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Dialogue Practice
Explanation: How you have your characters speak is just as important as what you have
them say. Depending on what you write before and after the line of dialogue, the reader
can get a very different feeling about a character.
For example—The following passage demonstrates arrogance and cruelty:
Jason strutted over to Sarah as she stacked her belongings neatly in her locker.
Knowing that he would try to embarrass her, his friends spurred him on with
encouragement. Without hesitation, he blurted, “Do you want to go out on a date
sometime?” The smile that had suddenly appeared on Sarah’s face vanished as quickly
as it came. Mortified, tears began to well in her eyes as laughter erupted from the crowd
of onlookers. They knew that he wasn’t serious—and so did Sarah.
Instructions: Please take the following sentence quotes and have them represent the
emotions that I identify for you. In order to really get the feeling and emotion correct,
you will need to write at least four sentences that surround the line of dialogue.
1.
“Do you want to go out on a date sometime?”
Create a passage that demonstrates shyness and nervousness:
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“But I did clean my room. Now you’re saying that I can’t go out and that’s
not fair.”
Create a passage that demonstrates defiance and anger:
2.
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Using the same quote, create a passage that demonstrates sadness and defeat:
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3.
“I have decided to quit the team.”
Create a passage demonstrating fear and apprehension:
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Using the same quote, create a passage that demonstrates anger in haste:
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4.
“I know smoking is bad for me.”
Create a passage that demonstrates an almost apologetic, regretful tone—as if the
speaker is embarrassed by the fact that he/she smokes:
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Using the same quote, create a passage that demonstrates defiance, anger and an
uncaring, disrespectful tone:
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Create your own line of dialogue to demonstrate a certain emotion—you choose!
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Now, use the same line of dialogue and change the emotion behind it.
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