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Q&A How to convert dialogue in to paragraph?

First of all, what do you mean by "taking inspiration from a movie"? If you mean copying the dialogue from a movie line for line, you're not allowed to do that. That's plagiarism. I would also que...

posted 5y ago by Galastel‭  ·  last activity 4y ago by System‭

Answer
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T21:57:39Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45818
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T12:08:12Z (over 4 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/45818
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T12:08:12Z (over 4 years ago)
First of all, what do you mean by "taking inspiration from a movie"? If you mean copying the dialogue from a movie line for line, you're not allowed to do that. That's plagiarism.

I would also question your statement regarding "having no experience with married life". You might not be married yourself, but what about your parents? Your parents' friends? Your own friends? Acquaintances? Surely you must know _somebody_ who is married? It is also perfectly fine to take inspiration from stories you encounter, whether in literature or film, provided what you take is _inspiration_, rather than verbatim quotes. Inspiration means asking yourself what would a character who is in some way similar to the one you've seen, do in a situation you've created.

But if your question is "I have written what both people say, but the words aren't really enough for it to work", the answer isn't too complicated. The words aren't the only thing happening in the scene. There's how the words are said - angrily, ironically, lovingly? There's what the characters are doing while they're talking - looking at each other, fidgeting, eating breakfast? What else is going on - chirping birds, something on TV, arguing neighbours? You've also got to give sufficient indication to who says what, since your readers can't "see" the scene.

You add those elements to the extent that they enhance the scene, but do not drown it. (For that, of course, you need to have a very clear understanding of what the scene is supposed to do.) Then you've got yourself a passable dialogue scene.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2019-06-07T12:13:10Z (almost 5 years ago)
Original score: 4