: Re: How to write a telephone conversation in a novel? If Closed Captioning on TV is any guide, then dialogue heard over a phone would be in italics, not in quotes. The same would apply to dialogue

@Cooney417

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Since telephone conversations are basically passive scenes, they are used to impart new information that is needed for the story line or to create conflict. Chitchat is not part of the conversation.

Begin the conversation at the meat of the discussion. For example, if the phone rings and the main character answers, use a transaction, such as:

His mind wandered until she asked him the question. “Is our marriage over?”

Once the information or conflict set-up ends, don't drag on the call just end it with a line such as:

When the conversation ended, he caved into a chair trying to decide what to do.

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