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How to Indicate a Spoken Word Being Dragged Out in Creative Writing

Creative writing has its own set of rules when it comes to dialogue. There is a great deal of leeway for writing in regional dialects, indicating the accent of the speaker or putting emphasis on particular words. One tool available to the creative writer is the ability to indicate a spoken word being dragged out by inserting extra letters into the word. This dialogue tool should be used sparingly, but it can be effective. It's often used to indicate shouting a single word, or to show hesitation: "Yes" is much more decisive than a hesitant, "Yeeees." Below are some pointers for how you can indicate a spoken word being dragged out in your creative writing.

Things You'll Need

  • Paper
  • Computer with word-processing program
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Instructions

    • 1

      Write the word the way it sounds. If, in your story, a character yells, "Stop!" and you want to indicate it being drawn out, write it like it would sound out loud: "Stoooop!" It's doubtful someone would shout that word and emphasize something other than the "o": "Stopppp!" isn't realistic.

    • 2

      Concentrate on vowels. Most words that get dragged out concentrate on a vowel: "Stooop," "Nooo," "Soooo" for example. There are, however, notable exceptions. J.R.R. Tolkien often used "s" emphasis when Gollum spoke in "The Lord of the Rings." Gollum would always refer to "My Precioussss." Hard consonants, like a "t" or "b," are unlikely candidates for being dragged out.

    • 3

      Keep the additional letters to a minimum. "Noooo" vs. "Noooooooooooo": the first is every bit as effective as the second in telling the reader that this bit of dialogue should be dragged out. There is no need to be excessive when using additional letters to indicate this type of speech.

    • 4

      Exercise restraint when indicating a word being dragged out. Think of using this technique the same way you would use an exclamation point--sparingly. When you do use it, the impact will be that much more effective. Instead, use the text outside the dialogue to indicate the speaker's vocalization: "No," she said, her voice trailing to a whisper.

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