I like how my old writing’s dialogue was just exposition slapped in any random scene; it was like “I know we’re fighting a bunch of goons but hAvE yOu HeArD oF tHe FiRsT hOlY wAr?!”

@gem9535

3 жыл бұрын

Get out of my head!

@rebeccavaughn8897

3 жыл бұрын

On the other hand… You could totally use that for one particular character. Take any group and you will likely to find either an annoying know it all or nervous talker.

@ccelite3782

3 жыл бұрын

I always imagine a scenario of me fighting someone and then someone bigger comes up to us and we team up temporarily to take the big one down

@Maerahn

3 жыл бұрын

If it's any consolation, I'd read the heck outta that. Maybe not for the reason you were hoping for, but, y'know... 😁

@sluttyMapleSyrup

3 жыл бұрын

"Have you heard of the High Elves?" _We are fighting a D R A G O N right now!_

"fiction isn't about relatable. It's about making sure your grandma can read what you wrote without damning you to hell."

@AnotherDuck

3 жыл бұрын

If you’re writing a historical piece set several hundred of years ago, just remember that people didn’t swear in the same way we do. But at the same time, we are still writing for a modern audience, so only having that type of swearing wouldn’t register as much as swearing. It’s a balance and style consideration we need to make.

@estellesmith4118

3 жыл бұрын

I guess I don’t write fiction then.

@estellesmith4118

3 жыл бұрын

@@bilbebop3693 What do you mean exactly?

@DayGreenFreak

3 жыл бұрын

To late for that seeing my premise.

@tell-me-a-story-

Жыл бұрын

I like to make wholesome content. Their are some people who find that "Unrelatable" But guess what? My book isn't for those people.

In my writing workshop, some people complained that one of my characters in a crime fiction story swore too much. They said he came off as unpleasant. I told them that since he was a mobster, a drug dealer, kinda racist too, it was sort of the point.

@m.f.hopkins8728

3 жыл бұрын

Exactly! I prefer the realism of characters over worrying about offending someone. Plus, we use trigger warnings for swearing, violence, etc. for a reason.

@lifeofatruckerswife

3 жыл бұрын

@@m.f.hopkins8728 right?! If a character is supposed to be offensive....write then offensive..

@theshinypeliper8813

3 жыл бұрын

Even worse tho is when people completely misinterpret your character and love a character who’s supposed to be hated *glares at Danganronpa fandom*

@ludovico6890

3 жыл бұрын

@@m.f.hopkins8728 The worst thing was, the character was to be killed in the first few pages, in fact his murder kickstarted the story. So I wanted to establish him as an asshole victim, make him memorable before he dies. Apparently I succeeded, but "why make the character so rude?"

@theshinypeliper8813

3 жыл бұрын

@@ludovico6890 yeah the Danganronpa fandom glorifies the most problematic characters in the series

I simply HATE it when two characters are talking, and one asks a question, but before the other character answers, you get to read his thoughts that fill PAGES and at one point switch to a different topic. And when he finally answers, you are just sitting there trying to remember the question.

@chrissymandryka5562

3 жыл бұрын

You know what's even better? When the character not only thinks but starts to "relive" his childhood memories or something that happened years ago. And then after 3 pages you're back to dialog and by that point you've completly forgotten, what was it all about :D

@saharamcnamara

3 жыл бұрын

@@chrissymandryka5562 Yesssss, so annoying

@StarwriterUlia

3 жыл бұрын

dude i spent at least 5 years learning how to not do this. now i'm 21 and i don't do this. at most there's 2 paragraphs. 'cause yeah. the story needs to moooove

@legrandliseurtri7495

2 жыл бұрын

I feel a little called out:( I don't think I've done that with a question yet, but I did insert several hundred of words of my mc's thoughts during a conversation sometimes. It did feel a little weird, I'll have to ensure that the reader still knows what the heck is going on.

@thatcatholicgirl5675

2 жыл бұрын

FACTS

Jenna: Don't write the accent Me: Side-eyes Hagrid and Fleur de la Coeur

@kaeioshi

3 жыл бұрын

pls this is funny 😭😭😭

@EloiseG233

3 жыл бұрын

And Terry pratchett's nac mac feegles which arguably make the books.

@existentialgamer9206

3 жыл бұрын

All the Redwall books

@geraldfrost4710

3 жыл бұрын

@@EloiseG233 Yeth, and when Igor lithpth, you have to thay it with thpittle!

@lennoxwilliamsart7387

3 жыл бұрын

I think it's funny if the POV characters don't really understand what the accent character is saying and the reader is on the same level as them, because the accent is written XD

“Nobody curses so much in every sentence.” Me: 😐

@morgan1652

3 жыл бұрын

Fucking same

@zubbworks

2 жыл бұрын

Depends on who you roll with.

@dada13771

2 жыл бұрын

Sad Eminem and Gordon Ramsay noises.

@firstnamelastname-ko3ge

2 жыл бұрын

😂 I slowly start to delete all the “dammits” “shits” and “fucks” in every other line of dialogue.

@icdanything4385

Жыл бұрын

Everyone I know has entered the chat

I have to disagree on the "don't write accents" to a point. I think there's a way to do it without sounding offensive/cartoony, + if a book tells me a character has an accent but that character's written dialogue doesn't reflect that, my brain will not register them as having an accent.

