Read the sentence.

i told them how surprised and excited i was to have my painting selected, especially since i’d felt so incompetent at the beginning and i knew the competition was so ruthless.

which revision best uses dialogue to improve the sentence?

a) “yup, it was a big surprise,” i told them. “i’m excited that my painting was selected! especially since i felt so incompetent at the beginning and the competition was so ruthless.”
b) “honestly, i was surprised,” i told them truthfully. “the competition was ruthless, and i felt incompetent at the beginning. it’s really exciting to have my painting selected! ”
c) “i’m in! my painting is in! i feel a fist pump and a little dance coming on,” i said, grinning. i thought about how i felt so incompetent at the beginning because of the ruthless competition.
d) “did you hear? ” i asked them. “my painting got selected! exciting, right? ” i smiled. “especially given that i felt so incompetent at the beginning and that the competition was ruthless! ”