Writing Structure: Back-and-forth conversations

[Praybird]

So, this is a curiosity that recently surfaced due to a peculiar comment on RR: how do you like your conversations written? The comment was something regarding incoherent/difficult conversation structure, which brought the distinction between webnovels and physical books to mind. But before I elaborate on what the comment was, I'd like to showcase the distinction I have in mind with a disclaimer that not all webnovels have this structure, and not all physical books have this structure; it's just what I've seen more in my reading experience.

Structure 1:

"You're red."
"I know."
The banana quizzically tilted its head at the apple. The apple's eyes were leisurely staring into the summer sky, her head leaned back against the park bench they were sitting in. When she didn't seem even a tiny bit surprised or concerned over his words, the banana pressed his curiosity further.
"You did?"
"What makes you think I didn't?"
"Because you were green before."
"So were you. Did you know you're yellow now?"
"Holy shit, what?!"

Structure 2:
Apple and banana awkwardly sat side by side on a park bench. A few minutes had to pass in silence as banana scrambled for something to say to his unconcerned friend, staring into the summer sky with evident boredom.

"You're red," the banana croaked, vocalizing the first coherent, sensible thought that came to mind. Only after spitting the sentence did he realize it wasn't exactly the most polite thing to say to a date.

The apple didn't bother sparing a glance to her friend's offhanded remark. Her eyes remained fixated on a passing cloud as she returned a curt answer. "I know."

The banana quizzically tilted its head. He'd expected her to be offended or, failing that, embarrassed - but the nonchalant answer subdued his own unease as the apple pushed his curiosity further. "You did?"

"What makes you think I didn't?" The apple's annoyed eyes finally met the banana's, only to realize her friend's eyes contained nothing but genuine surprise. A twitching frown crossed her forehead as she began to realize that the banana hadn't been joking.

"Because you were green before." The banana sounded so certain, as if it was a logical explanation to his curiosity. Unfortunately, his red friend begged to differ, following his explanation with a question of her own.

"So were you. Did you know you're yellow now?"

"Holy shit, what?!"

-------

Again, I'm exaggerating, and both portions can probably be written a lot better. But you get the gist! Personally, I don't think I've ever read a novel with lots of back-and-forth conversations without any text in between. On the other hand, I think I see this more often than not in webnovels, especially if they're simple comedy scenes that don't really require a lot of context.

The comment itself was about how the first structure was confusing to read to an unnerving degree, and I think I can understand where the person's coming from given the structure's lack of...well, everything. The commenter further informed me that they might return to the story if I were to change the structure which, unfortunately for them, isn't going to happen. I personally prefer reading and writing with the first structure because...actually, I don't know why, I just do!

But what are your takes on this distinction? Is the first structure actually that difficult to read? Maybe I'm the odd minority that prefers the first over the second and I just didn't know about it for years...

 

[Hans.Trondheim]

I apply both styles, depending on the scene of the narrative. Structure 1 for conversations with two people (most of the time), and Structure 2 for talks with several characters, to distinguish who's talking (aside from obvious talk mannerisms).

 

[BernKatstel]

I think both work fine. Second one makes keeping track of things a lot easier, though, at least from what I understand.

 

[l8rose]

I prefer a mix. Most of my dialogue is #2 with shots of #1 mixed in to break up the reading. I generally don't have a problem reading #1 if it's only 2 characters speaking in a scene or if the characters have unique and well-established dialogue traits (like someone saying 'gotta' instead of 'got to' or adding 'hmm' somewhere in the sentence). Add more than that without the traits and my brain short-circuits a little.

That being said, I have read a lot of light novels where they did #1 but the author (or translator in some cases) added the character name in brackets at the first of the sentence. They'd have dialogue like:
[Banana] "You're red."
[Apple] "I know."

Which is probably the weirdest version I've ever seen.

 

[Deleted member 84247]

Both are readable, but clarity is important when writing dialogue. Make sure to use dialogue tags when they are necessary.

 

[dummycake]

I would use the first half of the first structure to set the scene and then do the rest with the second structure

 

[John_Owl]

I apply both and freely switch between them. Sometimes I have a lot of action context, other times I have strictly what's being said, and allow the reader to provide the appropriate physical actions. Why? Because I have to assume my readers are capable of such a basic task, and that they aren't entirely stupid.

That said, I can understand that some may disagree.

 

[Indicterra]

So, this is a curiosity that recently surfaced due to a peculiar comment on RR: how do you like your conversations written? The comment was something regarding incoherent/difficult conversation structure, which brought the distinction between webnovels and physical books to mind. But before I elaborate on what the comment was, I'd like to showcase the distinction I have in mind with a disclaimer that not all webnovels have this structure, and not all physical books have this structure; it's just what I've seen more in my reading experience.

Structure 1:

"You're red."
"I know."
The banana quizzically tilted its head at the apple. The apple's eyes were leisurely staring into the summer sky, her head leaned back against the park bench they were sitting in. When she didn't seem even a tiny bit surprised or concerned over his words, the banana pressed his curiosity further.
"You did?"
"What makes you think I didn't?"
"Because you were green before."
"So were you. Did you know you're yellow now?"
"Holy shit, what?!"

Structure 2:
Apple and banana awkwardly sat side by side on a park bench. A few minutes had to pass in silence as banana scrambled for something to say to his unconcerned friend, staring into the summer sky with evident boredom.

"You're red," the banana croaked, vocalizing the first coherent, sensible thought that came to mind. Only after spitting the sentence did he realize it wasn't exactly the most polite thing to say to a date.

The apple didn't bother sparing a glance to her friend's offhanded remark. Her eyes remained fixated on a passing cloud as she returned a curt answer. "I know."

The banana quizzically tilted its head. He'd expected her to be offended or, failing that, embarrassed - but the nonchalant answer subdued his own unease as the apple pushed his curiosity further. "You did?"

"What makes you think I didn't?" The apple's annoyed eyes finally met the banana's, only to realize her friend's eyes contained nothing but genuine surprise. A twitching frown crossed her forehead as she began to realize that the banana hadn't been joking.

"Because you were green before." The banana sounded so certain, as if it was a logical explanation to his curiosity. Unfortunately, his red friend begged to differ, following his explanation with a question of her own.

"So were you. Did you know you're yellow now?"

"Holy shit, what?!"

-------

Again, I'm exaggerating, and both portions can probably be written a lot better. But you get the gist! Personally, I don't think I've ever read a novel with lots of back-and-forth conversations without any text in between. On the other hand, I think I see this more often than not in webnovels, especially if they're simple comedy scenes that don't really require a lot of context.

The comment itself was about how the first structure was confusing to read to an unnerving degree, and I think I can understand where the person's coming from given the structure's lack of...well, everything. The commenter further informed me that they might return to the story if I were to change the structure which, unfortunately for them, isn't going to happen. I personally prefer reading and writing with the first structure because...actually, I don't know why, I just do!

But what are your takes on this distinction? Is the first structure actually that difficult to read? Maybe I'm the odd minority that prefers the first over the second and I just didn't know about it for years...

This is a great explanation

 

[ThrillingHuman]

The best is ()
"you're red" (banana)
"I know" (apple)
...

 

[FebyA]

I use #1 most of the time for dialogues.
If the setting is clear and it's clear who's speaking, then I let the readers imagine their expressions and body language as the characters speak. I only use minimal description.

Except if I want a slow pace or a dramatic scene, I don't think I ever use #2. It's too slow and is something I'd automatically skim through.