Shaping dialogues: what types of dialog are there?

I have wanted to write an entry for a long time about one of the parts that I enjoy the most writing: the dialogues. However, before getting into the subject, I think it would not hurt to dedicate a post to the different dialogue formats that exist, to the way they are written. And that's what today's post is about.

We are used to writing the dialogues according to the standard format marked by hyphens at the beginning of the paragraph, but this is not the only way. Dialogues can take very different forms and conventions depending on the type of work. Knowing them well will help us when choosing which one is best for us to use:

1. The film script

The format of the dialogue in a film or television script is perhaps one of the most rigid, since it is a technical document that the rest of the team will use to develop the final work. Within the script, the dialogue is centered, with the name of the character speaking in capital letters, the dimension (if any) immediately below and then the dialogue in question.

2. The play

The script format in a play has some similarities to that in film. The names of the characters who speak are also written in capital letters, although at the beginning of the paragraph in this case, and the dimensions are also in parentheses and in italics. Here I give you an example so that you can see it better. It is a small fragment of the work Four hearts with brake and reverse , by Jardiel Poncela.

This type of dialogue has also been used at times for narrative texts other than the theatrical work. For example, it is used by Truman Capote in one of his stories from the play Music for Chameleons , although using initials instead of the full name, to relate a dialogue between himself and Marilyn Monroe (this method is also used for interviews):

3. Traditional Anglo-Saxon form

In Anglo-Saxon novels and stories, each intervention in a dialogue occupies a new paragraph, is written in italics and is enclosed in quotation marks. Here is an example (taken from the waves, by Virgina Woolf) so that you can pay attention, above all, to the punctuation marks (the most tricky of this type of dialogue):

As you can see, at the end of an intervention the end point is included within the quotation marks. However, when a dimension is to be made, a comma is placed after the quotation marks and the period follows the dimension.

4. Indirect dialogue

Less used than the previous ones, indirect dialogue is one in which the narrator himself introduces what the characters say in the same paragraph. This form is difficult to write, especially if there is a lot of dialogue, and you run the risk of overusing the conjunction “what”. As an example, a fragment of The Spider Woman's Kiss , by Manuel Puig. But, if used well, it gives a lot of play and creates interesting effects:

5. Free dialogue

It does not use quotation marks, nor hyphens, nor does it change lines with each intervention. Dialogue is introduced naturally within the paragraph, in the middle of the narration:

And so far the main types of dialogue. Obviously, they are not the only ones and thousands of combinations can be made from these six, as well as new ways. The important thing is that the text flows and that the reader knows who is speaking at all times. From there, it depends on the wit and skill of the writer.

Personally, I like more to use the traditional Spanish format and, sometimes (when it is a text with little dialogue) the free or indirect. And you, with which do you feel more comfortable?