@daneroberts1996

3 жыл бұрын

I have the same issue personally. I find that if the character is non-English speaking, and the writer is careful enough to make them have grammar or vocabulary mistakes (like actual people do), then I can imagine the accent. Sadly for accents of English this doesn’t work so I just imagine everyone speaking in my accent 😅

@joandsarah77

3 жыл бұрын

I think you can if it's hinted at by using words now and then that you know are well used in the region. As an Australian I do use the words 'mate' and 'crikey' but I don't fill every sentence with them. Some words change meaning, here no one is going to say 'fanny bag' we say 'Bum bag', word usage like that stands out if you get it wrong. But if you really have no idea its better to not use it at all than to butcher it.

@jgunner280

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed. At least to a point. I oddly remember one of my favorite goofy dialogues being someone trying to do a cockney english accent in harsh words, but that would have gotten terrible if they were a prominent character. They were in the story for one whole chapter. It felt immersive, quirky, but quick before it became painful. Likewise if the accent and dialect is entirely avoided, some things are just going to feel wrong where words or ideas genuinely change a bit. If you insist a southern US guy has a strong accent, but he's oddly terrified of special contractions, that's just bad writing. At least on "Y'all" here or there isn't hurting anything, and worse yet, avoiding it to be "normal" could ironically be the author inserting their own dialect in out of place characters.

@DarthBiomech

3 жыл бұрын

@@joandsarah77 That's not an accent, that a reminder to the reader that the character is a foreigner.

@lightningbug3189

3 жыл бұрын

@@DarthBiomech Or just that the person in question speaks a different dialect of English? Writing a dialect doesn't have anything to do with being foreign but can imply an accent.

The "don't write dialogue at all" sounded like a funny challenge at first but then I realized it's actually just "tell, don't show" of dialogue:'D Great video! Thank you for the laughs and the actual tips too:)

@sophiasmith7750

3 жыл бұрын

I once entered a writing competition where one of the qualifications to be considered for the comp was to submit a story with zero dialogue (specifically no dialogue quotes). I got around it by writing the dialogue into the narration, but boy howdy I wouldn’t want to do that again (except maybe for a horror story lol)

@shayolinparker2934

3 жыл бұрын

I've done it as a writing exercise before. It was in a creative writing book I was following. It's a pretty fun challenge that makes you think a lot about body language and other ways of expression. I personally love seeing no dialogue in short films and games. I'm always impressed by it

@jonesyxperia7

3 жыл бұрын

I love how seamlessly she flows between sarcasm and straightforward advice(and how I can always differentiate between the two)! 👆😅

@essi6409

3 жыл бұрын

@@shayolinparker2934 Agreed! When focusing on body language and expressions, no dialog would be an interesting challenge (this reminds me of a great resource, a book called Emotion Thesaurus writershelpingwriters.net/2010/10/emotion-thesaurus-entry-collection-samples/ ). My comment "tell, don't show" was about falling into "explain what the characters are discussing about instead of actually showing us the dialog" (like "Waluigi tried to embarras Daisy by commenting on her outfit, but she responded with a witty come back that shut him up.") I personally much rather read the actual lines and interpret them instead of have the narrator explain to me what's happening:D

@ErnestoIvanRamirez

3 жыл бұрын

In my writing workshop, you see some scenes that deserve dialogue, but people simplify them into just descriptions, mostly because they don't feel comfortable with dialogue, but yes many scenes without dialogues feel like boring summaries.

Dialogue is the easiest thing for me to write... But my characters still talk like Dark Souls NPCs

@sunarlyn756

3 жыл бұрын

monotonous and laughing like maniacs at the end of each line? I love it

@TheMabist

3 жыл бұрын

Bearer, Seek Less Lest.

@girlwiththerabbitteeth98

3 жыл бұрын

My advice is to just write down the important part of your dialog (example: Character A is talking about a fight between character C and Character D in the schoolyard) and then talk about it your character's personality. Are they dramatic? Make it sound dramatic, and have the listener roll their eyes at their dramatic reenactment?

@pratikmandal1350

3 жыл бұрын

@@TheMabist *Emerald Herald intensifies*

@captainkirk265

3 жыл бұрын

Do you consider this a good thing or a bad thing?

Imagine if a writer who didn't understand sarcasm stumbled across this video and followed the advice to a tee.

@dustyrose192

2 жыл бұрын

Or anyone with austism

@thejadedcommenter7371

2 жыл бұрын

@@dustyrose192 What was the point of saying this?

@hulluelli

2 жыл бұрын

@@thejadedcommenter7371 a lot of autistic people struggle with understanding sarcasm.

@zedress4836

2 жыл бұрын

pretty sure the title is clear enough to prevent that

@thejadedcommenter7371

2 жыл бұрын

@@hulluelli My confusion was due to there not being a need to specifically mention autistic people. Like if somebody said, “This product is great for people with curly hair!” And somebody said, “Or anyone with 3B type hair!” When the 3B type hair is already included original person’s statement of curly hair. Thank you for your explanation (Though I do already know that autistic people struggle with sarcasm, since I know several people with autism.)

