avoid an excessive amount of dialogue tags is by giving characters a unique way of speaking. Create individual speech through the use of slang, or tone, or a particular dialect. But, be careful with accents, as in be respectful and accurate. 

You create a difference in the emotional state of each character. One character could be icy and collected, and the other can be on a hair-trigger. Or, you can have one character speak very professionally or technically while having another character who uses colloquialisms. Pay attention to the differences in the ways people in your life express themselves, and use those real-life speech patterns in your plot. 

Make sure that characters don’t sound and talk alike. That’s not realistic, and it’s hard for readers to follow. 

What action beats will break up your dialogue? 

Once you know who your characters are, what they want, and how they speak, it’s time to consider what they are doing. Remember that action beats break up the dialogue, and make your story more exciting. But, they are also crucial for characterization. A character who slams and throws things is mad. A character who tiptoes and whispers is sneaky. 

Let’s talk about conflict. 

Your characters have goals in every scene. Conflict arises when something gets in the way of your characters accomplishing their goals. The things that get in your character’s way vary from other characters to physical barriers, to literal fighting. 

A great tactic is to have characters with opposing goals. That’s the best way to have your conflict show up in the dialogue. Have fun with characters that conflict but outwardly seem polite because they don’t want to show their cards. Or you can have characters who, straight up, argue. 

Find a way to insert the scene’s conflict into the dialogue. 

Check your punctuation and formatting. 

For this, you can use a grammar software. I use Grammarly and ProWritingAid, but ProWritingAid has an actual dialogue report. However, no software is going to catch all the subtle rules of dialogue. You’ll want to partner with a human editor, professional or otherwise, to help you with this process. 

Tighten it up (did you accomplish your goals? Cut everything else out)

A rule of thumb for scene writing is to cut to the action as early as possible. The same can be said for dialogue. If the action of a dialogue scene is an argument then you need to get to it as early as possible. 

Cut all the small talk, meaning cut dialogue that doesn’t push a character or story goal forward. 

Hopefully you’ve got a handle on how to write dialogue.

The last thing I want you to do before you leave is to take what you’ve learned and use it! Go and open your word processor of choice. Come up with a few characters; I would stick to two if you’re just starting. But, if you’re feeling ambitious, then, by all means, add three or four characters. Then, write a dialogue scene by going through the seven steps above. As you’re writing, only worry about this single scene. 

Don’t think of it in terms of a larger story beyond what you might need to know for context. And it doesn’t have to be very long. Five or six hundred words should do. When you’re done with the scene, put it away. You don’t have to do anything else with it. It’s just practice! Then do it again, and again, and again, and pretty soon, you’ll be a master of dialogue! 

This post contains affiliate links to products. We may receive a commission for purchases made through these links .

Read More About Dialogue:

“In Dialogue, McKee offers the same in-depth analysis for how characters speak on the screen, on the stage, and on the page in believable and engaging ways. From Macbeth to Breaking Bad, McKee deconstructs key scenes to illustrate the strategies and techniques of dialogue. Dialogue applies a framework of incisive thinking to instruct the prospective writer on how to craft artful, impactful speech. Famous McKee alumni include Peter Jackson, Jane Campion, Geoffrey Rush, Paul Haggis, the writing team for Pixar, and many others.”

 “In  How to Write Dazzling Dialogue  you’ll learn:

• What fictional dialogue is … and isn’t
• The 11 secrets of crafting memorable dialogue
• The 5 essential tasks of dialogue
• 5 ways to improve your dialogue ear
• 4 can’t-miss methods to increase conflict and tension in any dialogue exchange
• The top 10 dialogue issues, and how to resolve them”

Resources: 

How to Format Dialogue- Masterclass 

How to Punctuate Dialogue- The Editor’s Blog

A Critical DON’T for Writing Dialogue- The Write Practice

Dialogue Tags: What they are and how to use them- The Write Practice

Published by John

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2 comments on “How To Write Dialogue: 7 Steps To Writing Dialogue”

Excellent tips, John! Thanks for sharing 😊.

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The Ultimate Narrative Essay Guide for Beginners

A narrative essay tells a story in chronological order, with an introduction that introduces the characters and sets the scene. Then a series of events leads to a climax or turning point, and finally a resolution or reflection on the experience.

Speaking of which, are you in sixes and sevens about narrative essays? Don’t worry this ultimate expert guide will wipe out all your doubts. So let’s get started.

Table of Contents

Everything You Need to Know About Narrative Essay

What is a narrative essay.

When you go through a narrative essay definition, you would know that a narrative essay purpose is to tell a story. It’s all about sharing an experience or event and is different from other types of essays because it’s more focused on how the event made you feel or what you learned from it, rather than just presenting facts or an argument. Let’s explore more details on this interesting write-up and get to know how to write a narrative essay.

Elements of a Narrative Essay

Here’s a breakdown of the key elements of a narrative essay:

A narrative essay has a beginning, middle, and end. It builds up tension and excitement and then wraps things up in a neat package.

Real people, including the writer, often feature in personal narratives. Details of the characters and their thoughts, feelings, and actions can help readers to relate to the tale.

It’s really important to know when and where something happened so we can get a good idea of the context. Going into detail about what it looks like helps the reader to really feel like they’re part of the story.

Conflict or Challenge 

A story in a narrative essay usually involves some kind of conflict or challenge that moves the plot along. It could be something inside the character, like a personal battle, or something from outside, like an issue they have to face in the world.

Theme or Message

A narrative essay isn’t just about recounting an event – it’s about showing the impact it had on you and what you took away from it. It’s an opportunity to share your thoughts and feelings about the experience, and how it changed your outlook.

Emotional Impact

The author is trying to make the story they’re telling relatable, engaging, and memorable by using language and storytelling to evoke feelings in whoever’s reading it.

Narrative essays let writers have a blast telling stories about their own lives. It’s an opportunity to share insights and impart wisdom, or just have some fun with the reader. Descriptive language, sensory details, dialogue, and a great narrative voice are all essentials for making the story come alive.

The Purpose of a Narrative Essay

A narrative essay is more than just a story – it’s a way to share a meaningful, engaging, and relatable experience with the reader. Includes:

Sharing Personal Experience

Narrative essays are a great way for writers to share their personal experiences, feelings, thoughts, and reflections. It’s an opportunity to connect with readers and make them feel something.

Entertainment and Engagement

The essay attempts to keep the reader interested by using descriptive language, storytelling elements, and a powerful voice. It attempts to pull them in and make them feel involved by creating suspense, mystery, or an emotional connection.

Conveying a Message or Insight

Narrative essays are more than just a story – they aim to teach you something. They usually have a moral lesson, a new understanding, or a realization about life that the author gained from the experience.

Building Empathy and Understanding

By telling their stories, people can give others insight into different perspectives, feelings, and situations. Sharing these tales can create compassion in the reader and help broaden their knowledge of different life experiences.

Inspiration and Motivation

Stories about personal struggles, successes, and transformations can be really encouraging to people who are going through similar situations. It can provide them with hope and guidance, and let them know that they’re not alone.

Reflecting on Life’s Significance

These essays usually make you think about the importance of certain moments in life or the impact of certain experiences. They make you look deep within yourself and ponder on the things you learned or how you changed because of those events.

Demonstrating Writing Skills

Coming up with a gripping narrative essay takes serious writing chops, like vivid descriptions, powerful language, timing, and organization. It’s an opportunity for writers to show off their story-telling abilities.

Preserving Personal History

Sometimes narrative essays are used to record experiences and special moments that have an emotional resonance. They can be used to preserve individual memories or for future generations to look back on.

