|
Post by JesusNinja on Aug 15, 2020 16:07:49 GMT
The contents of my next book will be a fictitious conversation between a master and a student. The student will be asking questions with the teacher answering. What is the best format or style to make it appear nice to the reader and not boring. The book over all will be actually teaching the reader many things, but done in this question/answer conversation style. Any ideas?
|
|
sirram
Senior Printer
No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money
Posts: 269
|
Post by sirram on Aug 15, 2020 17:44:27 GMT
Certainly not my field, but might it be the master who asks the initial questions? The student would reply (naively presumably) with the master then coming back with wise words.
There are numerous books with two characters talking to each other (Holmes and Watson for example). The double quotes can't go on for ever, so each exchange of dialogue would need to be interspersed with explanatory text - e.g. to explain what just happened and to introduce the next section.
Good luck with that one. If you have a tame artist to hand, a few sketches to illuminate the dialogue might work quite well.
|
|
|
Post by JesusNinja on Aug 15, 2020 18:14:58 GMT
In this situation the student would be the one asking questions. It's how the master knows where the student is in his training. I'd wondered about the double quotes. I've also seen some using this type of thing Student: Master: Not sure. I want to write it as it's been taken from a tape recording or something. But as you said adding some extra dialog and graphics too. I've already taken some photos of things I used in my own training to use in the book. Thanks for the response.
|
|
|
Post by potet on Aug 15, 2020 19:01:45 GMT
"converstation"
|
|
|
Post by Do Tell on Aug 15, 2020 19:22:37 GMT
An instructional as taken from tape.
Novice: Words?
Master: Words.
Narrator meaning: More words.
Illustration: Appropriate image.
|
|
|
Post by ronmiller on Aug 15, 2020 19:54:36 GMT
It's how a great many Greek philosophers, such as Plato, presented their works.
I do very much agree with others who have suggested that a book-length dialog between two characters might benefit from being broken up with a few descriptive passages.
I don't know why you would need double quotes if the book is just two characters talking. It would just be---
"What is 2 plus 2, my boy?" "Twenty-two, Master."
I suppose the dialog could be presented this way---
Master: What is 2 plus 2? Student: Twenty-two.
But I think that would get pretty stilted-looking pretty quickly.
The best thing, I think would be to break up long periods of dialog with a little exposition---
The Master looked up from his crossword puzzle as the Student entered his study. "What is a five letter word for strips in a club?" "Nudist, Master?" "You are five times an idiot, my boy." "My brain reels before your wisdom, as always." The Student backed out of the room on his hands and knees, banging his head on the floor as he went. "Hold!" cried the Master, raising a skinny hand. "I shall not have you leave more ignorant than when you arrived. You shall know the answer to my question!" "I shall know what is a five letter word for strips in a club? Oh joy, Master! Oh tell me!" "Bacon, my child."
|
|
|
Post by And Kevin 2024 on Aug 15, 2020 21:17:53 GMT
|
|
|
Post by And Kevin 2024 on Aug 15, 2020 21:21:59 GMT
I will go with an example of something I have done.
“Ermm, perhaps I ...” he mumbles, lifting out one arm, palm up. But then suddenly changes his mind as he realises there are not only saddlebags, but also saddles, on the ground. “Ermm, is there no other luggage? You know. Carriage cases and things?” But he doesn’t wait for a reply. “Why do you even have those,” he nods his helmeted head towards the saddles and saddlebags, “travelling in a carriage?” With an exasperated look, as if that should be obvious, Lilium tells him, “for our horses, of course ...” “But ...” he responds, now with a very wrinkled forehead. It’s Serry who clears it up for him, “we did not set off in that, alright?! We rode the horses, which we already had! We bought it along the way! And we have a foking receipt! And why should we not have kept all our favourite horses and gear?!” Still with a deep frown he responds, “ermm, well. Alright. I did wonder why only two pull it. Pick it all up, I suppose, and follow me, then.” Then says to his immediate men in Torpcotian, “four of you come with me.”
Basically, as some have already said, you cannot really only have the words that are spoken.
|
|
|
Post by And Kevin 2024 on Aug 15, 2020 21:24:21 GMT
I would expect a master and student scene would be like normal education. Master tells a fact. Student may not be sure about it, so asks something. There's the lecture method also. Teacher rambles on for a while and students nod off.