I love writing dialogue, it's my favorite part of writing. Something that I've had to learn is to use filler words (um, ugh, etc.) and ellipses (...) more sparingly. I used them WAY too much and it just bloats the dialogue.

@geraldfrost4710

3 жыл бұрын

I write them in for the first pass, then edit them out.

@ayaya5888

3 жыл бұрын

I'm the opposite, dialogue is my least favourite and the thing I'm the worst at T_T

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

@@ayaya5888 I'm right there with ya.

@janelle9998

2 жыл бұрын

I love doing dialogue but sometimes I can't make it pertain to the character's personality sometimes, its not easy. I also have an issue with descriptive vocabulary, i need new words

#5 - I love the Amazon reviews that start with a listing of how many times various “bad words” appear in the novel. It can be a book about r*pe and torture and murder, but if someone says the F word, it just ruins the experience. #6 - Probably my all-time worst pet peeve is when a bunch of narrated back story is peppered into dialogue. The characters will speak a couple of sentences and then you have to trudge through a whole page of Really Important Information before the dialogue continues, and by that point you don’t even remember what they were talking about.

@foxwithoutahat

3 жыл бұрын

Any books that have a lot of reviews complaining about swearing?

@francescagolden1061

2 жыл бұрын

I actually recently found a book and one of the top reviews was complaining about how 16 year olds were saying the “s word and b word”, and then the review finished off with: “they even at some point said, and I quote: ‘the f word’” Never mind the fact that they used the “I quote” expression incorrectly 💀

@morssinistram5169

2 жыл бұрын

one of the reviews for a book said it was horrible for having a guy who was just stabbed saying ''Fuck I just got stabbed!!" well i dont know about you, but i would be cussing up a storm if i got stabbed.

Dialogue is probably the area I’ve grown the most in.

@rachdanaelee

3 жыл бұрын

Same. Dialogue used to scare me so much, but then I learned you don't have to use dialogue tags. Game changer.

@mohammedharoon8453

3 жыл бұрын

(X) Doubt.

@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155

3 жыл бұрын

@@mohammedharoon8453 wow way to be supportive

@mohammedharoon8453

3 жыл бұрын

@@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155 you are welcome :) remember, an ounce of vigilance saves a lifetime of therapy.

@arrow_of_ravenclaw5155

3 жыл бұрын

@@mohammedharoon8453 what idea vigilance have to do with this?

“You’re an artist, and artists are allowed to be assholes! JK Rowling deemed it so!” Lmaooo burn🔥

@-ana_banana-2098

3 жыл бұрын

What does she mean? I only know *Daniel Raddcliffe wrote Harry Potter*

@deniseantwi6959

3 жыл бұрын

@@-ana_banana-2098 JK Rowling is the actual writer of Harry Potter. Radcliffe only played the role of Harry Potter in its movie adaptations.

@-ana_banana-2098

3 жыл бұрын

@@deniseantwi6959 I know, it’s a joke in the fandom because we decided JK Rowling doesn’t deserve being the writer and Radcliffe does

@Thagomizer

3 жыл бұрын

She really doesn't deserve the scorn. Authors can have opinions of their own, and they don't have to line up with mine. If I only filled my bookshelves with authors whom I agreed with about everything, I'd have nothing left to read.

@MantisSage

3 жыл бұрын

@@Thagomizer thank you. If I can have Mark Twain on my shelf despite being a possible child predator, I can have JK Rowling up there for... having an opinion. Plus those books still slap despite the vast increase in nitpicking over the years.

My favorite of your videos are always the "Advice Not to Follow" ones. You're snarky and hilarious and I am here for it.

"Want to offend an entire nationality?" OMG I was watching this with a friend who has a heavy European accent and we just burst out laughing because that totally happens all the time with accents in all forms of media for him

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

"-European accent-" ? Seriously? lol. Ah, yes, just like my friend from Japan. I describe his accent as an "Asian accent" and he loves that! Same with my Egyptian friend. He loves when I say "You Egyptians and your African accent!" xD (This is just a joke)

Once I read a book where a person thought about needing to have a certain conversation. I looked forward to reading how that conversation would go. Then in the next part, she'd had the conversation and gave a summary. After this happened for the third time, I put the book away. Felt like I was cheated out of the dialogue.

@jianfalco2133

3 жыл бұрын

What's the book about 😅

@rachelblue2656

3 жыл бұрын

@@jianfalco2133 I don't remember but I thought It was about young kids growing up in wealth losing their parents, or their mother. A woman went to take care of them. Not sure if she was family. I got the impression the writer was quite well-known. I remember the cover had a victorian house and was very beige and yellow with flowers...

Me, who has a lesbian romance at the center of my plot: well, I guess my grandmother can’t read this anyway, even if I did remove all the swear words

@estellesmith4118

3 жыл бұрын

Lmao same here I don’t have a lot of straight characters, so, even if nobody cussed, I’d still be damned.

@professionalrockeater

3 жыл бұрын

Same! It kind of sucks because whenever I talk about my stories I have to avoid some parts which takes away from the dynamics a little

6:00 - I’d hesitate on making this a blanket statement. There are cases of English Pidgin that seems like improper English but are actually grammatical and consistent sublanguages. That said, I do think these instances should be treated like a foreign language: italics, minimal use outside of common phrases unless we the reader and character are meant to be confused or the entire book is indeed bilingual.

