I love writing dialogue. This following information for this post was written by Author
Millie Criswell. (It didn't have a copywrite on it so I figured it could be used on the blog; besides, I'm giving her proper credit so she won't be upset. LOL)
Sorry I didn't come up with something brilliant of my own, but I'm not that good, or that organized in my life, or my thoughts. LOL Thanks for understanding.
Avoiding Dialogue Pitfalls
By
Millie CriswellI adore writing dialogue. This could be because I'm a control freak and love putting words into other peoples' mouths, or the fact that dialogue flows easily and tends to quicken the pace of a book much more effectively than narrative. It's also a great way to hook a reader. That first spoken line says a lot about what the reader can expect.
"Jake Steele, you son of a bitch! You sneakin', connivin' dirty bastard!"
Immediately, the reader is plunged into the story and learns that Jake's in big trouble. Hopefully, they'll be curious enough to keep reading to find out why.
Without good dialogue a book and its characters fall flat. No matter how brilliant your plot, if the reader doesn't care about your characters, your book is going nowhere, except, perhaps, in the trash.
So how do we characterize our fictional people to make them seem real and make readers care?
First, we give these characters great dialogue. And I'm not talking about conversation, because conversation is not dialogue, it's an exchange of information.
Dialogue is dramatic. It makes a point and moves the story forward. It can be used to create tension when illustrating an argument between two people, set a mood or establish a setting, as in a love scene — breathless, sexy and romantic.
Dialogue gives substance and dimension to characters; it makes them realistic — flesh and blood people that readers can like and identify with. The way a character speaks is a reflection of his personality. His choice of words, tempo and modulation of voice are all indicators of the type of person he is and will serve to convey the emotional state he's in at the time.
When writing a novel, how you say something is as important as what you say. When a character speaks it should reflect the sum parts of who that character is — his socioeconomic background, where he was raised, his level of sophistication, et cetera. An affluent character raised in New York City is going to talk much differently than a cowboy from Texas, for example. I'm sure many of you have read a historical romance where the dialogue sounds too contemporary for the time period. This jars the reader and makes her take pause.
Of course, characters often change and evolve from the beginning to the end of a book. They can become kinder, meaner, self-indulgent or violent, and these changes must be reflected in their dialogue. Through the use of dialogue, the writer can foreshadow what might occur or give hints that the character isn't at all what he seems, thus creating even more tension.
Dialogue tags are often used at the end of sentences to indicate who is speaking. "I love chocolate," Millie said, her mouth stuffed with Milk Duds. However, the writer should strive to make the characters so unique and different that those differences are reflected in the speech patterns they use, so they are instantly recognizable without the tags.
"Really, Mr. Arthur, your language is atrocious."
"Sorry, ma'am. I weren't raised like you and I don't talk too fancy."
In this example, it's not difficult to tell who is speaking because what they say and how they say it reflects their status in life, upbringing, educational level, etc.
A good trick to see if your dialogue is effective is to read it aloud. Oftentimes, the ear is better at picking out inconsistencies than the eye. When you hear good dialogue you know it immediately. An example is the book/ movie, Steel Magnolias. The author knows his subjects well and that in-depth knowledge comes across brilliantly in their speech. When an exasperated Louisa yells at her neighbor, "You're a boil on the butt of humanity!" that pretty much sums up her feelings on the matter, and we, the reader/viewer, know it.
When creating dialogue, vary how your characters talk. Keep the sentences short and punchy, not long and drawn out, unless that speech pattern typifies the individual. And not every question asked requires an answer. In fact, you can ratchet up the tension by what's not being said. Or you can have a third character butt in and answer the first character's question, which can be an effective way to introduce a new character.
Dialogue can also be used to provide background information or bring the reader up to date. By having your characters speak, you can show instead of tell. And you can provide information about other characters by having them discussed in conversation.
Dialogue is a good way to break up long paragraphs of narrative and keep the pace of the book moving. If your plot bogs down, you can perk it back up by having your characters ask a few pertinent questions that can get things rolling again.
For me, writing dialogue has always been much easier than writing narrative. But there are several things to avoid:
Repetition: Having your characters rehash the same information over and over again is boring. Say it right the first time, and then let it go. Readers don't need to be hit over the head countless times when you're trying to make a point.
Idle chitchat: Dialogue should move the story forward. If your characters are standing around shooting the breeze about nothing in particular, then nothing is happening in your story. It's stagnant, boring, and that's the kiss of death.
Inappropriate speech patterns: Having your character speak in a way that is totally…well, out of character for him is a no-no. I once read a book where a real macho blue-collar kind of guy called his girlfriend "darling." Well, every time I read that, it jarred me. I thought, no way; this guy would never say that.
Stilted conversation: Have your character speak in a way that is natural and convincing. Use contractions to make your speech patterns more realistic or slang expressions when appropriate. Very rarely do we speak in complete sentences, and your characters shouldn't either.
Writing dialogue is fun. The more you do it, the better you'll get at it. Listen to the dialogue going on around you, the inflections of voice, the speech patterns, and then let your characters speak for themselves. You'll be surprised at how much they have to say.
Okay, Piper here, again...
Do you like writing dialogue or do you hate it? Is it hard for you, or does it help move you through your story easier?
Like I said at the beginning of this post, I love writing dialogue. It's so much easier for me than any other part of writing. Whether it's internal or external dialogue doesn't matter to me, as long as someone's talking. Narrative is so much harder for me. It comes a lot slower to my brain, but dialogue shouts out at me.
Merry Christmas to all of you, or Happy Winter if you don't celebrate Christmas. :)
