: Re: Dialog, just what's the best way to write it? I've come across the following conventions: "What’s this for?" asked Jake. Sue replied, "None of your business." He shrugged his shoulders.

@Bethany377

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There have been some authors (even some published authors) who've gotten away with non-traditional styles. In some cases the work demanded it, in others it just enhanced an already good work.

If authors have gotten away with using a series of letters, and other similar things, you could aim for transcripts of the various interviews your character is doing. You could either forgo action entirely for this, bring it out in comments injected by the transcriber or the detective after the fact, or find something else that naturally fits.

You wouldn't be locked into the style for the whole book, necessarily. It could be interspersed throughout the more common style, or the more common style could be interspersed throughout the transcripts. Or you could keep it for the whole story, if that works.

In general, sticking to the norm and making it work is probably safer, but there are other options.

You can look into Monster by Walter Dean Myers. Haven't read that one myself, but it's supposed to be quite good, and uses the format of a screenplay/murder trial transcript for a large part of the story, with diary entries for other parts.

Now, none of this is intended to say I recommend doing something like this, but if it works or is needed for your story, and you feel capable of pulling it off effectively, the option does exist. If you want to get published, though, you may want to do some extra asking around... I'm willing to bet that non-standard styles come with an extra hurdle or two in that regard.

Disclaimer: I am not a published author. I am not even an unpublished author. I am a programmer who just happens to have an interest in storytelling of various forms. Judge anything I say carefully.

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