Great lesson! Back to basics, although punctuation seems anything but basic. I look forward to more of these lessons.
If a character is referencing a novel or movie in dialogue, such as “I loved Great Gatsby, but I wish the green light had been red,” is the title italicized? Thanks!
Yes, italicize the title…although Gatsby is SO well-known, and the omission of the word “The” makes me think you could just include it as normal font—a wee nod to how in our collective it has become! But normally, yes, italicize.
There are different approaches to this... and I've found they've changed over time. Back in the day, you might have found it in single quotation marks! (I remember this in the novels I read as a kid.)
And then, not so long ago, the trend was to italicize the "dialogue" words in such. And some still do this. But then you lose the capacity to use italics for other reasons--emphasis, for example. Now the trend (and these do feel like "trends") is to leave in regular text, with yes, some form of "thought tag."
In which case you have to make clear what is happening.
E.g.
She was left wondering why, and wished she was brave enough to ask: What do you want? It was an interesting question, she thought. (This is redundant! But it's an e.g.)
Note the comma, much as you would use it in dialogue punctuation, minus the " ".
I’ve been reading many Spanish authors lately, and I noticed they start dialogue with em dashes. I couldn’t find any information online about what this style is called or if it’s particular to Spanish writing. Do you have any insight into this?
I’ll translate an example from a page I was reading this morning.
— As always —continued Mariajo—. We will lose track of you in some third world country, although the real owner may live here, two blocks from this building.
—Isn’t it strange they both belong to the same company? Maybe we can’t know its owner, but we can find more out more properties that belong to them, and we can image that they aren’t used for anything good —suggested Orduño.
—It’s a good ides, let’s go look —accepted Mariajo.
It's interesting to see how others work with this, and the way it translates to your reading. What, if any, is the effect of the em-dash in the dialogue, for you, reading?
Thank you! That link was really useful. I wish I had it before I started reading novels in Spanish. It would have made it much less confusing at first. It’s difficult to tell how the effects differ because my Spanish reading level is lower and the rhythm of the language is different. Sometimes it seems to make the actions and speech more simultaneous.
Interesting--that that is its effect for you. I imagine that growing up reading would be quite different. But the process of second language is so informative! Glad you shared this with us.
I think of the process of reading English with either single quotations or none at all. How "dialogue" can have a sudden interior quality when there are no quotations, as if hearing inside one's head! Punctuation is dynamic. We learn it so early, and easily forget to spend time re-visiting as artists.
I feel like you wrote this one just for me ha ha. So thank you. On a related topic is the subject of punctuation for the thoughts that go through the character’s head. Sometimes it feels like there should be quotations even though there isn’t - Ie Having to deal with punctuation is annoying , Sally thought.
Great lesson! Back to basics, although punctuation seems anything but basic. I look forward to more of these lessons.
If a character is referencing a novel or movie in dialogue, such as “I loved Great Gatsby, but I wish the green light had been red,” is the title italicized? Thanks!
Yes, italicize the title…although Gatsby is SO well-known, and the omission of the word “The” makes me think you could just include it as normal font—a wee nod to how in our collective it has become! But normally, yes, italicize.
How would you deal with interior monologue?
For example: “Why?” she would ask. “What do you want?”
It was an interesting question Ellrod thought.
Should the phrase ‘It was … question’ be in quotes?
There are different approaches to this... and I've found they've changed over time. Back in the day, you might have found it in single quotation marks! (I remember this in the novels I read as a kid.)
And then, not so long ago, the trend was to italicize the "dialogue" words in such. And some still do this. But then you lose the capacity to use italics for other reasons--emphasis, for example. Now the trend (and these do feel like "trends") is to leave in regular text, with yes, some form of "thought tag."
In which case you have to make clear what is happening.
E.g.
She was left wondering why, and wished she was brave enough to ask: What do you want? It was an interesting question, she thought. (This is redundant! But it's an e.g.)
Note the comma, much as you would use it in dialogue punctuation, minus the " ".
Thank you for this lesson! It helped me a lot.
Glad it's useful!
I’ve been reading many Spanish authors lately, and I noticed they start dialogue with em dashes. I couldn’t find any information online about what this style is called or if it’s particular to Spanish writing. Do you have any insight into this?
I’ll translate an example from a page I was reading this morning.
— As always —continued Mariajo—. We will lose track of you in some third world country, although the real owner may live here, two blocks from this building.
—Isn’t it strange they both belong to the same company? Maybe we can’t know its owner, but we can find more out more properties that belong to them, and we can image that they aren’t used for anything good —suggested Orduño.
—It’s a good ides, let’s go look —accepted Mariajo.
Nolan, I'm familiar with the use of ! and ? and know that punctuation goes outside of the quotation marks, but beyond that my knowledge is non-existent. Here's a link that might explain: https://www.spanish.academy/blog/how-to-write-dialogues-in-spanish-for-maximum-clarity/
It's interesting to see how others work with this, and the way it translates to your reading. What, if any, is the effect of the em-dash in the dialogue, for you, reading?
Thank you! That link was really useful. I wish I had it before I started reading novels in Spanish. It would have made it much less confusing at first. It’s difficult to tell how the effects differ because my Spanish reading level is lower and the rhythm of the language is different. Sometimes it seems to make the actions and speech more simultaneous.
Interesting--that that is its effect for you. I imagine that growing up reading would be quite different. But the process of second language is so informative! Glad you shared this with us.
I think of the process of reading English with either single quotations or none at all. How "dialogue" can have a sudden interior quality when there are no quotations, as if hearing inside one's head! Punctuation is dynamic. We learn it so early, and easily forget to spend time re-visiting as artists.
Hi Alison
I feel like you wrote this one just for me ha ha. So thank you. On a related topic is the subject of punctuation for the thoughts that go through the character’s head. Sometimes it feels like there should be quotations even though there isn’t - Ie Having to deal with punctuation is annoying , Sally thought.
THIS is indeed a perennial question--you are not alone! Scroll up to see Bach5G of July 19 '21... and there's my response.