Writing Styles?

[andthighbootsforall]

After reading stories on Lit for a number of years I finally caught the bug and have written a few myself.

I have a question as far as the style. While I assume it may be “writers preference” I thought I’d ask what seems more professional, or maybe looked upon more favorably?

Let’s say I’m writing about a female named Stacy.

Style 1 Stacy said “It’s getting quite hot in here.”

Style 2 Stacy: It’s getting quite hot in here.

Style 2 has the ability to omit quotation marks and seems to cut down on the repetitive “said, responded, replied, uttered, etc.”

This is a classic example of how the non English major takes the easy way out!

Just wanted to grab some thoughts on this.

Respectfully,

Andthighbootsforall

 

[TheRedChamber]

Simple answer, do it the way it has always been done. Don't kneecap your story with intentional choices that make you look less professional - odds are you'll hit more than a few things accidentaly that make you look bad - I know I did with my first story.

Make sure you know the punctuation rules for reported speech before you start writing - they're a devil to change if you get rejected.

Good luck and I'll watch out for your story when it's.published.

 

[StillStunned]

In a narrative story, always use quotation marks (otherwise your story will probably be rejected for publication anyway).

You don't have to use speech tags (said, mentioned, replied etc.) all the time, though. You can use actions to indicate the speaker too. For example:

Stacy wiped her forehead. ""It's getting quite hot in here."
Her husband nodded. "The thermostat must be broken."

 

[BeechLeaf]

Use enough speech tags to make clear who is speaking. You can't rely on two speakers alternating - after a short while the reader loses track, and the writer sometimes also does. Prefer 'said' and other simple tags like 'replied' and 'went on', but if you've done that, you could use a small number of more expressive ones.

I've very rarely seen playscript-style dialogue here. If used, it would have to be by a confident writer striving for a special effect. And it would just annoy a lot of readers anyway - if it made it to publication, as Laurel is known to be a stickler for well-punctuated dialogue. (Not that it all is, in published stories, but bad dialogue is a common reason for rejection.)

 

[SimonDoom]

My answer: big no. Use standard conventions to reach your reader most effectively.

There are many ways to avoid excessive use of tags using conventional methods.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

A writer shouldn't assume that clarity is evident; they have to create that clarity with their words and style.

As others have mentioned, there are several acceptable stylistic approaches to denoting dialogue in literature. I would only add that consideration should also be given not only to the written format of the dialogue, but also to how it might sound to someone listening to the story through some visual assistive tool. Since I have started publishing audio books, I give a lot more focus to this aspect of my writing.

 

[CalBishForNow]

You can totally leave our dialogue tags, for example "he said" or "she suggested", as long as it's clear from context who's saying what. A sample from my second-to-last story:

He sat and straightened his pants. He stood and turned. Tracy peeked over the couch. She couldn't see anything, but apparently Robbie could.

"Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?" Robbie walked toward the stairs with a hunch that Tracy hoped the child wouldn't think anything of.

"I'm thirsty," Izzy answered.

"And there isn't a water bottle by your bed?"

Pause. "It's empty."

Robbie sighed. "Okay, let's fix that and get you back to bed. You have school tomorrow, you know."

Don't leave out quotation marks, though. You aren't Cormac McCarthy.

If you have dialogue that isn't actually spoken dialogue and quotation marks might feel weird or confusing for that, for example back-and-forth emails or text messages, you have a number of options. The "simple" thing would be to have a line break, the speaker's name, a colon ( : ) or em dash (—), and what they say. For example:

Mary: Want to go to the party?

Tom: Sure

You can make it more complicated with paragraph formatting if you want. Literotica doesn't support much, but you can still do blockquotes, right-justified text, and more. The same story linked above has examples. As for how I did that, I explained in this thread.

 

[StillStunned]

See also @FrancesScott's essay How To... Punctuate Dialogue.

 

[gloomyMoron]

The main style choice I make involves italics and internal dialogues.

A character thinking to themselves:
I wonder why my thoughts are italicized? he pondered.