@user-hv4ij2gp6s

3 жыл бұрын

Hi Antoine!!!!

@mollof7893

3 жыл бұрын

Allways feel strange when I find out 2 youtubers I watch watch each other

@ClaireKinmil

3 жыл бұрын

What you are referring to are dialects - she was talking about accents. Although I do think she should have touched on what you are saying as well :)

@hideshnooka

3 жыл бұрын

@@ClaireKinmil Pidgin languages are not dialects.

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

@@ClaireKinmil Spanglish = Pidgin. American English vs British English = 2 dialects of English.

I can only think of one case where a non-robot character spoke without contractions where it made sense, and that character was a narcissistic sociopath who was SUPPOSED to sound weird and stilted.

@Amy_the_Lizard

3 жыл бұрын

Or they're like, a demon or an alien or something, and they mistakenly believe that that is the correct way of speaking

I haven't heard the "use dialogue tags for every person" since HS, but I see it go in the complete opposite direction and there are NO dialogue tags for pages! But this is usually coupled with no distinct voices, so it depends on who I'm reading lol

@geraldfrost4710

3 жыл бұрын

So, in a way, the differing voices act as dialog tags. (writers can be clever!)

@eliesundesastre9473

3 жыл бұрын

Sometimes (when I haven't given up on a book yet) I have to freaking finger poin who the hell is speaking lmao

@shelbygremel2946

3 жыл бұрын

@@eliesundesastre9473 same! I keep telling myself one more page...except I keep rereading the same page to make sure I know who is talking 😂

@steam_jane5580

8 ай бұрын

No expert but I think If it's clear who's speaking and they are not speaking in an interesting way that matters, it serves no purpose so you can drop the tag for nothing or an action 🤷‍♀️

5 is funny because one of the most common complaints about Jenna's book was that her characters swear so much and in such a wannabe edgy way that it becomes unrealistic and unrelatable.

@dragonking5767

3 жыл бұрын

Smells like jealousy

@Alias_Anybody

3 жыл бұрын

@@dragonking5767 Jealous of what? Not every reviewer wants to be an author.

@thwipthwap8870

3 жыл бұрын

@@dragonking5767 It’s a valid critique. You can’t pretend someone’s writing is perfect and all criticism is “jealousy”

@taylor_green_9

3 жыл бұрын

It may be a valid criticism, but I bet those people never watched any of Jenna's videos. If they had, they would've known what to expect 😂

@sxwriter8569

3 жыл бұрын

That's valid, but speaking from someone in his early twenties...YEAH PEOPLE MY GENERATION CURSE A CRAP TON. Like I went to school where someone put the f word ten times in one sentence while in a argument with someone else coming them a b**ch. Like yeah, it's annoying, but it's hilarious at the same time. Eevn in reality tv, while part of it is fake, at times (Hell's Kitchen and Big Brother), they'll be cursing so much, you'd think Orochimaru and witches were building a army.

"Don't write dialogue at all" is advice given by people who can't write decent dialogue.

@victoriapulcifer6218

2 жыл бұрын

OR it could be that some writers are encouraging people to not have characters exposit ad-nauseum what they could just convey through body language, or the scene itself, or the... story

@daveshif2514

2 жыл бұрын

The sims games dont have real dialogue, its just implications, and everything is told via body language and emotion, and through the interaction and environment. You dont “need” dialogue at all but most ppl do say they struggle to write it well. So both ideas are at least partially right. This is more like a rule you first learn so you can later break it

The dialogue tag thing is taught in schools. It's purely for kids to get more marks for creative writing assignments, it's not supposed to translate to published works

@ayaya5888

3 жыл бұрын

I know right, I remember actually being told off by my english teacher for using said like excuse me sis I'm not tryna break up the flow of this conversation with your stupid dialogue tags for an A leave me alone

@GuineaPig361

3 жыл бұрын

For me, dialogue tags were the gateway to having characters do stuff while they're talking. While dialogue tags are a technique for beginners, it can transform into action.

@Ramsimation

3 жыл бұрын

@@GuineaPig361 it's not a bad thing when its done sparingly, and well. Doing it all the time is distracting

@steam_jane5580

8 ай бұрын

This reminded me of when I was in I think year 6( so 11 or 12) I asked the teacher if I need tags like said etc, after each sentence and if I could get away without them as it sounded better. She told me I needed some, but as long as you knew who was speaking it's fine, so I couldn't get away with none. Lmao I don't think I was a fan then of trying to find the right tag and making it flow and sound good. It was just like story mountain (beginning, build, climax, decent, resolution) that while good building blocks and not always wrong , I found kinda annoying and too formulaic for my liking.

I like to joke that one of my characters in my current novel has the “fuck card” because she’s the only one I’ve deemed who can say that. Other characters swear different amounts, but she’s the only one who can say fuck since I want that word to have impact, that it really means shit has hit the fan if she says that. The same goes for my MC swearing out loud since he rarely does that normally. But that first character also uses the most slang out of all my characters. It’s mainly because I wanted to test the waters with writing wildly different character voices instead of already going all-in, but it’s also just turned into a kind of meme among my friends and me lol.

