Do You Indent Dialogue

If you're fiddling with Vim's indentation and want precise control, the trio I reach for is :set shiftwidth, :set tabstop, and :set softtabstop. shiftwidth (sw) controls how many spaces a single indentation level uses for operations like >>, <<, and automatic indentation. I usually do :setlocal shiftwidth=4 for projects that use four-space indents. tabstop (ts) sets how many spaces a literal TAB character displays as; use :set tabstop=4 to make existing tabs line up visually with your intended width. softtabstop (sts) affects insert-mode behavior: :set softtabstop=4 makes pressing Backspace or Tab behave like you're working with 4-space logical tabs even if actual file uses tabs. A couple of other practical commands I keep in my .vimrc: :set expandtab to insert spaces instead of real tabs (or :set noexpandtab to keep tabs), :set autoindent to keep the previous line's indentation, and :set cindent or :set smartindent for C-like auto-indenting. If you want the changes to apply only to the current buffer, use :setlocal sw=2 ts=2 sts=2. To reformat an entire file after changing settings, I often run gg=G to reindent the whole buffer, or :retab to convert tabs to spaces (or the reverse with :retab!). These little tweaks saved me hours when I was switching between Python, Makefiles, and Go projects.

Dialogue, in the realm of Anime, Comics, Games, and Novels (ACGN), serves many pivotal roles. It’s the primary mode of communication between characters and a key instrument in immersing the reader or viewer into the story. It's kind of like the heart of a story. In dialogue, characters reveal their identities, thoughts, feelings, and relationships to others. Notably, dialogue can also be used to advance the plot and expose essential aspects of the story that images or actions cannot convey alone. Take 'Death Note,' for instance, a lot of the tension and drama are carriеd out through dialogues. Addressing dialogue specifically in Games, it can serve as a narrative tool, allowing players to engage with the characters and their surroundings more deeply. Who can forget the iconic line in Final Fantasy VII Advent Children - 'I'm not a hero. Never was. I'm just an old killer, hired to do some wet work.' The dialogue expresses Cloud's self-image succinctly, setting the tone for his character. Lastly, an elegantly written dialogue can also reveal the creative expertise and genius of the writer.

Okay, here's a practical and friendly way I handle Vim's auto-indent when I need it out of the way for a few moments. If I just want to paste something without Vim reformatting it, I usually toggle paste mode: :set paste to turn it on, paste the text, then :set nopaste to go back. I often map a key for that so it’s painless, for example :set pastetoggle= or put in my config nnoremap :set paste! to flip it. Paste mode stops auto-indent, indentexpr, and other niceties, so your pasted code won't get mangled. If I need to disable automatic indentation for editing (not just pasting), I prefer buffer-local switches so I don’t mess with other files: :setlocal noautoindent nosmartindent nocindent and, if needed, :setlocal indentexpr= to clear any expression-based indent. To restore, use :setlocal autoindent smartindent cindent or reopen the buffer. Little tip: :set paste? shows whether paste is on. Personally, I use paste for quick fixes and :setlocal for longer edits — keeps things predictable and quiet during a frantic refactor.

To it's like dance related writing dialogue. It must be smooth and natural, effort by force. Don't bother with too many words of formality; instead, enter into speeches that mimic real-life interactions. Besides, keep in mind that people do not respond right away in actual speech. For example, they will hesitate, interject and, often, will even stutter. To make your dialogue sound more like the real thing, remember to include these elements. Always try to show, not tell. Instead of having a character say, "I'm angry!" you want to see it in what they say and how they act.