|
|
|
Post by aacain on Aug 18, 2020 9:01:34 GMT
“Ermm, perhaps I ...” he mumbles, lifting out one arm, palm up. But then suddenly changes his mind as he realises there are not only saddlebags, but also saddles, on the ground. “Ermm, is there no other luggage? You know. Carriage cases and things?” But he doesn’t wait for a reply. “Why do you even have those,” he nods his helmeted head towards the saddles and saddlebags, “travelling in a carriage?” With an exasperated look, as if that should be obvious, Lilium tells him, “For our horses, of course ...” “But ...” he responds, now with a very wrinkled forehead. It’s Serry who clears it up for him, “We did not set off in that, alright?! We rode the horses, which we already had! We bought it along the way! And we have a foking receipt! And why should we not have kept all our favourite horses and gear?!” Still with a deep frown he responds, “Ermm, well. Alright. I did wonder why only two pull it. Pick it all up, I suppose, and follow me, then.” Then says to his immediate men in Torpcotian, “Four of you come with me.” Your dialogue punctuation is actually incorrect. There should be a capital letter at the beginning of each spoken sentence, unless it's a run-on such as the second spoken sentence in your third paragraph. As shown in the edited content above.
|
|
|
Post by And Kevin 2024 on Aug 18, 2020 16:48:35 GMT
Your dialogue punctuation is actually incorrect. There should be a capital letter at the beginning of each spoken sentence, unless it's a run-on such as the second spoken sentence in your third paragraph. As shown in the edited content above So some say, and others don't. I read a lot and see all sorts of punctuation methods. (There's actually a thread on here about punctuation somewhere). It can depend entirely on what some editor believes is correct, and it's not always the same, and I am my own editor. I have also written for many magazines, edited some, and published two (pre internet too!) with no adjustments or complaints. I will leave it as it is thanks.
|
|
|
Post by ronmiller on Aug 18, 2020 17:48:16 GMT
“Ermm, perhaps I ...” he mumbles, lifting out one arm, palm up. But then suddenly changes his mind as he realises there are not only saddlebags, but also saddles, on the ground. “Ermm, is there no other luggage? You know. Carriage cases and things?” But he doesn’t wait for a reply. “Why do you even have those,” he nods his helmeted head towards the saddles and saddlebags, “travelling in a carriage?” With an exasperated look, as if that should be obvious, Lilium tells him, “For our horses, of course ...” “But ...” he responds, now with a very wrinkled forehead. It’s Serry who clears it up for him, “We did not set off in that, alright?! We rode the horses, which we already had! We bought it along the way! And we have a foking receipt! And why should we not have kept all our favourite horses and gear?!” Still with a deep frown he responds, “Ermm, well. Alright. I did wonder why only two pull it. Pick it all up, I suppose, and follow me, then.” Then says to his immediate men in Torpcotian, “Four of you come with me.” Your dialogue punctuation is actually incorrect. There should be a capital letter at the beginning of each spoken sentence, unless it's a run-on such as the second spoken sentence in your third paragraph. As shown in the edited content above. I agree with you. Your revision certainly looks much more like standard usage. Capitalizing the first word in a quotation--- She said, "He did that."---is recommended by the Chicago Manual of Style, which is followed by most book editors in this country. It is also the style recommended by the Handbook of Current English (Perrin/Corder). These are two of the style manuals I have on my shelves. It is the style recommended by the MLA Handbook and the AP Stylebook. The latter is probably second only to the Chicago Manual of Style in use by book and magazine editors here. Even online sources such as Grammarly recommend capitalizing the first word in a quote. All style manuals are really in large only guidebooks, designed to not only make sure of proper English usage but to also ensure that everything published by a publisher is consistent. This consistency is called the "house style."
|
|
|
Post by And Kevin 2024 on Aug 18, 2020 18:07:38 GMT
We have sort of had this discussion before to do with ? and ! and if they also count as a full stop. We decided they do not, even though at one time they seemed to! Note that in the previous 'adjustments' the speech is preceded by a full stop, so starting the next first word, including Speech, should have a capital. But why should a line that's describing a speaker's mood or whatever, or just - And John said, "hello there." why should - said - have a full stop when it's a continuation of flow?
Think about it.
'All style manuals are really in large only guidebooks, designed to not only make sure of proper English usage but to also ensure that everything published by a publisher is consistent. This consistency is called the "house style." '
There you go then.
|
|
|
Post by And Kevin 2024 on Aug 19, 2020 0:57:36 GMT
Basically, look up what a full stop actually is
|
|
|
Post by potet on Aug 22, 2020 7:56:02 GMT
Randomly opening "Nice Work" (1989) by David LODGE, which I read a couple of decades ago, I noticed an interesting technique pp.298-9 (Penguin edition). The dialogue between Vic and Penny runs on within the narrative without quotation marks until the author suddenly reverts to the standard dialogue technique with indents and quotations marks. I hadn't noticed it before. It's a very clever device that is close to the stream of consciousness. When the quotation marks reappear, and penny exclaims: 'Cheeky,' the reader has the impression the dialogue so far had been both automatic and in Penny's mind while she thought of something else.
|
|