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Dialogue: How to Write Interruptions, Trailing Speech, Stammering, etc

(Originally published September 12, 2022)


Hey, storyteller,


Your characters have important things to say, but what if another character interrupts? And what if the speaker stammers, pauses for emphasis, or trails off without completing the sentence?


These breaks in speech can give your dialogue flavor and make it sound more natural, while conveying powerful character emotion. But how do we show them on the page? Do we use ellipses? Em dashes? Hyphens?


In this week's writer coaching session, I show you how to format all the things that can fragment our characters' sentences during conversations.


Watch the video below to discover:

  • the differences between the three types of dashes
  • when and how to use an em dash
  • how to show stammering and stuttering
  • when and how to use ellipses
  • how to create em dashes and ellipses
  • the differences between the three types of dashes
  • when and how to use an em dash
  • how to show stammering and stuttering
  • when and how to use ellipses
  • how to create em dashes and ellipses


I Have a Gift for You!

Click this link to download The Ultimate Guide to Dialogue Punctuation.

Video Timestamps

  • 0:01 Introduction
  • 1:08 A Gift for You
  • 1:55 Em dashes, Ellipses, and Hyphens...Oh my!
  • 3:10 How and When to Use Em Dashes in Dialogue (Interruptions and More)
  • 5:40 How to Create an Em Dash
  • 6:48 Hyphens: How to Show Characters Stuttering or Stammering
  • 9:48 How and When to Use Ellipses in Dialogue (Trailing Speech, etc.)
  • 12:21 How to Create Ellipses
  • 13:21 This Week’s Power-Up

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