Cultural and Societal Exploration

Personal stories can look at cultural or social aspects, giving us an insight into customs, opinions, or social interactions seen through someone’s own experience.

Format of a Narrative Essay

Narrative essays are quite flexible in terms of format, which allows the writer to tell a story in a creative and compelling way. Here’s a quick breakdown of the narrative essay format, along with some examples:

Introduction

Set the scene and introduce the story.

Engage the reader and establish the tone of the narrative.

Hook: Start with a captivating opening line to grab the reader’s attention. For instance:

Example:  “The scorching sun beat down on us as we trekked through the desert, our water supply dwindling.”

Background Information: Provide necessary context or background without giving away the entire story.

Example:  “It was the summer of 2015 when I embarked on a life-changing journey to…”

Thesis Statement or Narrative Purpose

Present the main idea or the central message of the essay.

Offer a glimpse of what the reader can expect from the narrative.

Thesis Statement: This isn’t as rigid as in other essays but can be a sentence summarizing the essence of the story.

Example:  “Little did I know, that seemingly ordinary hike would teach me invaluable lessons about resilience and friendship.”

Body Paragraphs

Present the sequence of events in chronological order.

Develop characters, setting, conflict, and resolution.

Story Progression : Describe events in the order they occurred, focusing on details that evoke emotions and create vivid imagery.

Example : Detail the trek through the desert, the challenges faced, interactions with fellow hikers, and the pivotal moments.

Character Development : Introduce characters and their roles in the story. Show their emotions, thoughts, and actions.

Example : Describe how each character reacted to the dwindling water supply and supported each other through adversity.

Dialogue and Interactions : Use dialogue to bring the story to life and reveal character personalities.

Example : “Sarah handed me her last bottle of water, saying, ‘We’re in this together.'”

Reach the peak of the story, the moment of highest tension or significance.

Turning Point: Highlight the most crucial moment or realization in the narrative.

Example:  “As the sun dipped below the horizon and hope seemed lost, a distant sound caught our attention—the rescue team’s helicopters.”

Provide closure to the story.

Reflect on the significance of the experience and its impact.

Reflection : Summarize the key lessons learned or insights gained from the experience.

Example : “That hike taught me the true meaning of resilience and the invaluable support of friendship in challenging times.”

Closing Thought : End with a memorable line that reinforces the narrative’s message or leaves a lasting impression.

Example : “As we boarded the helicopters, I knew this adventure would forever be etched in my heart.”

Example Summary:

Imagine a narrative about surviving a challenging hike through the desert, emphasizing the bonds formed and lessons learned. The narrative essay structure might look like starting with an engaging scene, narrating the hardships faced, showcasing the characters’ resilience, and culminating in a powerful realization about friendship and endurance.

Different Types of Narrative Essays

There are a bunch of different types of narrative essays – each one focuses on different elements of storytelling and has its own purpose. Here’s a breakdown of the narrative essay types and what they mean.

Personal Narrative

Description : Tells a personal story or experience from the writer’s life.

Purpose: Reflects on personal growth, lessons learned, or significant moments.

Example of Narrative Essay Types:

Topic : “The Day I Conquered My Fear of Public Speaking”

Focus: Details the experience, emotions, and eventual triumph over a fear of public speaking during a pivotal event.

Descriptive Narrative

Description : Emphasizes vivid details and sensory imagery.

Purpose : Creates a sensory experience, painting a vivid picture for the reader.

Topic : “A Walk Through the Enchanted Forest”

Focus : Paints a detailed picture of the sights, sounds, smells, and feelings experienced during a walk through a mystical forest.

Autobiographical Narrative

Description: Chronicles significant events or moments from the writer’s life.

Purpose: Provides insights into the writer’s life, experiences, and growth.

Topic: “Lessons from My Childhood: How My Grandmother Shaped Who I Am”

Focus: Explores pivotal moments and lessons learned from interactions with a significant family member.

Experiential Narrative

Description: Relays experiences beyond the writer’s personal life.

Purpose: Shares experiences, travels, or events from a broader perspective.

Topic: “Volunteering in a Remote Village: A Journey of Empathy”

Focus: Chronicles the writer’s volunteering experience, highlighting interactions with a community and personal growth.

Literary Narrative

Description: Incorporates literary elements like symbolism, allegory, or thematic explorations.

Purpose: Uses storytelling for deeper explorations of themes or concepts.

Topic: “The Symbolism of the Red Door: A Journey Through Change”

Focus: Uses a red door as a symbol, exploring its significance in the narrator’s life and the theme of transition.

Historical Narrative

Description: Recounts historical events or periods through a personal lens.

Purpose: Presents history through personal experiences or perspectives.

Topic: “A Grandfather’s Tales: Living Through the Great Depression”

Focus: Shares personal stories from a family member who lived through a historical era, offering insights into that period.

Digital or Multimedia Narrative

Description: Incorporates multimedia elements like images, videos, or audio to tell a story.

Purpose: Explores storytelling through various digital platforms or formats.

Topic: “A Travel Diary: Exploring Europe Through Vlogs”

Focus: Combines video clips, photos, and personal narration to document a travel experience.

How to Choose a Topic for Your Narrative Essay?

Selecting a compelling topic for your narrative essay is crucial as it sets the stage for your storytelling. Choosing a boring topic is one of the narrative essay mistakes to avoid . Here’s a detailed guide on how to choose the right topic:

Reflect on Personal Experiences

• Significant Moments:

Moments that had a profound impact on your life or shaped your perspective.

Example: A moment of triumph, overcoming a fear, a life-changing decision, or an unforgettable experience.

• Emotional Resonance:

Events that evoke strong emotions or feelings.

Example: Joy, fear, sadness, excitement, or moments of realization.

• Lessons Learned:

Experiences that taught you valuable lessons or brought about personal growth.

Example: Challenges that led to personal development, shifts in mindset, or newfound insights.

Explore Unique Perspectives

• Uncommon Experiences:

Unique or unconventional experiences that might captivate the reader’s interest.

Example: Unusual travels, interactions with different cultures, or uncommon hobbies.

• Different Points of View:

Stories from others’ perspectives that impacted you deeply.

Example: A family member’s story, a friend’s experience, or a historical event from a personal lens.

Focus on Specific Themes or Concepts

• Themes or Concepts of Interest:

Themes or ideas you want to explore through storytelling.

Example: Friendship, resilience, identity, cultural diversity, or personal transformation.

• Symbolism or Metaphor:

Using symbols or metaphors as the core of your narrative.

Example: Exploring the symbolism of an object or a place in relation to a broader theme.

Consider Your Audience and Purpose

• Relevance to Your Audience:

Topics that resonate with your audience’s interests or experiences.

Example: Choose a relatable theme or experience that your readers might connect with emotionally.

• Impact or Message:

What message or insight do you want to convey through your story?

Example: Choose a topic that aligns with the message or lesson you aim to impart to your readers.

Brainstorm and Evaluate Ideas

• Free Writing or Mind Mapping:

Process: Write down all potential ideas without filtering. Mind maps or free-writing exercises can help generate diverse ideas.

• Evaluate Feasibility:

The depth of the story, the availability of vivid details, and your personal connection to the topic.

Imagine you’re considering topics for a narrative essay. You reflect on your experiences and decide to explore the topic of “Overcoming Stage Fright: How a School Play Changed My Perspective.” This topic resonates because it involves a significant challenge you faced and the personal growth it brought about.

Narrative Essay Topics

50 easy narrative essay topics.

