A Quick Question!

[clear-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

Hi everyone,

I believe this is my first time posting here.

I just had a question for anyone who may be able to assist me.

I'm currently working on a novel (fiction - thriller). The opening chapter is to begin with a 911 call being placed by a woman in distress. The novel is written in third-person perspective, past tense. So, how would the conversation take place?

Every time I try to play it out, I think of news segments or scripts in which it is written something like this:

Dispatch: 911, what's your emergency?
Caller: Someone's been shot.
Dispatch: Who's been shot? Where are you calling from?
...etc.

This, obviously, won't work in my novel...so...what are my options?

Any and all advice, criticism and/or opinions are welcomed and appreciated.

Thanks!

Comments

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

Well, you write it from the POV of the character in the scene, just like any other scene in a story.

[clear-sarcasm.livejournal.com]

it's a third-person POV; not first-person. So I can't change perspectives?

[clover71.livejournal.com]

you can still write it on a third person POV, but it can either be third person limited (writing through one character's perspective, but you can change perspectives from one character to another but it's best to do it by scene) or third person omniscient (writing through a narrator's perspective - meaning the narrator sees all).

you should, of course, write the dialogue part in sentence form. try describing what's happening and inserting the dialogue appropriately. i.e:

(insert name of character here) paced around the (room/ alley/ wherever the character may be), phone pressed against her ear. She was relieved when a voice came through. "911 emergency, may i help you?"

"Someone's been shot" were the words that instantly left her mouth.

"Who's been shot?" The voice remained calm and in control. "Where are you calling from?"

something like that... hope this helps.

[greenwillow27.livejournal.com]

You can write it 3rd person and choose which of those characters you want the POV to be (caller or dispatcher)OR just write it 3rd person omniscient.
Also I think the first think a 911 dispatcher asks is the callers name and location.

[thebonedawg.livejournal.com]

Joe Shmoe frantically dialed 9-1-1.

"What is your emergency?" the dispatcher asked dutifully.

"Someone's been shot!" Joe gasped into the phone.

"Who's been shot?" the dispatcher prompted calmly. "Where are you calling from?"

That is in 3rd person and past tense, so something along those lines could work. I hope this helps. Good luck with your novel.

[misstumbledown.livejournal.com]

I can't see how that wouldn't work just like any other dialogue, unless by "third person" you mean that you're out of your character's head and the narrator can't hear the other end of the conversation. In that case, I think that the readers don't have to hear the dispatch and the woman's part of the conversation is enough for them to gather what's going on.

Also, if you want to know what a 911 call looks like, call them from a payphone and pretend that someone's been shot. That's what I did, but I'm not from the US and I think that prank calls like those are illegal, so, er... you might as well stick with what you have ^^

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

YEah. This is illegal and, more importantly, wrong. 911 dispatchers are there to save lives, not amuse you.

[tracy-d74.livejournal.com]

If you want to get genuine 911 dialogue, call the police department and ask to speak with an officer who knows or find out when you can speak with an offi duty 911. The written example of the dialogue flow above is the way to go. 3rd person just means you are narrating. But if you want readers to connect with someone,you need to pick a speaker for the scene. and just report how they see/experience the situation.

[xtricks.livejournal.com]

You can probably also google '911 call' or similar and get either transcrpts or recordings.