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

[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.