"Don't actually write out the accent!" *Laughs in Lovecraftian*

That is now my new favorite description of dark fantasy romance. "Some stab stab, and some kiss kiss."

I read a Destiel fanfic a few months ago that had legitimately some of the best dialogue I’ve ever read in a story, and some early chapters were almost exclusively dialogue over the phone

@teardropblue

3 жыл бұрын

What was it called please? 🤩

@daneroberts1996

3 жыл бұрын

@@teardropblue Four Letter Word For Intercourse by bendingsignpost (fyi it's got a lot of sexual content if that's something you don't want)

@teardropblue

3 жыл бұрын

@@daneroberts1996 thanks 😍😍

@Reshme77

2 жыл бұрын

I love desitel

@gremlinchet

Жыл бұрын

@@teardropblue what was it called???

😂 the “don’t use contractions” tip transported me back in time to when I was watching Shyamalan’s The Village, which tried to make the dialogue sound “older” by removing all contractions and absolutely enraged me in the process

The only story that comes readily to mind where the main characters have no dialogue and it still works is Wall-E.

Idk, after how much I just lost it at “no good rotten doody-head,” maybe it’s a good idea to start including it in dialogue 😂

@geraldfrost4710

3 жыл бұрын

It's like saying, "If this continues, I shall have to consider being peeved," when your car breaks down in the rain while on the way to the hospital with a broken arm. It's so far over the top that it actually works.

@hayleybartek8643

3 жыл бұрын

“No-good dirty rotten pig-stealing great-great grandfather” is an iconic swear for me.

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

Yeah, works great for comedy basically! lol

@typacsk

Жыл бұрын

Dave Barry's got a good bit in the "author's note" of one of his novels, where he warns the reader that the bad guys in the story will not be saying things like "I am going to blow your goshdarned head off, you rascal!"

@mertensiam3384

Жыл бұрын

It could be a funny quirk for a character if done well

Said is dead Stories set in the underworld: Imma about to ruin this whole man's career

@mohammedharoon8453

3 жыл бұрын

That is not dead which can eternal lie, and with strange aeons even death my die.

@GlaceonStudios

3 жыл бұрын

Said's dead, baby. Said's dead.

@bookworm_of_heaven

3 жыл бұрын

Said is sad and dad- no-

@Grimmbros1214

3 жыл бұрын

imma about

@halfway7690

3 жыл бұрын

Said is not necessarily bad, I'm not sure how to explain this but it can be used with an adverb. So that the reader only registers the adverb and not the said at all.

Also your no-contraction speak sounds like GlaDOS, which I am also here for.

@HopefindersProductions

3 жыл бұрын

Good thing I'm not the only one that was being reminded of GLaDOS when hearing her no contraction voice

Jenna is the best. Love her so much. her advice is always so relatable and the way she delivers it is just refreshing. "But Jenna..." Gets me Everytime hahaha.

i just have to say, your hair is fucking on point in this video --- just *chef's kiss* and thank you so so much for your advice, it's helped me improve so fast in so little time

@Dylan_Devine

3 жыл бұрын

I read the "chef's kiss" part as "Muah."

"I just saved you from a life of loyal readers and money." But, Jennaaaaaa, I like money and loyal readers! :P

All of my characters end up sounding like Iroh with an extra level of self-perceived omniscience. Even the nine year olds. I have no idea why that happens.

@daveshif2514

2 жыл бұрын

Wise people dont use “I” statements, they use more philosophical metaphors. Normal people use a lot of “I” statements to get their point across because its easier to do so when you speak directly. If you just speak about the plot and lore that is called exposition and shouldent rly have any place in first person. Dialogue is already metaphorical you dont have to try to add metaphors, save those for the prose. Your character is what makes the dialogue interesting, because of who they are in the story; what they say is just what they logically should or would say. Sometimes if someone is waxing philosophically in conversation it can actually be implied they they have nothing of relevance to add to the conversation, since they arent being direct, which would come across as snobbish, especially if they are preaching without someone asking them to first. Wise people to preach, they answer questions

7:52 I'm gonna have to disagree with you on the whole "no contractions" thing. Sure, it CAN sound really awkward and stilted, but that doesn't mean it has to. I'm actually currently working on a story where not only the MC's dialogue, but the PROSE is written entirely without contractions (wasn't a deliberate choice --- I just got a few pages in, realized I hadn't used a single one, and stuck with it). And that story features some of my favorite prose I've ever written. The trick is, rather than simply writing normally and un-contracting typical contractions, you change the sentence structure so as to avoid those situations altogether---which, when pulled off correctly, gives the writing/dialogue a rather unique cadence which, IMO, sounds really amazing. A good example of a popular work which uses almost no contractions (not none, but ridiculously few) is the 2010 remake of "True Grit," which honestly has some of the best dialogue I've seen in a movie.

@GuineaPig361

3 жыл бұрын

For me, it depends on the character. Lots of contractions work for protagonists, but for other characters, I tend to use less of them.