A character or characters in dialogue with each other internally/mentally:
"Do we really need quotation marks here," he thought to Sandy.
"Not really," she replied, "but it is an easy short hand to communicate conversation versus internal thinking."
"It wasn't a question. I was bemoaning the use," came the terse thought-speech reply.

 

[FrancesScott]

See also @FrancesScott's essay How To... Punctuate Dialogue.

Thank you for mentioning my essay.

Let’s say I’m writing about a female named Stacy.

Style 1 Stacy said “It’s getting quite hot in here.”

Style 2 Stacy: It’s getting quite hot in here.

It should be:

Generally accepted style: Stacy said, “It’s getting quite hot in here.”

Please note the comma after ‘said.’

 

[KittyOfSteele]

KittyOfSteele: (tilts head) Style 2 is not something I'd dismiss easily. I haven't written anything like that for a long story, but there are a lot of stories that are exclusively dialogue presented as such.

KittyOfSteele stands up and browses through her shelves. She pulls out two books.

KittyOfSteele: One of the Novelas Exemplares from Miguel de Cervantes has one story that is written entirely like that. Also, this erotica, School of Women by Nicolas Chorier, is written in dialogue form.

KittyOfSteele leaves the books open upon the table and crosses her long legs.

KittyOfSteele: Of course, I should point out once a story is written like this, it would be expected to be a script. I still haven't edited it, but I wrote one story like this, and I loved to do this style. Some people might find unconventional, but then again I wrote that with the intention of being a script for an audio or a short porn video. A learning experience of sorts.

 

[ElectricBlue]

This is a classic example of how the non English major takes the easy way out!

Just wanted to grab some thoughts on this.

This English major would exit, stage left, if I saw dialogue in prose presented as drama. There are punctuation conventions for a very good reason - they make your content easier to read, not harder.

Punctuation is like good grammar, it's not hard to get right, and when you do, a big part of your job as a writer is made so much easier, because the reader doesn't have to figure out what on earth you're up to. Focus on telling your story, not putting wanky authorial affectations in the way of it!

 

[KittyOfSteele]

This English major would exit, stage left, if I saw dialogue in prose presented as drama. There are punctuation conventions for a very good reason - they make your content easier to read, not harder.

Punctuation is like good grammar, it's not hard to get right, and when you do, a big part of your job as a writer is made so much easier, because the reader doesn't have to figure out what on earth you're up to. Focus on telling your story, not putting wanky authorial affectations in the way of it!

KittyOfSteele: I don't agree with this. Such were the case theatre wouldn't exist. As many stylistic choices, everything is reduced to the author's skill instead of the style itself.

 

[CalBishForNow]

KittyOfSteele: (tilts head) Style 2 is not something I'd dismiss easily. I haven't written anything like that for a long story, but there are a lot of stories that are exclusively dialogue presented as such.

I think it could be interesting to read and write something like that, but there are lots of stories I wouldn't want to use it for.

If you've got a story that could be a one-act play, i.e. the setting is just one specific place and time, the action is minimal and the details of it don't matter, and absolutely everything is conveyed through characters' dialogue, and want to write it as a play, sure, why not. Could be a fun experiment. For a modern version, I've seen some stories that are just text message exchanges. That works for me in theory. Lots of people socialize that way, although it could be challenging to do it all with Lit's minimal support for formatting, images, and emojis.

But if you've got any action in more detail than "Tom opened the door and left" or "Tom punched Jerry and he fell down," or want to say anything about characters' feelings or interior lives without them literally putting it in dialogue, or want to mix that kind of a story with more conventional narrative, then I'd find it jarring and confusing.

 

[Britva415]

what seems more professional, or maybe looked upon more favorably?

Let’s say I’m writing about a female named Stacy.

Style 1 Stacy said “It’s getting quite hot in here.”

Style 2 Stacy: It’s getting quite hot in here.

If you're writing a story, the first.

If you're writing a play, the second.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

I think it could be interesting to read and write something like that, but there are lots of stories I wouldn't want to use it for.