• Learning to Ride a Bike
• My First Day of School
• A Surprise Birthday Party
• The Day I Got Lost
• Visiting a Haunted House
• An Encounter with a Wild Animal
• My Favorite Childhood Toy
• The Best Vacation I Ever Had
• An Unforgettable Family Gathering
• Conquering a Fear of Heights
• A Special Gift I Received
• Moving to a New City
• The Most Memorable Meal
• Getting Caught in a Rainstorm
• An Act of Kindness I Witnessed
• The First Time I Cooked a Meal
• My Experience with a New Hobby
• The Day I Met My Best Friend
• A Hike in the Mountains
• Learning a New Language
• An Embarrassing Moment
• Dealing with a Bully
• My First Job Interview
• A Sporting Event I Attended
• The Scariest Dream I Had
• Helping a Stranger
• The Joy of Achieving a Goal
• A Road Trip Adventure
• Overcoming a Personal Challenge
• The Significance of a Family Tradition
• An Unusual Pet I Owned
• A Misunderstanding with a Friend
• Exploring an Abandoned Building
• My Favorite Book and Why
• The Impact of a Role Model
• A Cultural Celebration I Participated In
• A Valuable Lesson from a Teacher
• A Trip to the Zoo
• An Unplanned Adventure
• Volunteering Experience
• A Moment of Forgiveness
• A Decision I Regretted
• A Special Talent I Have
• The Importance of Family Traditions
• The Thrill of Performing on Stage
• A Moment of Sudden Inspiration
• The Meaning of Home
• Learning to Play a Musical Instrument
• A Childhood Memory at the Park
• Witnessing a Beautiful Sunset

Narrative Essay Topics for College Students

• Discovering a New Passion
• Overcoming Academic Challenges
• Navigating Cultural Differences
• Embracing Independence: Moving Away from Home
• Exploring Career Aspirations
• Coping with Stress in College
• The Impact of a Mentor in My Life
• Balancing Work and Studies
• Facing a Fear of Public Speaking
• Exploring a Semester Abroad
• The Evolution of My Study Habits
• Volunteering Experience That Changed My Perspective
• The Role of Technology in Education
• Finding Balance: Social Life vs. Academics
• Learning a New Skill Outside the Classroom
• Reflecting on Freshman Year Challenges
• The Joys and Struggles of Group Projects
• My Experience with Internship or Work Placement
• Challenges of Time Management in College
• Redefining Success Beyond Grades
• The Influence of Literature on My Thinking
• The Impact of Social Media on College Life
• Overcoming Procrastination
• Lessons from a Leadership Role
• Exploring Diversity on Campus
• Exploring Passion for Environmental Conservation
• An Eye-Opening Course That Changed My Perspective
• Living with Roommates: Challenges and Lessons
• The Significance of Extracurricular Activities
• The Influence of a Professor on My Academic Journey
• Discussing Mental Health in College
• The Evolution of My Career Goals
• Confronting Personal Biases Through Education
• The Experience of Attending a Conference or Symposium
• Challenges Faced by Non-Native English Speakers in College
• The Impact of Traveling During Breaks
• Exploring Identity: Cultural or Personal
• The Impact of Music or Art on My Life
• Addressing Diversity in the Classroom
• Exploring Entrepreneurial Ambitions
• My Experience with Research Projects
• Overcoming Impostor Syndrome in College
• The Importance of Networking in College
• Finding Resilience During Tough Times
• The Impact of Global Issues on Local Perspectives
• The Influence of Family Expectations on Education
• Lessons from a Part-Time Job
• Exploring the College Sports Culture
• The Role of Technology in Modern Education
• The Journey of Self-Discovery Through Education

Narrative Essay Comparison

Narrative essay vs. descriptive essay.

Here’s our first narrative essay comparison! While both narrative and descriptive essays focus on vividly portraying a subject or an event, they differ in their primary objectives and approaches. Now, let’s delve into the nuances of comparison on narrative essays.

Narrative Essay:

Storytelling: Focuses on narrating a personal experience or event.

Chronological Order: Follows a structured timeline of events to tell a story.

Message or Lesson: Often includes a central message, moral, or lesson learned from the experience.

Engagement: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling storyline and character development.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, using “I” and expressing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Emphasizes a plot with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Character Development: Focuses on describing characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.

Conflict or Challenge: Usually involves a central conflict or challenge that drives the narrative forward.

Dialogue: Incorporates conversations to bring characters and their interactions to life.

Reflection: Concludes with reflection or insight gained from the experience.

Descriptive Essay:

Vivid Description: Aims to vividly depict a person, place, object, or event.

Imagery and Details: Focuses on sensory details to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.

Emotion through Description: Uses descriptive language to evoke emotions and engage the reader’s senses.

Painting a Picture: Creates a sensory-rich description allowing the reader to visualize the subject.

Imagery and Sensory Details: Focuses on providing rich sensory descriptions, using vivid language and adjectives.

Point of Focus: Concentrates on describing a specific subject or scene in detail.

Spatial Organization: Often employs spatial organization to describe from one area or aspect to another.

Objective Observations: Typically avoids the use of personal opinions or emotions; instead, the focus remains on providing a detailed and objective description.

Comparison:

Focus: Narrative essays emphasize storytelling, while descriptive essays focus on vividly describing a subject or scene.

Perspective: Narrative essays are often written from a first-person perspective, while descriptive essays may use a more objective viewpoint.

Purpose: Narrative essays aim to convey a message or lesson through a story, while descriptive essays aim to paint a detailed picture for the reader without necessarily conveying a specific message.

Narrative Essay vs. Argumentative Essay

The narrative essay and the argumentative essay serve distinct purposes and employ different approaches:

Engagement and Emotion: Aims to captivate the reader through a compelling story.

Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience or lessons learned.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s point of view, sharing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Emphasizes a storyline with a beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Message or Lesson: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.

Argumentative Essay:

Persuasion and Argumentation: Aims to persuade the reader to adopt the writer’s viewpoint on a specific topic.

Logical Reasoning: Presents evidence, facts, and reasoning to support a particular argument or stance.

Debate and Counterarguments: Acknowledge opposing views and counter them with evidence and reasoning.

Thesis Statement: Includes a clear thesis statement that outlines the writer’s position on the topic.

Thesis and Evidence: Starts with a strong thesis statement and supports it with factual evidence, statistics, expert opinions, or logical reasoning.

Counterarguments: Addresses opposing viewpoints and provides rebuttals with evidence.

Logical Structure: Follows a logical structure with an introduction, body paragraphs presenting arguments and evidence, and a conclusion reaffirming the thesis.

Formal Language: Uses formal language and avoids personal anecdotes or emotional appeals.

Objective: Argumentative essays focus on presenting a logical argument supported by evidence, while narrative essays prioritize storytelling and personal reflection.

Purpose: Argumentative essays aim to persuade and convince the reader of a particular viewpoint, while narrative essays aim to engage, entertain, and share personal experiences.

Structure: Narrative essays follow a storytelling structure with character development and plot, while argumentative essays follow a more formal, structured approach with logical arguments and evidence.

In essence, while both essays involve writing and presenting information, the narrative essay focuses on sharing a personal experience, whereas the argumentative essay aims to persuade the audience by presenting a well-supported argument.

Narrative Essay vs. Personal Essay

While there can be an overlap between narrative and personal essays, they have distinctive characteristics:

Storytelling: Emphasizes recounting a specific experience or event in a structured narrative form.

Engagement through Story: Aims to engage the reader through a compelling story with characters, plot, and a central theme or message.

Reflective: Often includes reflection on the significance of the experience and the lessons learned.

First-Person Perspective: Typically narrated from the writer’s viewpoint, expressing personal emotions and thoughts.

Plot Development: Focuses on developing a storyline with a clear beginning, middle, climax, and resolution.

Character Development: Includes descriptions of characters, their interactions, emotions, and growth.

