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Developing Your Story
1
HOW
Developing Your Story
Elaboration
- Now that you have the bones of your story, go back and find places to elaborate.
- Develop the details!
- What parts of the story could use more explanation?
- Remember: Show vs. Tell, Appeal to the 5 senses (sight, touch, taste, hear, smell)
Dialogue
WHAT
- Make sure that your story has MEANINGFUL dialogue.
- Ask yourself: Is this dialogue relevant to the story? Does it help move the narrative forward?
- Dialogue should set the scene, advance action, give insight into each character, and foreshadow future dramatic action.
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Dialogue formatting
Basic Dialogue Rules:
- Dialogue goes inside quotation marks - All dialogue must be in quotation marks to let the reader know what is being said by a character vs. what the narrator is saying.
- Each speaker gets a new paragraph - Every time someone speaks, you show this by creating a new paragraph. Yes, even if your characters are only saying one word, they get new paragraphs.
- Each paragraph is indented. - The only exception for this is if it’s the start of a chapter or after a scene break, where the first line is never indented, including with dialogue.
- Punctuation for what’s said goes inside the quotation marks. Any time the punctuation is a part of the person speaking, they go inside the quotes so the reader knows how the dialogue is said.
- Use single quotes if the person speaking is quoting someone. - If you have a character who says, “Man, don’t you love it when girls say, ‘I’m fine’?”, the single quotes indicate what someone else says.
- Use tags to explain who and how things are being said. - To help create more meaning and drama to the story, use tags and elaboration to help your reader understand the intent behind what is being said.
Example: Conversational Dialogue
Example: Standard Dialogue
Example: Dialogue with Tag
Other tag examples:
- He said
- She whispered
- They bellowed
- He hollered
- They sniped
- She huffed
- He cooed
- They responded
Example: Dialogue with body language
Example: Dialogue with a question
Additional Dialogue Help
https://self-publishingschool.com/how-to-write-dialogue/
Characters
Who
Just like in the stories that you read, your stories should have interesting and exciting characters too.
Creating Dynamic Characters
Creating Characters
- Go back and develop your main characters.
- Your characters should be realistic and show human emotions through what they do and say.
- What makes them unique?
- How do they contribute to the overall story?
- Develop the relationship between the different characters.
Figurative Language
IDEAS
Figurative Language: When a writer uses words or phrases that do not follow their literal meaning. This creates depth and meaning within the literary piece.
Types of Figurative Language
Personification
Imagery
Alliteration
Symbolism
Metaphors
Similes
Onomatopoeia
Hyperbole
Revise and Edit
Why
- Check your spelling and word choice.
- Check for correct punctuation and grammar.
- Pay special attention to things like dialogue.
- Check formatting criteria
* Make sure that you read your entire story from start to finish when you think you are done. Use your rubric to make sure that all criteria are met *