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Hi everyone,
Last month I started to discuss some applications for dialogue in our short stories. We've really only scratched the surface as to uses of dialogue in short fiction, and I expect that everything else I have to add is just the tip of the iceberg.
Have you ever read a passage of dialogue that felt really wooden to you? I am sure we've all read-- and written!-- such dialogue at one time or another. What makes certain patches of dialogue seem unreal or unconvincing?
Some possible symptoms include:
 Trying to do too much in too little space: this happens most often when a character's dialogue is intended to convey too much information in one really really long sentence. Break this up by piecing the information out more gradually over the conversation and show more about the scene around the characters in the conversation.
Irrelevant, weird, or pointless information that doesn't move the story along: I find this happens most often with characters who have a "history" for the writer. There are a lot of times where this kind of detail can be overdone, leaving a new reader totally unaware of what is going on in the scene. Hinting at past events and situations in dialogue is a great way to show past history between characters, but it is very easy to get carried away by irrelevance. Keep the details specific and straightforward, even when they are just hints.
The conversation doesn't seem to go anywhere: maybe it doesn't belong in this story, or in this part of the story. Maybe it's your characters trying to tell you what ought to happen next, regardless of the scene you were intending to write at the time. It happens like this sometimes-- we set out for a scene to handle a specific plot detail and it turns on us. Try writing the scene as it comes to you instead of trying to shoehorn it into a different structure and you might be surprised what you get back from it.
Feedback loop: sometimes I have times where my characters seem to get stuck in a cycle of saying the same things over and over to one another. To me, this is usually a sign that I'm getting bored or frustrated with the material and need to either change something, add something, or take something out!
Always remember to use good punctuation practices with dialogue, too-- I see a lot of writing where the dialogue looks sloppier than it really is simply because the author did not use punctuation, or used incorrect punctuation.
"You always want to capitalize the first word of the sentence and use correct punctuation inside of the quotation marks," the editor said. "When you end a sentence with a line of dialogue, a period belongs at the end."
Until Next Month,
Take care and Write on!
~j |
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From last month's editorial: "Dialogue as a Story Medium"
atwhatcost writes:
"Do you feel like you have trouble with dialogue? Why or why not?"
I have a question about dialogue. I now know I should remove as many -ly words, -ing words, "as," and passive verbs, but even in dialogue? That may be how we're supposed to write, but people don't talk like we're supposed to write.
Yes, even in dialogue.  Remember that we don't read like we talk. Passive voice is more OK here than in other parts of writing, but remember that you always want to encourage forward motion for you reader at all times, and passive voice delays that. It's OK to use passive voice in mannerisms for specific characters, but it gets weird quick if there is too much of it.
billwilcox writes:
~j~
Excellent newsletter on dialogue. You know it and do it so well 
Aw shucks, Bill! Now you're makin' me
Ducttape Knight  writes:
Dialogue can be tricky sometimes. If I'm writing a scene and find a groove with my characters, I tend to start writing down their conversation, and nothing else. Then it's just a matter of going back in and adding in whatever tags or actions it needs to become a complete scene. It can get hard when I end up with 4 or more characters speaking though.
Yeah, I find it's easiest to do this technique for two characters as a way of building important scenes, but I certainly couldn't do this for the whole story. And outside of stories specifically written to be dialogue-only, I always go back in to flesh them out later!
writergal20} writes:
A great topic for your letter! I love using dialogue in my stories, creates separation between long descriptive paragraphs and gives the characters their own voice.
Yes, dialogue is one essential way to craft real and believable characters and I think it is a pretty important way for characters and readers to become connected.
Ladyoz submits the following with this comment:
Thanks for a wonderful article!
Thank you for a great link! Everyone should check this item out today.
chopstixd writes:
Good advice on dialog. I'd like to add a couple of things.
When editing dialog, don't edit for grammar or style, edit for character.
Example: Prepositional phrases often substitute for terminology. I give educated characters and third person narrators precise vocabulary; less educated characters pad nouns with prepositional phrases.
While watching movies and TV pay close attention to dialog. The pros in Hollywood are pros for a reason.
Stix.
Good points, Stix! I would like to add that film and television dialogue have a few disconnects from short story dialogue because of the necessity of exposition, but it's a lot more direct than even real-life conversation, which is a good model.
Until next month,
Take care and Write on!
~j
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Short Stories: May 04, 2011 Issue [#4378]
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