Central Message: Conveys a central message, moral, or insight derived from the experience.

Personal Essay:

Exploration of Ideas or Themes: Explores personal ideas, opinions, or reflections on a particular topic or subject.

Expression of Thoughts and Opinions: Expresses the writer’s thoughts, feelings, and perspectives on a specific subject matter.

Reflection and Introspection: Often involves self-reflection and introspection on personal experiences, beliefs, or values.

Varied Structure and Content: Can encompass various forms, including memoirs, personal anecdotes, or reflections on life experiences.

Flexibility in Structure: Allows for diverse structures and forms based on the writer’s intent, which could be narrative-like or more reflective.

Theme-Centric Writing: Focuses on exploring a central theme or idea, with personal anecdotes or experiences supporting and illustrating the theme.

Expressive Language: Utilizes descriptive and expressive language to convey personal perspectives, emotions, and opinions.

Focus: Narrative essays primarily focus on storytelling through a structured narrative, while personal essays encompass a broader range of personal expression, which can include storytelling but isn’t limited to it.

Structure: Narrative essays have a more structured plot development with characters and a clear sequence of events, while personal essays might adopt various structures, focusing more on personal reflection, ideas, or themes.

Intent: While both involve personal experiences, narrative essays emphasize telling a story with a message or lesson learned, while personal essays aim to explore personal thoughts, feelings, or opinions on a broader range of topics or themes.

A narrative essay is more than just telling a story. It’s also meant to engage the reader, get them thinking, and leave a lasting impact. Whether it’s to amuse, motivate, teach, or reflect, these essays are a great way to communicate with your audience. This interesting narrative essay guide was all about letting you understand the narrative essay, its importance, and how can you write one.

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How to Format Dialogue in Your Novel or Short Story

Written by MasterClass

Last updated: Aug 30, 2021 • 4 min read

Whether you’re working on a novel or short story, writing dialogue can be a challenge . If you’re concerned about how to punctuate dialogue or how to format your quotation marks, fear not; the rules of dialogue in fiction and nonfiction can be mastered by following a few simple rules.

• How-To Guides

How To Write Dialogue In A Story (With Examples)

One of the biggest mistakes made by writers is how they use dialogue in their stories. Today, we are going to teach you how to write dialogue in a story using some easy and effective techniques. So, get ready to learn some of the best techniques and tips for writing dialogue!

There are two main reasons why good dialogue is so important in works of fiction. First, good dialogue helps keep the reader interested and engaged in the story. Second, it makes your work easier to write, read and understand. So, if you want to write dialogue that is interesting, engaging and easy to read, keep on reading. We will be teaching you the best techniques and tips for writing dialogue in a story.

Internal vs External Dialogue

Direct vs indirect dialogue, 20 tips for formatting dialogue in stories, step 1: use a dialogue outline, step 2: write down a script, step 3: edit & review your script, step 4: sprinkle in some narrative, step 5: format your dialogue, what is dialogue .

Dialogue is the spoken words that are spoken between the characters of a story. It is also known as the conversation between the characters. Dialogue is a vital part of a story. It is the vehicle of the characters’ thoughts and emotions. Good dialogue helps show the reader how the characters think and feel. It also helps the reader better understand what is happening in the story. Good dialogue should be interesting, informative and natural. 

In a story, dialogue can be expressed internally as thoughts, or externally through conversations between characters. A character thinking to themself would be considered internal dialogue. Here there is no one else, just one character thinking or speaking to themselves:

Mary thought to herself, “what if I can do better…”

While two or more characters talking to each other in a scene would be an external dialogue:

“Watch out!” cried Sam. “What’s wrong with you?” laughed Kate.

In most cases, the words spoken by your character will be inside quotation marks. This is called direct dialogue. And then everything outside the quotation marks is called narrative:

“What do you want?” shrieked Penelope as she grabbed her notebooks. “Oh, nothing… Just checking if you needed anything,” sneered Peter as he tried to peek over at her notes.

Indirect dialogue is a summary of your dialogue. It lets the reader know that a conversation happened without repeating it exactly. For example:

She was still fuming from last night’s argument. After being called a liar and a thief, she had no choice but to leave home for good.

Direct dialogue is useful for quick conversations, while indirect dialogue is useful for summarising long pieces of dialogue. Which otherwise can get boring for the reader. Writers can combine both types of dialogue to increase tension and add drama to their stories.

Now you know some of the different types of dialogue in stories, let’s learn how to write dialogue in a story.

Here are the main tips to remember when formatting dialogue in stories or works of fiction:

• Always use quotation marks: All direct dialogue is written inside quotation marks, along with any punctuation relating to that dialogue.

• Don’t forget about dialogue tags: Dialogue tags are used to explain how a character said something.  Each tag has at least one noun or pronoun, and one verb indicating how the dialogue is spoken. For example, he said, she cried, they laughed and so on.

• Dialogue before tags: Dialogue before the dialogue tags should start with an uppercase. The dialogue tag itself begins with a lowercase.

• Dialogue after tags: Both the dialogue and dialogue tags start with an uppercase to signify the start of a conversation. The dialogue tags also have a comma afterwards, before the first set of quotation marks.

• Lowercase for continued dialogue: If the same character continues to speak after the dialogue tags or action, then this dialogue continues with a lowercase.

• Action after complete dialogue: Any action or narrative text after completed dialogue starts with an uppercase as a new sentence.

• Action interrupting dialogue: If the same character pauses their dialogue to do an action, then this action starts with a lowercase.

• Interruptions by other characters: If another character Interrupts a character’s dialogue, then their action starts with an uppercase on a new line. And an em dash (-) is used inside the quotation marks of the dialogue that was interrupted. 

• Use single quotes correctly: Single quotes mean that a character is quoting someone else.

• New paragraphs equal new speaker: When a new character starts speaking, it should be written in a new paragraph. 

• Use question marks correctly: If the dialogue ends with a question mark, then the part after the dialogue should begin with a lowercase.

• Exclamation marks: Similar to question marks, the next sentence should begin with a lowercase. 

• Em dashes equal being cut off: When a character has been interrupted or cut off in the middle of their speech, use an em dash (-).

• Ellipses mean trailing speech: When a character is trailing off in their speech or going on and on about something use ellipses (…). This is also good to use when a character does not know what to say.

• Spilt long dialogue into paragraphs: If a character is giving a long speech, then you can split this dialogue into multiple paragraphs. 

• Use commas appropriately: If it is not the end of the sentence then end the dialogue with a comma.

• Full stops to end dialogue: Dialogue ending with a full stop means it is the end of the entire sentence. 

• Avoid fancy dialogue tags: For example, ‘he moderated’ or ‘she articulated’. As this can distract the reader from what your characters are actually saying and the content of your story. It’s better to keep things simple, such as using he said or she said.
• No need for names: Avoid repeating your character’s name too many times. You could use pronouns or even nicknames. 
• Keep it informal: Think about how real conversations happen. Do people use technical or fancy language when speaking? Think about your character’s tone of voice and personality, what would they say in a given situation? 

Remember these rules, and you’ll be able to master dialogue writing in no time!

How to Write Dialogue in 5 Steps

Dialogue is tricky. Follow these easy steps to write effective dialogue in your stories or works of fiction:

A dialogue outline is a draft of what your characters will say before you actually write the dialogue down. This draft can be in the form of notes or any scribblings about your planned dialogue. Using your overall book outline , you can pinpoint the areas where you expect to see the most dialogue used in your story. You can then plan out the conversation between characters in these areas. 

A good thing about using a dialogue outline is that you can avoid your characters saying the same thing over and over again. You can also skim out any unnecessary dialogue scenes if you think they are unnecessary or pointless. 