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

Obviously do whatever you feel comfortable with doing, but most people seem to think contractions sound relatable and it's honestly easier to write them in, than it is to restructure how sentences are formed just to make it work. For the record, in True Grit's setting and period, it's right on the money for how people spoke. It's a period-piece so of course they're going to speak with less contractions, as the author and two separate screenwriters have said. Granted, contractions existed quite heavily back then, but it was still a transitional period for English as a whole. If there is another example you know of though, that's a popular work, yet a little more modern in terms of its setting, I'd be interested in knowing. At the end of the day, these style-differences are just really interesting to me. =)

@daveshif2514

2 жыл бұрын

Prose should not use contractions. Dialogue absolutely should. And youre 100% right about changing sentence structure to avoid contractions (and never ending a sentence with a preposition). Just use proper sentences for your prose, you will foster a better habit. And when you do it all correctly, you can break the rule and you will really surprise your reader

"Your dialogue sucks" 😭🙌 i know bestie. Believe me i know

Earliest I've ever been and it is exactly what I was needing

@teamawesome5153

3 жыл бұрын

Same here :)

Flashbacks of my first ever short little story, with a "[insert character's name] said". In *every single line*

@ayaya5888

3 жыл бұрын

Ana Beatriz Henrique de Oliveira said

"don't write the accent!" **Turns head to stare at Jacksepticeye fans**

5:45 I remember Harry Potter being really bad with this when it came to Fluer Delacours character

3 minutes and 10 seconds before tip 1 appears. That’s like waiting 10 chapters until the story really starts. Gotta hook them with that 1st chapter Jenna.

@geraldfrost4710

3 жыл бұрын

But Jenna IS the hook!

11: Make everyone capable of witty, on-the-fly, comebacks. This is especially great in television, where you can pad out an episode by having characters snide everyone and everything instead of actually moving the plot along. Who needs to write characters that are nuanced in their personality when you can pander to people who are addicted to videos with titles like "20 Minutes of X Character Being Iconic"?

@hayleybartek8643

3 жыл бұрын

Ugh, that genuinely bothers me. I’m the type that can’t come up with a witty quip unless I’ve been vibing for the last hour.

this is unrelated but my favorite dialogue recently has been - “well i’m 16 and i learned *_this_* from a rat!” it’s so funny and made sense with the plot 😭

Unpopular opinion: Accents written out are amazing.

@FloridasYesteryear

3 жыл бұрын

Have you read The Cay? There is some accent for you in that book.

@briantellstales

3 жыл бұрын

@@FloridasYesteryear Nope, I'll check it out. Thanks!

@MrGrimjaw

3 жыл бұрын

@@briantellstales it's a great book read it in middle school

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

I know it's a subjective thing, but part of the appeal of books for me personally is letting my imagination do the heavy lifting. I hate when accents are written out, because I have to focus a little harder on the words on the page, instead of just letting my imagination run wild with the description of an accent.

@kellharris2491

3 жыл бұрын

Only if you really know what you are doing.

Nobody: My adhd: dialog tags? Cool! I always use them because without them I'm confused into oblivion!

"They're the only one who gets to cuss." All of my characters except two: Mr. Writer, I don't feel so good.

"Don't use phonetic accents, it's frustrating to read!" Me: _Noo, Ah dunnae think Ah weel!!_

@Thagomizer

3 жыл бұрын

What about something like "No, I donnae think I will." You have a little bit of the Scottish vernacular in there.

@dustyrose192

2 жыл бұрын

@@Thagomizer Thats the worst was to come off as Scottish. Yes its a little hard to read the original, i would rather suffer for a brief second rereading a section than have that. It changes the whole thing in a way i cant quiet explain Not to be mean or anything i just prefer the first one

I have literally heard someone say something along the lines of "always use 'said'. Only. Let readers fill in the details by themselves." It's called interestingly blending your phrasing you don't have to go one way or the other people!

6:53 this reminds me of Deku shouting "Gooly woah he's dead" in MHA 😆

Well now I want to have a scene where a character whispers "gee golly gosh" to themselves while hiding in a space from some eldritch monstrosity, or something like that.

6:51 Golly gumdrops, I feel called out. IRL, I've gotten so used to censoring myself that I'll just blurt out stupid things instead of actual swears. lol But in writing I do commit the sin of swearing. _Forgive me, grandmother..._ Wait, full stop. Hold up. There are people who say NOT to write dialogue? What?

@GuineaPig361

3 жыл бұрын

They take "don't drag out the dialogue" too far. I can understand this, as I have a cinematic style of writing, even imagining the score. There are times, usually during sad and/or dramatic moments, where I keep the dialogue to a minimum and only focus on the description, action, and character's thoughts. Dialogue is important, but there are also plenty of instances to reduce it in favor of focusing on the scene.

@VenomQuill

3 жыл бұрын

@@GuineaPig361 Oh, definitely. Dialogue, like any other story element, is a spice. Too much, and it will overwhelm your dish. Too little, and the dish will be bland.

@VibingMeike

3 жыл бұрын

@@GuineaPig361 I noticed I was doing this too with emotional moments lol

I had a writing teacher (a graduate student teacher) paise me for my ability to write dialog, because according to him it “can’t be taught”

I'm about 95% finished my first book in my series and have been watching your channel now for 3 years. I have seen every video and now when you put out a new video, especially a ‘10 things you shouldn't or should do’ styled one. I'm happy to find I didn't do or have done those things! You're videos have and continue to be helpful!

