Three Character Dialogue?

I don't think you need to specify who is talking to whom in this way.

"My name is Owen. And you are?" He extended his hand to a fellow in the yellow jacket.
"Name's Ted." A woman sat on her own in the next row. Ted touched her elbow. "Fashion shows, huh? No name tags!"
She looked up. "Oh, Beth." She smiled. "Looks like I'm the only woman here!"
"Don't worry, Beth," Owen said. "It's a fashion show and it's still early."

It's pre-10am here, sorry But I think you can move around the speakers without stating explicitly. Actions are important in dialogue.

justlukeyou said:

Thanks, what if this conversation went on for five minutes?

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As with all dialogue, attribute it (or give some action that attributes it) where the speaker is unclear. But I don't think you need to keep reidentifying everyone. If three people are having a conversation, chances are they are each talking to both of the others. If they're making a point of singling someone out, there are various ways you can treat that.

"So Ted, what do you do?"

"I love these shows." She narrowed her eyes on Ted. "Don't you?"

etc.

Hopefully, as the conversation goes on, you can develop voices distinct enough to be identified even if the speaker is not stated explicitly.

justlukeyou said:

Hi,

I am struggling with something. Lets say 3 characters are holding a conversation how would I display this on the page?

Would I just use:

Owen: "My name is Owen, what's your name?" looking at the other male.
Ted: "My name is Ted, what's your name lady?"
Beth: "My name is Beth. I notice I'm the only female here".
Owen: "Don't worry Beth. It's a fashion show and it's still early. I'm sure more people will turn up."

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Are you writing a sceen play or a novel/short story? Because I've never seen dialog handled this way in prose fiction.

If it's for a novel or short story, pick up a novel and short story to see how dialog is handled. If it's a screenplay, I wouldn't know, never having read one. But I definitely would read some before I tried to write one

What's been said, plus: Continuing to mention character's names inside the dialogue comes off as really stilted and artificial. People generally don't talk the way they do in your example.

caw

Here are links to some articles about writing dialog.

What is dialogue?

Punctuation in dialogue.

Use and misuse of dialogue tags

Bad dialogue

25 things you should know about dialog (it's Chuck Wendig, so it will be profane at times)

This probably won't make you happy, but read more (and pay attention to how this is handled). You can find numerous examples of dialogue between three or more people in both novel and screenplay form (still not sure which you're doing).

Dialogue tips can help you, but you'll get the best feel for it by reading.

In most conversations that I have been in, there's typically one person leading, another person reflecting, and the others are waiting their turns. It's not like they all take equal turns. When the others add in, they are either leaders or reflectors.

I keep this in mind when I write more than two people in a conversation.

justlukeyou said:

Hi,

I am struggling with something. Lets say 3 characters are holding a conversation how would I display this on the page?

Would I just use:

Owen: "My name is Owen, what's your name?" looking at the other male.
Ted: "My name is Ted, what's your name lady?"
Beth: "My name is Beth. I notice I'm the only female here".
Owen: "Don't worry Beth. It's a fashion show and it's still early. I'm sure more people will turn up."

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Are you asking how to structure it?

Something like this (taking some liberties with your example):

Owen extended his hand to the man next to him. "I'm Owen."

"Ted." But Ted only had eyes for the woman. "What's your name, lady?"

The lady offered him a dismissive glance. "My name is Beth. And why am I the only woman here?"

"It's still early," Owen said, smiling. "I'm sure more people will turn up."

Click to expand...

What are you writing and what do you mean by 'display on the page'?

And is that dialogue just made up for the question?