Which dialogue format do you prefer?
This is a follow-up to a previous post I made about dialogue styles. I decided that I'm going to go with this style of dialogue for my Sims story when some certain bugs are fixed and I can continue o...
Forum Discussion
My vote is still for Format 2, but if you add actions (ex. *chuckles*) to the dialog it may get a bit confusing/distracting because of inconsistent verb tenses. It's hard to tell if the conversations are taking place in the present or the past. They use present tense (ex. *tickles*, *laughs* ...), but all the text that introduces the conversations is written in the past tense ("We encountered a few ...").
I can see what you mean. What about if it is looked at in this perspective. Say in the intro paragraph where it says what they did, but then the conversation switches over to a present tense as if they were talking and it's being captured.
Example:
Today we adventured through the darkest of the forest. We encountered a few werewolves, but we were able to defeat them without much trouble.
So, John explained what happened today, but then the the conversation goes to present tense as if it's happening right now and he's recording the conversation as he goes.
John: Those werewolves were ferocious, but they were no match for us.
Alisa: *Tickles John*
John: Hey! Stop that! *Laughs*
Alisa: *Chuckles* Yeah, no werewolf is a match for us!
John: Well, let's continue on. I'm sure that fortress must be around here somewhere.
So the conversation is almost like a transition into the next blog post. I don't know lol! These are just examples. In my blog, I'm trying to capture it in a way where it feels real and live like it's happening as it goes, but at the same time using an explanation paragraph of what happened so far in that post etc.
If you want it to feel live and as if the reader is in the action, what about just using present tense throughout? I think either way will be okay, but present tense has a tendency to make things more exciting. (ex. Today we adventure through the darkest of the forest. We encounter a few werewolves ...)