If you've got a story that could be a one-act play, i.e. the setting is just one specific place and time, the action is minimal and the details of it don't matter, and absolutely everything is conveyed through characters' dialogue, and want to write it as a play, sure, why not. Could be a fun experiment. For a modern version, I've seen some stories that are just text message exchanges. That works for me in theory. Lots of people socialize that way, although it could be challenging to do it all with Lit's minimal support for formatting, images, and emojis.

But if you've got any action in more detail than "Tom opened the door and left" or "Tom punched Jerry and he fell down," or want to say anything about characters' feelings or interior lives without them literally putting it in dialogue, or want to mix that kind of a story with more conventional narrative, then I'd find it jarring and confusing.

Amadis of Gaul has plenty of fights that are just "Amadis fought the Black Knight and won," and is still a great novel. Then again, there's one part where it is completely anticlimactic, but that's just a very specific thing.

Regardless, that's my point where I said it's more for theatre than text. The lack of details is there because the director is supposed to fill in the details with how they see such things happen. Gaps are there so a drama company can fill in the details to how they see it. You can watch the same drama over and over, but if done by different crews, you'll see each one does it in their own unique way.

But if you think that only works for single acts... Shakespeare would like to have a slam with you.

 

[CalBishForNow]

But if you think that only works for single acts... Shakespeare would like to have a slam with you.

I don't think that's relevant here. Actual plays have directors and actors, as you've pointed out. Literotica stories don't.

 

[TheLobster]

The play-like syntax might work, but I think I’d only attempt if the story was itself like a play in its construction. This should include a good handful of the following traits:

• Speech-focused.
• Multiple characters talking.
• Plot neatly divided into scenes, minimal exposition needed.
• Scant physical actions in between dialogue.
• Scenes stick to a single place, locations only transition in between scenes.
• Timeline shifts only between scenes.

Problem is that many of these traits run contrary to what people expect from erotic stories on Lit, so this is all a rather risky proposition.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

I don't think that's relevant here. Actual plays have directors and actors, as you've pointed out. Literotica stories don't.

L&T, and Audio disagree.

 

[Rob_Royale]

When I first started writing my story was kicked back by Laurel for improper dialog punctuation. Which leads me to believe that style 2 won't even get published here.
If you're a painter, or a sculptor or a basketweaver by all means develop a 'style'.
For writing, follow the rules of punctuation and spelling because your goal should always be for people to read and enjoy your work. If they struggle to read it, they aren't.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

After reading stories on Lit for a number of years I finally caught the bug and have written a few myself.

I have a question as far as the style. While I assume it may be “writers preference” I thought I’d ask what seems more professional, or maybe looked upon more favorably?

Formality of Style sucketh big time.


You ain't writing for a Nobel here. You're telling naughty tales to help folks get their rocks off. Let yo' funky se'f go!


Listen to how people TALK around you, at work, at school, at the mall, while feeling up fruit. Pay no attention to how award wining novelists write thousand page novels or how engineers write technical manuscripts.

Stories here should be informal, conversational and flow from scene to scene and person to person. They should paint a picture that your readers wants to be a part of. They should not try to harken back to college classes most people couldn't wait to get out of.

Find your OWN voice. Find the voices of your characters. They do not need to be the same. Billy Bob, Stacy, Terrence and Dr. Alvarez do not need to speak in the same manner.

Hurl slang.

Stacy cried out “Damn it’s gettin' hot in here!”


Yanno, unless Stacy is an English professor lecturing a class.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

You ain't writing for a Nobel here. You're telling naughty tales to help folks get their rocks off. Let yo' funky se'f go!

Heels, don't say that! AH is going to cut you off inch by inch!

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

I got your AH right here Kitt.

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

"You're telling naughty tales to help folks get their rocks off. "

Or maybe, 'You're weaving naughty yarns to help folks get their hoohoo's hollerin.'

.

 

[StillStunned]

I can see a case for dialogue in playscript format, if the entire story takes place as a phone call or text conversation.

But there would need to be a very good reason for writing it that way, and I'd expect quite a few readers to nope out very quickly. Unless the dialogue was so witty or poignant that the author can keep them engaged.