Phone conversation in a book.

I just want to know how would I go about a phone conversation. Is it like a normal conversation going down like this :

Example

Boy:hi

Girl:Hi

Or is it like italics

Boy:hi

Girl:Hi

 

You'd describe in your action before the dialogue that he/she picked up the phone. Then it would be normal dialogue, with normal design. "Hello? Oh, hi!"

Now if you want to put a few tags in there such as 'the line crackled' or something like that you can, but by describing and establishing the usage of the phone, then the conversation would just carry on like a normal one.

 

Dialogue is dialogue. You write it using quotes, and optional fialogue tags and beats: He said, she said - Mechanics of Dialogue

Depending on the point of view, you might choose to present only one side of the conversation.

 

Thanks for that Cogito, I read it earlier and it has helped me alot.

Aside from that, I think it is interesting to see if you have to flesh out the dialogue as if it were a normal, physically present, conversation. Depending on the situation you might want to do what Cogito suggested, just letting one person talk and make the reader guess what the other person is saying. I think a good situation for this is to add tension.

I know for one that in acting phone conversations are considered a cop out for not having a second actor. Of course writing and acting are not the same but there are similarities. Is it really necessary to have this conversation over the phone? It does make it more distant, then again that could be what you are aiming for.

 

I've never seen phone calls in books as anything other than just normal punctuated dialogue.
- "Hi, Fred."
"Hi, Angela."

There was even a kooky children's book in the 80's called Phone Calls by R.L. Stine who
told the entire story by phone calls. I don't know how the reprint is punctuated but in the 80's
it was just all dialogue.

 

Hearing one side of a conversation is a good way to pique curiosity.

 

I agree with all the others, just let the reader know that someone is talking in the phone, then just use regular ole dialogue.

Example:
(From 'So Long and Thanks For All the Fish' by Douglas Adams)

I like the hangup and the end, though cell phones don't click when they hang up anymore.

 

Yes it would be in Italics, published novels have had it written like that. I remember reading a few myself with that, i think it's better then bold text.

 

no italics, no bold text. Normal text, standard dialogue punctuation.

 

ditto that!

no italics, bold, or any other fancy fontery...

 

+10 points for using the word 'fontery'!

~ J. J.

 

thanks, jj!... 'fancy fontery' is a favorite coinage of mine... so, what can i get with those points?

 

You can trade them for air miles on flights of fancy.

 

super!

clever you...

 

Don't you know? Everyone writes phone dialogue in wingdings, size 48 bold, sans-serif.