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Dialogue Writing Workshop

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Dialogue Writing Workshop

Help two characters solve a small mystery at a weekend market. Read the extract, practise punctuation and paragraphing, then write dialogue that reveals character. Use single quotation marks consistently, as is common in Australian publishing. Start a new paragraph whenever a different character speaks.

Read the scene

At the weekend market, Bodhi and Grace are packing up their stall when a tin of coins goes missing. ‘The tin was right beside the sign,’ Bodhi said, checking under the table. Grace lifted a box. ‘Could it have fallen in here?’ ‘No. But look—there’s a trail of flour leading to the bread stall.’ ‘That sounds suspicious,’ Grace whispered. ‘Should we follow it?’ Bodhi grinned. ‘Only if you’re brave enough to ask the baker.’

Punctuation and paragraphing

Use details from the extract and the rules of dialogue punctuation to answer each question.

1.Which sentence punctuates a speech tag correctly?

‘The tin is missing’ Bodhi said.
‘The tin is missing,’ Bodhi said.
‘The tin is missing, Bodhi said.’
‘The tin is missing’ ‘Bodhi said.’

2.In the extract, why does Grace’s line begin a new paragraph after Bodhi’s first line?

3.Choose the correctly punctuated version of Grace asking whether they should follow the flour trail.

‘Should we follow it?’ Grace whispered.
‘Should we follow it,’ Grace whispered?
‘Should we follow it?’ ‘Grace whispered.’
‘Should we follow it’ Grace whispered?

4.Rewrite this line with correct punctuation and capitalisation: the baker said i saw the tin near the gate

5.Match each line from the market scene with the detail it helps reveal.

‘That sounds suspicious,’ Grace whispered.
Bodhi grinned. ‘Only if you’re brave enough to ask the baker.’
‘Could it have fallen in here?’

Bodhi is playful and confident.
Grace feels uncertain or cautious.
Grace is trying to solve the problem.

6.True or false: When a spoken question is followed by a speech tag, the question mark inside the quotation marks replaces the comma that would normally come before the speech tag.

TrueFalse

7.Add a suitable speech tag and punctuation to complete this exchange. Write one sentence: ‘I found the tin under the bread table,’ __________.

Write the next exchange

Continue the market mystery. Perhaps the tin is found, or perhaps the flour trail leads somewhere unexpected.

8.Write 6–8 lines of dialogue between Bodhi and Grace as they follow the flour trail and discover what happened to the missing coin tin. Give each character a distinct voice, use a new paragraph for every change of speaker, and punctuate speech and speech tags correctly. Include at least one question and one action or reaction between spoken lines.

9.Revise one line from your dialogue by replacing a plain speech tag such as “said” with a precise tag or an action beat. Write the original idea and your improved version, then explain what the revision adds.