Write dialogue and asides

Put spoken words in Dialogue beneath the speaker’s Character block. Use an Aside for a note about how that speech is delivered. For action on stage, use a Stage direction instead.

Write a speech

1. Choose Robin as the speaker in a Character block.
2. Press ⏎ Enter at the end of the name. With the default settings, the next block is Dialogue.
3. Write We should go.

For another speaker, press ⏎ Enter at the end of the Dialogue. To keep writing the same speech, use ⇧ Shift + ⏎ Enter. See Continue writing for splitting existing text and empty blocks.

Add a note within the speech

After Robin’s first sentence, add quietly, then continue with Before they find us.:

1. At the end of We should go., press ⇧ Shift + ⏎ Enter to create another Dialogue block.
2. In that new block, press ⇥ Tab to change it to Aside.
3. Write quietly. With the default settings, Aside text is lowercase and italic.
4. Press ⏎ Enter at the end of the note. With the default settings, the next block is Dialogue.
5. Write Before they find us.

The Aside belongs to the speech, so you do not need to enter Robin’s name again. If your next-block settings differ, choose Dialogue from Change block type before continuing.

Change an existing note or speech block

Click in the block and press ⇥ Tab:

• In Dialogue or Lyrics, it changes the whole block to Aside. It does not insert a note at the cursor.
• In Aside, it changes the block back to Dialogue, or to Lyrics when the preceding writing flow was sung text.

Edit an Aside in place when you only want to change its wording. To remove its role as a note while keeping the text, switch it back with ⇥ Tab.

Related tasks

• Add several speakers to the same speech.
• Write action as a Stage direction.