Friday 27 June 2014

Getting the balance right in dialogue

Dialogue is art form and over-writing can easily ruin a story so it is worth bearing in mind that less is often more.

But we also have to steer the reader a little. For example
Good morning, Fred, I said as I walked past.
Whats good about it? he grunted and ambled down the street.

Suddenly, with one two line exchange, we can start to build up a picture of Fred:

He is grumpy

He is rude

He is curt

He is pessimistic

He rejects friendship

Or is he? Perhaps this needs more. That’s where the writer’s skill come in, to guide the reader towards better understanding, perhaps adding in extra dialogue or putting in some body language to make it clearer, while not overdoing it.

John Dean

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