: Dialogue in Short Stories This question is regarding the formation of dialogue in a short story. Can dialogue in a short story be formed the way they are formed in a play? Example: Teacher (sternly): What are you doing,

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Dialogue is dialogue. There are established conventions which readers know for defining dialogue within test.

Why you want to challenge these conventions - only God knows. There is no point in changing convention for stylistic reasons.

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You can format dialog any way you like. Keep in mind that non-standard forms require you to make extra efforts to make sure readers understand (1) this is dialog and (b) who's speaking now. Playwriting conventions are clear about both those things.

However, you don't want the form of the work (including the form of the dialog) to get in the way of the story. Some forms distract too much, and your idea might be one of those.

Proceed with caution.