Jo Spumoni
New member
Do you put dialog in a diary entry, or do you kind of just paraphrase what the characters say?
Of these two examples, should I do this:
"I asked her, 'what do you think?'
'Nothing.'
'Nothing at all?'
'No, nothing.' She seemed annoyed."
Or this:
"I asked her her opinion, but she said she didn't have one and then seemed annoyed."
Likewise, a second question: is it more important to make the writing sound good or to make it sound like something a person would actually write? I know authenticity is somewhat important to the premise of having a diary, but quite honestly it doesn't always make for an interesting read. When I tried to keep a diary at one time (lasted 3 weeks then stopped), the writing was bad because I didn't edit it. Obviously, the writing has to be of decent quality to work in a novel, but it seems hard to do if it has to ring true to the diary style.
Any comments/tips/relevant information? Please note the word "relevant"; if you plan to say something completely irrelevant or idiotic, then please don't bother answering; there are better uses of your time. Thank you.
Of these two examples, should I do this:
"I asked her, 'what do you think?'
'Nothing.'
'Nothing at all?'
'No, nothing.' She seemed annoyed."
Or this:
"I asked her her opinion, but she said she didn't have one and then seemed annoyed."
Likewise, a second question: is it more important to make the writing sound good or to make it sound like something a person would actually write? I know authenticity is somewhat important to the premise of having a diary, but quite honestly it doesn't always make for an interesting read. When I tried to keep a diary at one time (lasted 3 weeks then stopped), the writing was bad because I didn't edit it. Obviously, the writing has to be of decent quality to work in a novel, but it seems hard to do if it has to ring true to the diary style.
Any comments/tips/relevant information? Please note the word "relevant"; if you plan to say something completely irrelevant or idiotic, then please don't bother answering; there are better uses of your time. Thank you.