Here is an example of a dialogue outline for a story:

You even use a spreadsheet to outline your story’s dialogue scenes.

In this step, you will just write down what the characters are saying in full. Don’t worry too much about punctuation and the correct formatting of dialogue. The purpose of this step is to determine what the characters will actually say in the scene and whether this provides any interesting information to your readers.

Start by writing down the full script of your character’s conversations for each major dialogue scene in your story. Here is an example of a dialogue script for a story:

Review your script from the previous step, and think about how it can be shortened or made more interesting. You might think about changing a few words that the characters use to make it sound more natural. Normally the use of slang words and informal language is a great way to make dialogue between characters sound more natural. You might also think about replacing any names with nicknames that characters in a close relationship would use. 

The script might also be too long with plenty of unnecessary details that can be removed or summarised as part of the narration in your story (or as indirect dialogue). Remember the purpose of dialogue is to give your story emotion and make your characters more realistic. At this point you might also want to refer back to your character profiles , to see if the script of each character matches their personality. 

Once your script has been perfected, you can add some actions to make your dialogue feel more believable to readers. Action or narrative is the stuff that your characters are actually doing throughout or in between dialogue. For example, a character might be packing up their suitcase, as they are talking about their holiday plans. This ‘narrative’ is a great way to break up a long piece of dialogue which otherwise could become boring and tedious for readers. 

You have now planned your dialogue for your story. The final step is to incorporate these dialogue scenes into your story. Remember to follow our formatting dialogue formatting rules explained above to create effective dialogue for your stories!

That’s all for today! We hope this post has taught you how to write dialogue in a story effectively. If you have any questions, please let us know in the comments below!

Marty the wizard is the master of Imagine Forest. When he's not reading a ton of books or writing some of his own tales, he loves to be surrounded by the magical creatures that live in Imagine Forest. While living in his tree house he has devoted his time to helping children around the world with their writing skills and creativity.

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• Knowledge Base
• How to write a narrative essay | Example & tips

How to Write a Narrative Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 24, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

A narrative essay tells a story. In most cases, this is a story about a personal experience you had. This type of essay , along with the descriptive essay , allows you to get personal and creative, unlike most academic writing .

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Table of contents

What is a narrative essay for, choosing a topic, interactive example of a narrative essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about narrative essays.

When assigned a narrative essay, you might find yourself wondering: Why does my teacher want to hear this story? Topics for narrative essays can range from the important to the trivial. Usually the point is not so much the story itself, but the way you tell it.

A narrative essay is a way of testing your ability to tell a story in a clear and interesting way. You’re expected to think about where your story begins and ends, and how to convey it with eye-catching language and a satisfying pace.

These skills are quite different from those needed for formal academic writing. For instance, in a narrative essay the use of the first person (“I”) is encouraged, as is the use of figurative language, dialogue, and suspense.

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Narrative essay assignments vary widely in the amount of direction you’re given about your topic. You may be assigned quite a specific topic or choice of topics to work with.

• Write a story about your first day of school.
• Write a story about your favorite holiday destination.

You may also be given prompts that leave you a much wider choice of topic.

• Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself.
• Write about an achievement you are proud of. What did you accomplish, and how?

In these cases, you might have to think harder to decide what story you want to tell. The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to talk about a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

For example, a trip where everything went according to plan makes for a less interesting story than one where something unexpected happened that you then had to respond to. Choose an experience that might surprise the reader or teach them something.

Narrative essays in college applications

When applying for college , you might be asked to write a narrative essay that expresses something about your personal qualities.

For example, this application prompt from Common App requires you to respond with a narrative essay.

In this context, choose a story that is not only interesting but also expresses the qualities the prompt is looking for—here, resilience and the ability to learn from failure—and frame the story in a way that emphasizes these qualities.

An example of a short narrative essay, responding to the prompt “Write about an experience where you learned something about yourself,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how the structure works.

Since elementary school, I have always favored subjects like science and math over the humanities. My instinct was always to think of these subjects as more solid and serious than classes like English. If there was no right answer, I thought, why bother? But recently I had an experience that taught me my academic interests are more flexible than I had thought: I took my first philosophy class.

Before I entered the classroom, I was skeptical. I waited outside with the other students and wondered what exactly philosophy would involve—I really had no idea. I imagined something pretty abstract: long, stilted conversations pondering the meaning of life. But what I got was something quite different.

A young man in jeans, Mr. Jones—“but you can call me Rob”—was far from the white-haired, buttoned-up old man I had half-expected. And rather than pulling us into pedantic arguments about obscure philosophical points, Rob engaged us on our level. To talk free will, we looked at our own choices. To talk ethics, we looked at dilemmas we had faced ourselves. By the end of class, I’d discovered that questions with no right answer can turn out to be the most interesting ones.

The experience has taught me to look at things a little more “philosophically”—and not just because it was a philosophy class! I learned that if I let go of my preconceptions, I can actually get a lot out of subjects I was previously dismissive of. The class taught me—in more ways than one—to look at things with an open mind.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
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If you’re not given much guidance on what your narrative essay should be about, consider the context and scope of the assignment. What kind of story is relevant, interesting, and possible to tell within the word count?

The best kind of story for a narrative essay is one you can use to reflect on a particular theme or lesson, or that takes a surprising turn somewhere along the way.

Don’t worry too much if your topic seems unoriginal. The point of a narrative essay is how you tell the story and the point you make with it, not the subject of the story itself.

Narrative essays are usually assigned as writing exercises at high school or in university composition classes. They may also form part of a university application.

When you are prompted to tell a story about your own life or experiences, a narrative essay is usually the right response.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

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Writers' Treasure

Effective writing advice for aspiring writers

Writing Tip: Finding the Balance of Narrative and Dialogue

• Fiction Writing

In the world of fiction writing, there are many things to explore. Subplots, conflict, POV , characters, you name it. But have you heard of narrative and dialogue? If you’ve got a story, you’ve got to narrate it. If you’ve got a set of characters, they have to converse, i.e., talk. Talking in fiction writing is known as dialogue, and narrating or describing anything is known as narrative.

Now where’s the problem in that?

Too much of a good thing is usually a bad thing, and it applies here. Some writers use narrative a lot. Their characters aren’t talkers. It’s just page after page of narrative, how they did this, their journey, their perils, the people they met, the surroundings, and so on. All description. At which point your story looks like an essay which no one wants to read, rather than an amazing novel.

On the Flip Side

Then there are those who overdo dialogue. Every page is filled up with dialogue. Have you ever read such a book? Me neither — the publishers don’t want to publish a book which readers won’t read, and boring dialogue is high on the list of unpopular writing.

Dialogue is good. Unnecessary dialogue, now that’s a different thing, a different kettle of fish. Your dialogue must never be used for exposition. In some cases, OK fine. But for most, narrative is required for heavy description, simply because in narrative one writes in the author’s tone, but when one is writing dialogue one must write how a certain character talks.

Ideally, dialogue should be used to supplement narrative. I personally like dialogue-driven books way more than I like books which use heavy narrative, but there are separate audiences for the two categories, and there are people who will read both if the story is good. As I said previously in Writing Tip: The Importance of Word Count , things like word count, narrative and dialogue are secondary if you haven’t even got a good story.

Read this great dialogue writing tips post .

Finding the Balance

If you have a riveting plot or characters, you may get away with too much narrative or too much dialogue. But for normal people who want to maximize their chances of getting published, it’s a bad idea, and I don’t in the least recommend it.

Of course, some situations may require heavy narrative, but you must always try to balance it up later by including dialogue. Try to use dialogue to move the plot forward, don’t stall it. That is one of the main dialogue don’ts many editors see on manuscripts.

