I've been Beta Reading the last few weeks for about three people. Most have been stellar accounts, and small things to fix here and there, or me just adding suggestions or clever remarks like "Ohhh, I hope these two fall in love!" (Because I'm a nerdy romantic like that. And hey, a girl with commitment issues can still root for cute romances.)
But...the one that has come up in all three:
Change of dialogue, new paragraph.
What does this mean? (If you already know what this means, scroll down to the cute picture, because I haven't posted one recently.)
This means:
James said, "No, I don't want to date you. I'd rather vomit on your face." Change of dialogue, new paragraph. Sarah stepped back, "But James, I thought you loved me."
This is incorrect, my friends. Why? Because Sarah is not James. She is a different person. So, this is how that should look:
James said, "No, I don't want to date you. I'd rather vomit on your face."
Sarah stepped back, "But James, I thought you loved me."
There are some instances where I'm not completely sure where the paragraph break is. In example, when one person talks, another reacts, but the first person continues talking. Most times, I still have that in the same paragraph. (It's one of those you have to be careful and gauge types of things. If all else fails, consult other writers/blogs, etc) But as soon as the second person talks, new paragraph. Every time there is a new person talking, IT'S A NEW PARAGRAPH.
K?
Thanks.
And a cute picture for you:
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| I went to go to sleep one night, and found this monster on my pillow. Adorable, no? |
I had this issue recently with a student in my creative writing class. Her whole short story was broken into about 3 paragraphs; although, there was a lot of dialogue between the two characters. Often, I had no idea who was talking.
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