Ok I just started on this novel and it’s gotten me hooked already. I've been putting together the plot in my head and writing ideas on anything I have around me at the time. One of my ideas is to have my main character watching TV and the show he’s watching gets switched to a breaking news story. But my problem here is I’ve never written anything like that, I wouldn’t know how to Wright what the news cast is saying on the TV I guess I could Write it in quotations like your speaking to someone but I’m not sure. I know it sounds silly but it has been on my mind all day. If anyone would like to help it would be greatly appreciated. -NightsShadow
If your character is watching telelvision and a breaking news program comes on and he is watching you could write it in third person (where as he is recalling what they are saying, so you could write it as like a thought as its not, first person) If its first prson it could be done in brackets, like normal speech" Though i could be wrong. Probably am. Somone will help.
I'd write what the newscaster was saying as speech, but maybe that's just me. In the end, you're the writer, so it's up to you.
Thanks for the fast reply and the help. I think I might write it in "". I mean it seems most logical. It might be wrong but someone who proof reads it for me will hopefully catch it. thanks again, -NightsShadow
why would you be having someone else proofread it for you?... that's something writers must do for their own work...
It's speech, so I don't see why you wouldn't write it in quotes. Treat it like dialog. "Blah, blah," the news broadcaster said.
Oh I do proof read all my work my self, but I’m not perfect at it. Besides my two cousins like to read everything I write and sometimes they come back with errors and let me know. Also if I ever decide to self publish any of my work I don’t want to look stupid because small little errors I didn’t catch. So I let two other people also check my work and tell me if they like the story so I can decide what to do with it. -NightsShadow
Thanks, I hope I get all of this speech idea right. I think that was my original thought when I said ill write it in "". Sorry if I didn't make it clear. Thanks everyone for all of your help.
huh?... what you show as how it should be done IS 'in quotes'... or did you mean to type 'wouldn't' instead of 'would'? that said, a longish bit of rews won't work well with just a dialog tag, such as you suggest, imo... it would look like this: see what i mean?... but if the quoted material is inserted as a block, it would make better sense and read better, to boot... hugs, m
Some books would write it in italics. Although that is technically 'wrong,' it always looks great and reads well. The idea is that it separates what is happening on T.V. from what is happening in person. Once again, a wrong thing to do, but I've seen it done enough that it seems fine, anyway. Quotations are always fine, too.
i don't see dialog from a tv or radio done in italics as either looking great, or reading well... and to do it that way in a ms would not go over well with agents or publishers, imo... that a rare few publishers did it that way in published books does not make it ok to submit a ms like that... mss should not be arranged like books, but according to the accepted norms, rules and regs of ms format...