Even if your book is published, and your writing style is not exceptional, then people will put your book down and say it’s boring. Use riveting narrative. And try to use short paragraphs, please. If you have heavy narrative and long paragraphs, then suffice to say, I won’t want to spend my time reading your novel (and neither would anyone else). Very simple mistake and very easy to avoid (or correct), but it does have drastic effects.

Any Exceptions?

If you’re a regular reader, you know that in nearly every post I have some mention of “exceptions”. Well, this post is no different, read on. 🙂

I’m sure you’ve heard of The Lord of the Rings . It’s extremely famous and popular, but have you ever thought that it has too much description? Sure, some people have, but the majority of the public loved the book because the author was exceptionally strong in his story. It didn’t matter that his book was long or that there wasn’t much dialogue (in comparison). It depended on the story, didn’t it?

And every book is like that. Truth be told, I have read a couple of novels which had much more dialogue than narrative, but the story was so gripping that I didn’t even notice. I didn’t care. Most people didn’t. In fact, it may have even worked out to the author’s advantage, because it was a young adult/middle grade novel and typically that age group (I lie in it) likes dialogue much more than heavy narrative. You may have noticed that I keep saying heavy narrative. That’s because narrative is fine and even necessary to a novel. A heavy narrative, however, has adverse effects.

Effective Writing

Narrative can be effective. Even dialogue can. But there is an “if” — it’s only if it is written well. If it is written perfectly. If it is concise .

And for that you simply have to write, write, write and then edit like mad. Freak out at hearing the phrase “editing like mad”? But no, editing can be made easier with simple techniques .

Do you have any narrative and dialogue writing experiences to share? Fiction writing to add? Agree or disagree, be sure to tell it in the comments.

This is the third instalment of the series Writing Tips: How to Write Better . Get updates about the rest of the series by subscribing to Writers’ Treasure today.

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Further reading:.

• Compelling Opening Chapters Written — Then What?
• An Introduction to Academic Writing – Part II
• The Best Way of Writing a Compelling Opening Chapter
• POV: What it is and how it matters
• 100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid: A Review

8 thoughts on “Writing Tip: Finding the Balance of Narrative and Dialogue”

I think the best dialogue either reveals the characters’ personalities or establishes their relationships (with each other). Dialogue is tricky because you don’t want all the characters to sound the same (like the author/narrator), so in a way, you have to get in character when writing dialogue or character perspectives. This is where an acting class or two might come in handy.

I agree. I’ve always wondered how the “author’s tone” is so different from the character’s tone in third person POV. Dialogue writing is extremely hard to do for any writer, but for me, it’s one of the best things to write, rather than narrative. Even when I was not writing novels, I was writing dialogue for English school papers, so that gave me practice.

An acting class… good idea. Personally, I think the bottom line is that you should only write dialogue if you really know your character. Looking forward to hear your views on this point!

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Excellent post – very informative and true.

I must say however, that this website’s use of pixels for the font size required me to zoom in over 40% to be comfortable enough to read.

Thanks, but have you changed the text settings in your browser? Here the text is set as 15px, which is quite comfortable — at least for me. I would use em, but I still haven’t learned a lot about that design aspect, and pixels just seem more familiar. Still, I will consider switching to a more flexible text font size standard in the near future.

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I received a reader comment that she enjoyed my book, but thought the conversations were too long. No other elaboration. That’s why I’m here, trying to get opinions on the subject. I agree with what Idrees says: don’ try to give info in dialogue, use for character development etc. Anyway, I went over the ms (470 pages) and noted that there is a lot of dialogue. I feel it is appropriate to the story (young soldiers in Okinawa during Vietnam) and I don’t think I violated the “known” rules of dialogue. Not sure about making the characters sound like themselves, but think that I’ve done that fairly well.

In reading a number of blogs etc on the subject I find it interesting not to have found any mention of techniques such as “free indirect style’ to such good effect by Henry James, Flaubert and others.

Beyond that, thanks for the informative post.

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How to pick out a character for your novel how to pick out a character for your novel.

This is a guest article by James Thompson. If you want to submit a guest article of your own be sure to read the guest article guidelines .

Believe it or not, but the profession of your novel characters play a major role in making your novel a big hit. Using clichéd professions such as doctor, lawyer, detective, or an actor won’t suffice — unless it’s the only relevant choice. The profession of the characters, especially the main character, is what sets the scene for your book. Readers prefer reading something “fresh”.

How often do you read about a wizarding profession? (I’m sure we all clearly remember the famous books with those characters). All right, these aren’t all technically “professions”, but they set the scene and add more flavor to the character. They make a character more memorable.

A character’s profession affects the entire novel. It pinpoints to a personality type.

For example, what kind of a personality would you expect a detective to have? Clever, unsocial, and offensive at times? How about a rich guy? Bold, clever, and slightly arrogant? The profession also affects the plot . Since the profession forms the personality and “role” of a character, it’s bound to alter the plot and the way the character acts and reacts in it.

I have stressed enough about the importance of the characters’ profession. Now, let’s move on to how to pick out a suitable career for them. Relax, they are only characters! They won’t complain about freedom of choice.

(more…)

• What Should Be Told and Shown in the Opening Chapter?
• Fiction Writing 101: The Elements of Stories
• The Big Picture of a Novel – Part III
• Conflict is Necessary to Make it Spicy

The Big Picture of a Novel — Part II The Big Picture of a Novel — Part II

In the first part of this post I started explaining about The Big Picture of a Novel. In the second part I will start the process of how to actually be aware about it. (more…)

• The Big Picture of a Novel
• Getting Bogged Down in Editing – Help!

Fiction Writing 101: The Elements of Stories Fiction Writing 101: The Elements of Stories

You guessed it: fiction writing. Novels are written every month and every year. The vast majority don’t see the light of day (a fancy expression meaning getting published). Some do. Some become bestsellers. Some don’t even sell a few copies.

What makes the difference between writing a really good story that people read with pleasure and a boring one that makes readers throw it across the room? (more…)

• How to pick out a character for your novel
• Why Hunting for Plots is Worthless

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Narrative Essays

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What is a narrative essay?

When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.

Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay.

• If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.

• When would a narrative essay not be written as a story?

A good example of this is when an instructor asks a student to write a book report. Obviously, this would not necessarily follow the pattern of a story and would focus on providing an informative narrative for the reader.

• The essay should have a purpose.

Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at all?

• The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays oftentimes manifests itself in the form of authorial perspective.

• Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.

• The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.

• As always, be organized!

Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your audience can follow your lead).

Table of content

Elements of a narrative paragraph:, introduction to characters and setting, inciting incident:, resolution:, conclusion:, choose a clear focus:, introduction:, revise and edit: , involve the reader:, enhance using different techniques:, add a “red herring”:, leverage a paragraph generator for help:, extra resources:.

Narrative Paragraphs: Elements, Format, Writing, and Examples

Narrative writing is basically storytelling. It's when you write about things that happen, either real or made up. These things usually involve people (characters) in a certain place (setting). They happen one after the other and lead to an ending. The story is told from someone's point of view.

In this article, we will see in detail what a narrative paragraph is, its elements, and its format. We will also look at the procedure to write a narrative paragraph with the help of examples along with some tips.

Narrative paragraphs:

A narrative paragraph is a stand-alone story that contains several key elements. These elements work together to make it feel like a whole story, even though it's short.

It can also be part of a larger narrative piece e.g. novel, autobiography, etc. It's commonly used in personal essays, short stories, or to introduce a topic in nonfiction writing.

It is important to learn about the elements of narrative writing as they play a big role in writing a narrative paragraph (Which we will see later in the article). In a stand-alone paragraph, the key elements are:

• Point of view

Characters:

They perform the actions of the story. They're the ones who talk, think, and do things that move the story along. They can be people, animals, or things that act like people (like talking toys in a kids' story).

