Consider the following excerpt:
Is it clear who's speaking? Is it Burje, or is it Tessica?
Quite early on I learned that to avoid confusion you should only mention one character in a dialogue beat. The reason for this would be to avoid confusion about who's actually talking. I've since taken this to mean that there should only be one primary actor in a beat. I'm not sure the terminology is correct, but the primary actor would be the one who is actively doing something.
In the example above Burje is leaving, and Tessica appears. The way I see it, Tessica is the primary actor and the mention of Burje leaving is just there to indicate when Tessica appears.
Does this make sense, or is it unclear/confusing?
“There we go.” As Burje left, Tessica appeared beside them. “Two ciders.” She set the mugs down on the table. “You good for everything else?
Is it clear who's speaking? Is it Burje, or is it Tessica?
Quite early on I learned that to avoid confusion you should only mention one character in a dialogue beat. The reason for this would be to avoid confusion about who's actually talking. I've since taken this to mean that there should only be one primary actor in a beat. I'm not sure the terminology is correct, but the primary actor would be the one who is actively doing something.
In the example above Burje is leaving, and Tessica appears. The way I see it, Tessica is the primary actor and the mention of Burje leaving is just there to indicate when Tessica appears.
Does this make sense, or is it unclear/confusing?