Getting the dialogue right

Dialogue is crucial because good dialogue can make a story, bad dialogue can wreck it. So how do you get it right when your characters open their mouth? Well, how about this for a start?

* A lot of the time, we do not speak in correct sentences/we often use short sharp phrases/we interrupt each other/we assume a lot about each other. If that is how people speak then it is how characters must speak in stories

* Keep your dialogue crisp - we can tell a lot about a person in a short snap of conversation

* Dialogue must take the story on (the exception is small talk when the story needs it)

* Do not pack dialogue with extraneous information unless it is necessary to reflect on the character, showing that they are a wordy person with a scatterbrain mind

* Make sure every line does its job - a bit of information, we learn something about the character, it creates a mood etc. If you find yourself writing dialogue to fill space, cut it out!

 

John Dean

VIve le difference in dialogue

Dialogue is crucial to good storytelling but characters should not sound like each other. Not in speech and not in thought. That confuses the reader., So how do you make characters sound different?

Well, for a start, use different words Characters can have their own slang, favourite expressions, favourite profanities. Or use different sentence patterns. Let one character use short sentences, another longer ones.

Perhaps allow one character to use clipped speech or incomplete thoughts. Maybe create characters who take forever to say what they need to say. Rambling speech or thought can bore the reader, so be judicious with its use. But do use it if it fits a character.

If you can write humour, let one character be the lighter one.

Or have characters pay attention to different things—some will note their surroundings, some will not. Use what they notice to differentiate characters.

Whatever you do, celebrate the differences in them.
John Dean

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.
“What’s 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