In a short story or paragraph, you might not say a lot about each character But readers will be able to know a bit about the main character (Protagonist).

For example, in a story about a girl losing her dog, the girl is the main character. We might learn her name, how old she is, and that she loves her dog very much. This helps us feel for her when her dog goes missing.

It is where and when a story happens. It's like the stage for a play but for a story, the setting includes the place, time, and circumstances surrounding the events.

Place is where the story happens. It could be a real location like New York City or a made-up place like a fantasy world. Time refers to when the story happens. It might be set in the present day, in the past (like 100 years ago), or in the future. Circumstances are the conditions surrounding the characters. For example, is it peacetime or wartime? Is it a time of wealth or poverty? e.t.c.

(Impact of setting on the characters and narrative - Aithor.com .)

It is what happens in a story. It's the series of events that make up the action. Think of it as the "what happened" part of the story. In a longer story, like a book, the plot usually has several parts. But in a short story or a single paragraph, we just focus on the most important events.

For example, in a paragraph about a child's first day of school, the plot might be: The child feels nervous at breakfast. The parent takes them to the classroom. The child meets the teacher and some new friends. By the end of the day, the child feels excited about going back tomorrow.

Conflict is an important part of any story. It's the problem or challenge that the characters have to deal with. It's what makes things interesting and keeps readers wanting to know what happens next. Without conflict, a story would be boring - just a list of things that happen with no excitement.

It is what moves the story forward. Characters try to solve the problem, and that's what creates the action in the plot. Their way of dealing with the conflict often shows us what kind of people they are.

It is the big idea or message the writer wants to share with you. It's not always said directly, but you can figure it out by thinking about what happens in the story and how the characters change or learn.

Some of the most famous themes are love, friendship, loss, courage, and growing up.

(Why is theme important in narrative writing? - Essential in Writing )

It refers to the author's unique voice and the way they use language to tell their story. This includes choices in vocabulary, sentence structure, tone, and literary devices such as metaphors or symbolism.

A distinctive style can make a narrative unique and create a memorable reading experience.

Point of view:

Point of view decides through whose eyes the story is told. Common options include:

• First-person: The narrator is a character in the story (using "I" or "we")
• Third-person limited: The narrator is outside the story but privy to one character's thoughts
• Third-person omniscient: The narrator knows and can reveal the thoughts of all characters
• Second-person: The narrator addresses the reader directly as "you" (less common)

The choice of point of view can significantly impact how readers understand and connect with the story.

(A PDF by Lewis University on explanation of Narrative elements)

Format of Narrative paragraphs:

Let's explore the format of the narrative paragraphs to understand how things are written in them.

The beginning of a narrative paragraph tells about the characters and where the event is taking place. You don't need to write a lot – just a sentence or two is enough.

For example:

" Sarah stood nervously at the edge of the abandoned building , her toes curling over the rough surface as she peered down at the shimmering river below. She had been running from the hunters after they spotted her buying food. ”

This brief introduction tells about the main character (Sarah), her emotional state (nervous, being chased), and the setting (an abandoned building beside a river).

(A guide on How to introduce characters - 48 Hour Books )

It is an event or occurrence that sets the main action into motion. In a narrative paragraph, this often comes right after the introduction.

"The barks of dogs echoed and the sound of running footsteps of the hunters were approaching rapidly . They will be on the roof any minute now. Across the river, she could see her blind and injured mother holding a lantern, waiting for her."

This incident pushes the story forward, creating tension and Suspense.

The climax is the peak of the action or the most intense moment in the paragraph. It's where the tension that's been building, reaches its highest point.

"Taking a deep breath, Sarah closed her eyes and clutched the piece of bread in her bag. “For Mama” she murmured and leaped forward , her heart racing as she felt herself falling through the air. With a splash, she plunged into the cool water. The shock of the cold water nearly knocked the breath from her lungs and she sank deeper and deeper."

(More on the climax of a story by Story Flint )

The resolution wraps up the story by showing the result of the events. It often gives you that feeling of "the end" and resolves any problems or challenges the characters face.

“She heard her mother’s voice calling for her. Her survival instinct kicked in and she began swimming with all her might towards the distant shore. Reaching the bank , she felt her mother's warm embrace envelop her. " I made it , Mama," she whispered, pulling out the slightly damp but still edible bread from her bag.”

(Resolution: Definition and examples - Literary Terms )

The ending sentence often shows how past events have affected the narrator today or will affect their future choices. It can be the narrator's opinion or thought.

Remember that the narrator is the one who is telling the story.

“They were safe for now, and tomorrow held the promise of another day together.”

How to write a narrative paragraph?

A good narrative paragraph makes the reader feel as if they are watching the incident with their own eyes. For this, each part of the paragraph is written differently and serves a different purpose. 

Let’s learn to write a narrative paragraph in detail.

Focusing on one specific moment lets you tell a short and powerful story in just one paragraph. This helps to keep the paragraph clear because it does not include too many details thus making it easy for the reader to understand and enjoy. It also ensures that even though the paragraph is small, it feels complete and satisfying.

Choose a moment that feels complete on its own and can capture the reader's interest. This could be a moment where something big or emotional happens. Moments that are full of feelings or change are best. Such moments attract readers because they are intense and memorable.

Make sure the moment is simple enough to explain in just one paragraph without leaving out important details. This allows you to give more attention to the small, vivid details that make the story come alive.

• A Moment of Triumph : Describe a time when someone won their first sports match after months of hard practice, capturing the delight and relief at the sound of the final whistle. 
• First Experience : Narrate someone's first experience with snow, focusing on the sensory details and the pure joy of the first touch and play in the snow.
• A Surprising Joy : Write about the happiness and surprise of receiving an unexpected gift from a friend, detailing the moment of unwrapping and the emotional impact.

( Tips by Paper Writer on the selection of topics in narrative essays)

Unlike other writing types where the introductory part consists of one sentence, in narrative paragraphs it can expand to 2 or, in some cases, 3 lines. It is because it not only introduces the main character but also gives the background information.

As always, the first sentence should hook the reader’s attention . This could be a surprising fact, a vivid description of a place or person, or a question that makes the reader think. It can also be an unusual setting that increases curiosity.

“As lightning streaked across the sky, Max realized that the old, rumored ghost house at the end of the street was not as abandoned as everyone had thought.”

This opening sentence uses descriptive writing and a hint of mystery to grab the reader’s attention, making them curious about what Max might discover.

It's important to introduce the main character early on. Give a few details to help the reader imagine and understand who the story is about. This doesn’t have to be a full sketch of them—just a few touches about what they look like or what they are doing.

"Max, a curious twelve-year-old with a wild mop of hair and a penchant for adventure, couldn't resist the lure of the forbidden."

This introduces Max, giving a quick sketch of his age and appearance. It also shows a little of his personality by telling about his curiosity. 

Explain where and when the story is happening . This includes location, time period, and any important information about the world or society that affects the story. This helps the reader visualize and understand the setting where the events will take place.

"The house, known in town lore as the ‘Whispering Oaks,’ sat isolated on a hilltop, its windows boarded up and the garden overgrown with wild thorns."

This sentence sets up the physical location and adds a bit of historical context, enhancing the horror setting.

(Simple guide on describing the setting of the story by Jerry Jenkins )

You can give a little hint about the problem or main even t that will move the story to keep the reader interested. Don't write everything about it. This could be mentioning a challenge the character faces or something big that will happen.

"Rumors had swirled for years about the treasure hidden beneath the floorboards, guarded by spirits who prowled the shadows."

