: 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.

@Cody1607638

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The other answers are absolutely correct about the use of action tags, but I think there's a larger issue here.

You don't really want to write "just" dialogue. That would be a screenplay. Action tags certainly help, but if the remain at the level of "the character's physical expression or action as s/he talks," then you really haven't added anything beyond stage directions.

If you write like a screenplay, it'll read like a screenplay. So, you ask, what's the difference between a screenplay and a dialogue-centered novel? Well, it's pretty much the same as the difference between reading a screenplay and watching the movie. Straight dialogue is a bunch of talking heads; it's difficult to be exciting or engaging in the format. Plot, setting, and emotion are your friends - even when the dialogue is in the center.

Jim Van Pelt just wrote an excellent blog post on precisely this subject. He demonstrates the wildly different directions the same raw dialogue can be taken - and how bland "simple" action tags can be, compared to a rounder, more fleshed-out scene.

So what do you need to add to the dialogue to round out a transcript into a fullblown scene? Here's a couple of thoughts:

The viewpoint character likely has a lot of thoughts and reactions to the conversation around him. Share them with us - they act as a counterpoint to the raw dialogue, and keep us immersed in the character and his personality. That also lets you get across powerful motives and desires that motivate his side of the dialogue, that he'd never allow to slip barefaced into the conversation itself. That's what Van Pelt's second example does - he goes beyond describing what happens cinematically, into explaining why this dialogue is taking place, and immersing us into the viewpoint character's world and hopes.
Consider where the dialogue is taking place. It could be two characters taking in their living room, or in a coffee-shop. But the scene would be a lot more colorful and active - less "talking-heads" - if they talked while doing something. If two characters were talking during a game of bowling, that would be an entirely different scene than one where they were talking because they were the only two students in detention, or if they were talking five minutes before they were each auditioning for the same part in a musical. Each of these would give the scene a vastly different tone - and provide all kinds of events, reactions, distractions, and interruptions throughout the scene.

Some additions will be extremely brief, and interspersed with the dialogue - like the action tags. Others can take a paragraph or two - the sudden musings of the viewpoint character, something interesting going on in the area, a short flashback, etc. Of course, you shouldn't be adding in content as simple padding - these are ways to add more substance to your writing, coloring your "raw" dialogue with all the personality, flavor, and action of the entire piece.

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