Cause in Anime especially, they’ll say “dammit” before “gee golly.” 😂😂😂

I’m so pumped for TSA! Also, dialogues my favorite to write. Thanks for these ‘valuable’ insights.

I love these videos! They're so helpful! Videos like this not only help me with the book/book series I wanna write someday soon, but they also help my Gacha series that I'm working on too. (Gacha is the closest thing I've got to animating a real series, since I've got no clue how to animate) In fact, my Gacha series will actually have a similar plot as my book will, I'm basically using it as practice for my storytelling skills. :)

But Jennaaa D:

@nugget8967

3 жыл бұрын

But Jennaaaaaaaa

"No Cursing." interesting rule. My wife believes this rule to the level of a commandment. Me, not so damned much, which is one of the reasons she's no longer my wife. Anyway, several decades ago she was having a miscarriage, blood spreading across her powder blue pants from what I would normally think of as "happy land". She'd lost a lot of blood, and we were at the doctor's; the nurse was trying to get an IV into her collapsed arm vein. This wasn't working; the nurse had tried three times in each arm. I'm sure it wasn't the nurse's first time setting an IV needle, it was just hard to get a needle into the middle of a rubber-band. Frustrated at being tortured, my wife said, "Oh! Oh! Oh! Vein Pain!" and the nurse said, "It's okay, dear! You can swear." My wife looked at her and asked, "Why would I want to do that?" It's okay to have your character cuss. It's also okay for a character to NOT cuss. Sometimes where the swear words would have gone you can indeed put more emotive and descriptive language. Some people do that IRL. But if you're character is a street hood, his voice will be different from that of a Sunday school teacher. To the character's voice be true. (Also to the genera be true; if it's middle school you're writing for, leave out the cussing, even if the lumberjack just cut off his own damn thumb.)

@Shinigami41395

3 жыл бұрын

Agreed. I never cuss, but I have no issue with writing cussing in dialogue. I think some authors have a hard time separating themselves from the characters they write.

@AlphishCreature

3 жыл бұрын

I guess the lumberjack cussing for middle school audience could actually benefit from "tell, don't show" approach. "The lumberjack shouted curses so grave they would make even a sailor shy" would be one of the more stock examples, probably, but it shows one can be creative when describing cursing without cursing. Also, I'm totally up for a street hood character to be particular about no cursing, mostly on the grounds that's unexpected (especially when contrasted with curse-a-lot characters of similar background). It's always nice to see characters that are more than a collection of cliches and stereotypes.

@Amy_the_Lizard

3 жыл бұрын

@@Shinigami41395 I also almost never cuss vocally unless I'm directly quoting someone else or reading aloud (which doesn't count.) I do curse occasionally when I'm communicating via text, but I have had some people be surprised by my characters' word choices since some of them cuss a lot. I also had one REALLY bad day where I actually did cuss and a friend who overheard me started squealing because she'd never heard me say a cuss word before. -_- Needless to say, that did not improve my mood any. (I believe I told her she should regard future instances of me cussing as a sign of the apocalypse and react accordingly.)

@Shinigami41395

3 жыл бұрын

@@Amy_the_Lizard My mom was completely shocked just by me saying "hell." I personally don't really consider it a cuss word, but that was fouler language than anything she'd ever heard me say before lol.

@DarthBiomech

3 жыл бұрын

That advice is probably several decades too late, but cursing actually helps elevate some of the pain and discomfort.

I got a range of cursing for my characters. Some never curse and some curse every other sentence, same with slang and such. I like making a diagram and scattering them around. Even the ones who are super close in one way are different in another. Like two of the characters are siblings and speak accented (despite being black they sound southern) and both curse (not as much as another character I have) BUT only one uses the n word for everyone and the other only uses it for friends/family. The sibling that uses N' a for everyone is Nonbinary. The other is guy (views himself as Trans because he was born as a hermaphrodite). This also plays a part where he stops calling his father a N' after the "dad" disowned his sib and the sib also stops uses it for that "dad" as well because they see him as a not a person any more. So both disowned him but you can tell the one had more disconnect than the other.

I love your videos and advice. During lockdown I decided to attempt to write a novel, I also had no clue how to actually write a novel. I recently finished my first draft and have began the editing process (something I massively under-estimated) so I am adding more dialogue to my chapters. It is always positive to hear I am doing things right, like not giving every line of dialogue a tag. My favourite channel on KZread

Thanks for the advice glad you’re more active killing it!

I recently started writing differentiated dialogue and I’m pretty proud of myself :)

Video starts at 3:10 ; tighten up that intro. "Subscribe, join, ring the bell and check out me newest book" add video links or whatever for more description and move the milanote commercial to the end (Ive seen it 20 times, i haven't gotten it yet--mainly because of the price, the free aspects are helpful but nothing you can't do yourself)

Jenna, thank you for all your tips and tricks. I love watching your videos, and it has helped me become a better writer.

You have no idea how much I needed this video. I suck at writing dialogue. I know it takes practice and patience, but sometimes I wonder how I manage to have a simple conversation with people in real life.