This line hints at a coming adventure involving a treasure hunt and possible supernatural elements.

Write a combination of all the above-mentioned points so that your paragraph is not excessively long but at the same time has all the elements of a good narrative paragraph:

“As the lightning streaked, Max, a twelve-year-old , realized the notorious hilltop house , known as Whispering Oaks, might not be as abandoned as everyone thought. The whispered warnings of ghostly guardians in the wind ruffled his black hair and piqued his curiosity about the rumored hidden treasure .”

  (Choose topic sentences for Narrative paragraphs - IXL)

Writing the body of a narrative paragraph involves expanding the story by introducing and resolving the conflict within a few sentences.

Start the story by further developing the scene and characters introduced in the opening. You should describe the specific events, actions, or situations that directly caused or triggered the conflict in the story. Try to do this in 1 to 3 sentences.

Add sensory details so the reader can picture the scene better like saying “cold gust of wind” or the “echoes of the footsteps”. You can also add the character's thoughts to make them feel like a real person. 

Unless you're intentionally using a non-linear structure (not in the order), present events in the order they occur to keep the story clear and easy to follow.

“Max’s steps echoed in the empty street as he neared the gate . The wind howled, making the old timbers of the house groan ominously. Despite his fear, his curiosity was piqued every time he glanced at the upper windows, half expecting to see a face looking back.”

(Slideshare’s presentation on narration and paragraph development )

Body is the main and explaining part of the story so it is where you should introduce the conflict . Start with small signs of trouble and build up. Instead of stating the conflict at once, show how the conflict affects the character's senses or environment.

You can also introduce the conflict through the character's actions, thoughts, or dialogue rather than stating it in words. Conflict can consist of 2 to 4 sentences.

“As Max pushed the gate open, it creaked loudly, breaking the haunting silence. Just then, a sudden rustling from the bushes nearby made him freeze. 

His mind raced with stories of flying creatures that haunted the house. Should he venture further and face whatever lurked in the shadows, or should he retreat to the safety of his known world?”

The example creates conflict by describing things Max hears and feels, a surprise when a cat appears, and how Max is feeling scared. It also shows Max facing a tough choice, which keeps us guessing about what he will do next, all without directly saying what the problem is.

( What is conflict in literature? 6 different types by Master Class)

In the same part, you have to resolve the conflict as well in 2 to 3 sentences.

The resolution should make sense based on what happened before. This means that whatever the character decides or realizes, it should feel like a believable ending.

The resolution can be unique but it shouldn't feel forced or something out of nowhere; rather, it should seem like a natural next step in the story. 

Also, the resolution isn't the place to bring up new problems or unanswered questions.

“Gathering his courage, Max took a deep breath and stepped forward. The rustling grew louder, and just as he felt he couldn’t bear it any longer, a cat darted out from under a bush, its eyes glinting in the faint light. 

Laughing at his fears, Max felt that the Whispering Oaks was not as horrifying as it seemed from the outside. It was just a simple house filled with harmless creatures, echoing with the sounds of its past rather than the ghosts of legend.”

The example shows a resolution where the character faces his fear, discovers its harmless source, and gains a new perspective.

(Narrative writing - a story with a conflict and resolution )

When writing your conclusion, keep it short and to the point. Avoid adding new details or characters. Instead, choose words that give a sense of ending and match the story’s mood - a funny story might end with a joke, while a serious one might end with a thoughtful comment.

The conclusion should make a strong impact . This could be through a vivid image, a clear action, or a meaningful piece of dialogue or proverb that sums up your story. 

“He moved boldly (clear action) toward the house, ready to uncover its secrets, realizing that sometimes, fear itself is the only ghost . (proverb)” 

This sentence effectively concludes the story by showing the character's transformation from fear to bravery. It also summarizes the theme that our greatest fears are often baseless.

Sometimes, you might hint at the future but don’t start a new story. This gives a peek into what might come next without affecting the story’s ending.

"With the mystery of the mansion behind him, Max walked away feeling braver than ever, ready to tackle the next adventure that his once-overwhelming curiosity would surely lead him into."

It's important to check your writing for any spelling, grammar, or punctuation mistakes and correct them. Also, try to cut out any words or phrases that aren't necessary to make your paragraph clearer and more direct.

Getting feedback from someone else is very helpful. They can spot mistakes you might have missed and give advice on how to make your paragraph even better. 

Reading your paragraph out loud is also a great way to catch any awkward wording or sentences that don't sound right. When you hear your words, you can better understand how your story flows and if there are parts that are hard to read.

Lastly, a checklist can help to make sure you include everything that is important in narrative writing.

(narrative writing checklist by resource.finalsite )

Tips for writing a Narrative paragraph:

This involves characters being aware that they are part of a story and sometimes even talking directly to the reader, almost like having a conversation. It is also called “ Breaking the fourth wall ”.They might ask the reader what they should do next, share secrets, or comment on what’s happening as if the reader is right there with them.

"Max paused at the spooky staircase, glancing at you 'I really shouldn't be here at night, should I?' he whispered as if expecting an answer.

Sensory Details: When you include details about what characters sense, it makes your story more relatable. It helps readers to feel like they are present in the scene, experiencing everything with the characters.

Active Verbs: Using strong, action-packed verbs keeps the story moving and exciting. These kinds of verbs help to show what’s happening in a clear and effective way.

Varied Sentence Structure: Mixing up short and long sentences can make your writing more engaging. Short sentences can create tension or excitement, while longer sentences can give more information or show a character's thoughts more deeply.

Show, Don't Tell: This means instead of just telling readers what happens, you show them through details. Here’s how:

• Character Actions : Show what a character is doing to help readers understand what’s going on or how the character feels.
• Dialogue : Use conversations between characters to reveal more about them or what they are thinking.
• Internal Thoughts : Share what a character is thinking to add more depth to the story.
• Environmental Details : Describe where the story takes place or what the surroundings are like to help set the scene.

A "red herring" is a trick writers use in stories to mislead or distract readers from the real issue, plot, or culprit in a story. It's commonly used in mystery and thriller genres but can be effective in other types of narratives as well. 

It makes the writing piece stay in mind because at first the reader believes they already know the villain but in the end, they get surprised when they are proven wrong.

(26 narrative techniques for writers at Indeed)

When writing a narrative paragraph, so many things have to be considered. This isn’t easy and the chances of mistakes are great. Sometimes, you might feel stuck and not be able to form a good starting point, coherent body, or effective conclusion for your narrative paragraph.

In such a case, we recommend looking towards our Paragraph Generator . It uses artificial intelligence to come up with any type of paragraph, including a narrative one, against the topic you provide.

Furthermore, multiple paragraphs can also be crafted using this tool so you can see how you’re supposed to structure narrative write-ups. All in all, it is a great resource for help when you’re stuck and can’t think of ideas.

Having said that, to use the Paragraph Generator, take the following steps .

• Write your paragraph’s topic into the input box.
• Select the writing tone from the provided options. i.e.  Formal, friendly, casual , etc.
• Choose the required length of the paragraph from the  Default, Concise, and Detailed options.
• From the  ‘Writing Style’ menu, choose ‘Narrative’ .
• Pick the number of paragraphs that you want generated.
• Click on  ‘Generate Paragraph’ .
• What is narrative writing? (with types and tips) -  insightful article by Indeed .
• 12 steps to write a narrative paragraph by wikiHow.
• Narrative Writing - Definition, Types, Tips, and Techniques -  BYJU’S
• Examples of Narrative paragraphs -  Studocu
• Video tutorial by Whimsical Teacher Tube on writing a narrative paragraph.
• (How to write an amazing narrative essay -  video by The Volume Institute )

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