The art of dialogue, a critical feature in storytelling, cannot be overlooked. In this way, tell more convincing storylines, bringing what seems natural conversation up a notch. Double quotation marks appear at the start of a section of direct speech and punctuation goes before closing quotation marks. Where necessary, describe the particular thing that happens in a separate sentence. Paragraph breaks ought to be used whenever there's a change of speaker, or new quote commences. In a dialogue such as '“where are you going?” he asked. “To the library,” she said, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear,' action should be included after each speech. Never forget: Your dialogues should have a purpose--to advance the story, display your character's personality, or add tension. Mastering the art of dialogues is primarily a matter of practice, although with a knowledge of a few tricks one can make life easier. 'he said,' 'she replied,' 'asked the boy' etc., such words as these can help to identify speakers in dialogue. What's more, they should be placed gramatically significant places. To make your dialogue more interesting, don't forget to include action behind or in front of the spoken words. Every time there is a change in speaker or a new quote is used, break up your paragraphs. And rest assured: Dialogue must be in character, fit the mood, and convey the speaker's meaning. For example, •Thang lai, she muttered, biting her lip and getting up to go. The key to formatting dialogue is to use quotation marks at the start and finish of spoken words. i.e. '“It’s a beautiful song”, she said softly.' Also on that topic, each piece of dialogue is a new line. People need to remember that conversation is strategic; it must reveal something worth knowing about the story or characters. When set in context, '"I can't be with you anymore," he said, his voice choked with tears.' expresses not only distress but loss of hope: contrast this statement with '“We can't be together,” he argued.' Physical actions should be used sparingly; too much can be distracting in dialogue (which also irritates the reader). And each time a different character speaks--indeed, even when there is no dialogue at all, but another character takes over the narrative--give your paragraphs line breaks.

Man, that frustration is so real — I’ve been there. First thing I do is check whether vim even thinks it should indent: open the file and run :set filetype? and :verbose set autoindent. If filetype is empty or wrong, indent scripts won’t run. If :verbose shows autoindent being turned off by some script, that points to the culprit. Next, consider obvious toggles that silently kill indentation: if you’ve got 'set paste' enabled (or you toggled paste mode earlier with a mapping), indentation won’t behave. Also check whether you disabled 'autoindent', 'smartindent', or 'cindent' by mistake. Use :set paste? and :set autoindent? to inspect current state. If those look fine, source your vimrc manually (:source ~/.vimrc) and watch :messages for errors — a syntax error early in the file can stop the rest of the config from loading, so later indent settings never get applied. Also run vim -u NONE (or nvim -u NORC) to see if a vanilla session indents correctly; if it does, a plugin or a line in your vimrc is to blame. Useful commands: :scriptnames (shows loaded scripts), :verbose set shiftwidth? tabstop? expandtab? and checking ~/.vim/indent or plugin ftplugin files for overrides. If you want, paste the problematic snippet and I’ll poke at it with you.

Okay, this is the hot take I give my friends when they ask how to stop JavaScript files from turning into a jagged mess: treat indentation as a filetype thing, not a global, and use 2 spaces plus an actual JS-aware indent engine. I usually put this in my vimrc (or better, in ftplugin/javascript.vim): filetype plugin indent on autocmd FileType javascript,typescript setlocal shiftwidth=2 softtabstop=2 tabstop=2 expandtab autocmd FileType javascript,typescript setlocal autoindent smartindent Those lines give you consistent 2-space soft tabs (the de facto style for many JS projects) and rely on Vim's smartindent for basic braces. But honestly, for real-world code with ES6/JSX/template literals, install a javascript-indent plugin (like the popular one that provides an indentexpr) and let it set indentexpr for you; it handles arrow functions, template literals and some weird edge cases better than plain smartindent. I also map = to re-indent visually: vmap = = or use gg=G to reformat a whole file. Finally, I pair this with an on-save formatter — 'prettier' is my go-to — so even when teammates differ, my local formatting is predictable. If you want the exact plugin names or a sample ftplugin that runs Prettier on save, I can paste that too.

Honestly, getting Python auto-indent working in vim is one of those tiny victories that makes editing a joy. My go-to is to enable vim's filetype detection and then set sensible Python indentation rules in my config. Add these lines to your ~/.vimrc or init.vim for Neovim: filetype plugin indent on set autoindent set expandtab set shiftwidth=4 set softtabstop=4 set tabstop=4 The first line turns on filetype-specific plugins and indent scripts (this loads vim's python indent file). The rest make tabs into spaces and use four spaces per indent, which is the common Python convention. If you want the setting to apply only to Python buffers, drop the global lines into ~/.vim/ftplugin/python.vim and use setlocal instead of set. If indentation still feels off, check the buffer's filetype with :set filetype? and inspect loaded scripts with :scriptnames. I sometimes install a plugin like 'vim-python-pep8-indent' or use external formatters like 'black' called via a formatter plugin to normalize whitespace. Try opening a .py and typing an indented block — it should behave. If not, tell me what output :set filetype? and :verbose set shiftwidth? give and we can debug further.