For me, writing dialogue is easy because I understand my characters and their personalities. For some reason, i have never had an issue with dialogue. I just somehow make them seem genuine

IMO Jennas dialogue isn't all that great. I've only read TSC and I thought most of the dialogue was a bit off. Most of the guys talked like stereotypes. I'm not sure if that's the right word. But they didn't talk like I know guys talk. They said things weirdly and talked like weird parodies of what people think men talk like. I don't know, that's just me. Still love Jennas videos tho

Thank you for Milanote!!! your a life saver

Love your vids!!!

I've literally never heard any of this advice before. I don't think anyone tries to write like this

Hey, perfect timing! I need to work on dialogue, so a video with things to avoid will do good. If anyone has some helpful advice not mentioned in the video, I'd appreciate a reply! Thanks.

Oh thank you Jenna for this I have so much trouble writing dialogue for my characters.

*Thank you* !🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

Jenna: expect more dialogue vids Me: checks email and sees a dialogue sneak peak video from Jenna on Patreon. Fuck ya.

Question: Regarding “writing out the accent” what about when you write a person who has a lot of slang because of their accent, like a southerner?

@christiansalcedo217

2 жыл бұрын

Well, just consider that if a strong accent can sometimes be hard to listen to, imagine having to read it.

@dustyrose192

2 жыл бұрын

@@christiansalcedo217 Surprsingly i can do that

good shit as always, love ya Jenna!!!!

Great to see you! Awesome video! Stay safe and happy

It's 11:55 PM in India and I'm watching this video. Lots of love from India, Cyborg Queen. Keep Rockin'

Lol sometimes I can't even tell when she's being sarcastic

Thanks to you I've used and loved milanote for awhile now!

Pure gold! You're on fire, Jenna.

My advice for dialogue is: the more swearing you have in your book, the more immature it is. Unless it's because if culture or smth ( I don't know,maybe you're Russian), your Characters shouldn't spamming be swearing everytime they speak. Most people don't swear as much, and excessively swearing can give a "look mom! I can swear!" Vibe. Like a teenager finding that just because their is in front doesn't mean they can't swear. Also, is it just me or is it annoying when I hear "his/her (whatever) accent was apparent". I just feel like instead of telling the audience that they have an accent, show us that through their dialogue. Otherwise it doesn't convince me that they have a accent. Because (and I'll use an analogy for this) telling someone you have cake is less believable than telling someone you have cake and showing them the cake.

@AntediluvianRomance

3 жыл бұрын

Russians don't really swear that much too. It depends on the social circles people belong to.

@MrHawkelement

3 жыл бұрын

1.) Depends on social circles, like the other person said. In my friend groups, generally speaking, it's like a swear word per every two minutes we're talking, but I've had friends who refuse to swear as well, so idk. 2.) This is obviously subjective, but I find it annoying IF they don't describe the accent. If they describe to me, I love letting my imagination do the heavy-lifting from there, because that's the appeal of books/stories for me. Writing it out can take me out of a story quickly, if I have to truly focus to figure out what they're saying, meanwhile every other sentence on the page is crystal-clear, it's immersion shattering. Just my opinion though.

Every. Single. English teacher. Every one. They always told us, "You can't use said everytime and you have to make sure the reader knows who's speaking. They're not the ones writing so they don't know." Even my college professors told me that, it's so annoying! Lol It's like we have to assume the people reading our writting are idiots or something.

@guitarjake4481

3 жыл бұрын

You should. Unless you shouldn't. It depends on how much faith you have in people's ability to actually read.

@geraldfrost4710

3 жыл бұрын

"But Jenna!" she said, referring to herself in the third person.

Milanote is seriously great. I tried it out months ago and I'm obsessed. Great tips by the way!! ☺️

I like dialogue, but I kinda suck at writing it, so I’m glad you posted this video!

I can't dialogue women without "Oh Em Gee, Bish"

“JK Roeing deemed it so” I’m DYING 😆😆😆

Something I'm doing to try to create dialog is basically talking to myself. See I used to act and we would develop our character ourselves with only a few facts and informations about them. So basically what I do I go into character and just start talking how I think the character would in this scenario.

Your videos are fantastic! I got many laughs from this one.

"JK Rowling deemed it so" honestly, I liked how she wrote Fleur Delacour's accent . it was funny, and i didn't think much about it

@ok-ie9sz

3 жыл бұрын

Hagrid's too, it's a lil bit hard to read but it's understandable.

JK >>>>>>>>> Jenna

OMG! What a wonderfully fun, sarcastic video. I am so glad I found this channel.

Removing contractions can actually help dialogue in some situations. Particularly when a character is trying to emphasize something.

Rule 11: Maybe don't overuse sarcasm. I'm a new viewer and I've been enjoying your videos, but as somebody with autism this one was kind of hard to follow simply because you switched so often between stating your actual opinion and projecting somebody else. Like I'm not terrible with delineating honesty with sarcasm, but this was a bit much for me to keep up with. I mean you do you, but I think you should try to use continue using sarcasm to improve your point, and not to make the point like you did in this video.

I really love her! she helped me write a story in wattpad rn

Didn't realized how I was making those mistakes until Jenna pointed them out in a video. I tend to interrupt dialogue with thoughts quite often.

AHHH I love Milanote. I use it as my only real writing tool because it's so versatile