Dialogue is one of the most important and also one of the most difficult aspects of a story. That is because dialogue is such a common occurrence in readers’ lives. Just as badly done animation of people is creepy, badly written dialogue comes off as fake and vaguely menacing. There is nothing worse to read than a […]
March 29, 2013 by 20 Comments Dialogue2 Steps to Streamlining Your Dialogue
This post is by Don McNair. Not long ago I was a guest at a writing group’s critiquing session. Five members distributed pages they wanted critiqued and, one by one, read their submissions. When the third reader started, I glanced over her pages. Every piece of dialogue was at least eight to ten lines long, and some reached a […]
August 1, 2012 by 21 Comments DialogueDon’t Forget the Dialogue
For many of us, dialogue is one of the most enjoyable parts to write in any story—which makes it kind of surprising that we can sometimes end up neglecting it to a story’s detriment. Today, I’d like to use as an example one of C.S. Forester’s little-known works, Rifleman Dodd. This is a tiny book […]
March 30, 2012 by 10 Comments DialogueWhen Arguments Are a Good Thing: Conflict in Dialogue
Most authors and their readers will agree that nothing beats a good bout of dialogue. Witty, poignant, romantic, angry—it’s all good. We all love it when characters open their big mouths and let fly. But creating good dialogue isn’t as easy as saying the first thing that pops to mind. Good dialogue is all about […]
January 25, 2012 by 33 Comments DialogueHow to Choose Between a Big Word and a Small Word
The debate between the worthiness of 25-cent words versus 100-dollar words is ongoing among authors. Some argue that simplicity is always best, if only because we can’t risk confusing readers with unfamiliar language. Others want to embrace the full scope of the English vocabulary and utilize impressive and specific big words. This is an argument […]
November 9, 2011 by 23 Comments DialogueAre Your Dialogue Beats Repetitious?
Even the most scintillating dialogue scenes require more than just dialogue to stay afloat. They need dialogue beats—and good ones at that. You must pad the characters’ speech with dialogue tags (he said, she whispered, etc.), internal narrative, and body language and action—otherwise known as action beats. Often dialogue beats will flow naturally from the […]
August 10, 2011 by 21 Comments DialogueAvoiding Info Dumps in Dialogue
Dialogue is one of the most exciting and fun bits to write in any story, not only because it gives you the opportunity to hear your characters speak, but also because it’s one of the prime breeding grounds for conflict. However, this only works if you’re avoiding info dumps in dialogue. The trick to good […]
March 16, 2011 by 37 Comments DialogueHow to Use Dialogue to Avoid Lengthy Info Dumps
Stories are about sharing information with readers. This information can be anything from the main character’s mysterious former life as a trapeze artist to something really technical, such as how to disarm a nuclear weapon… or in the case of Neal Stephenson’s science-fiction tome Anathem, heavy-duty mathematics and philosophy. The trick for any author is […]
March 14, 2011 by 8 Comments DialogueWant Fantastic Dialogue? Flee These 6 Fearsome Fillers
The oft-quoted recommendation to make your dialogue as realistic as possible is sometimes the worst advice imaginable. The next time you’re in a conversation—or, even better, eavesdropping on someone else’s conversation—draw back a bit and evaluate what you’re hearing. Those “ums,” “you knows,” and “so, likes…” that pepper our everyday speech may be realistic, but […]
November 8, 2010 by Leave a Comment DialogueSubtext in Dialogue: 5 Places Where Your Characters Should Stop Talking
Dialogue is all about getting things said—usually important things: “I am your father.” “You can’t handle the truth!” “To be or not to be, that is the question.” “Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” We spend a lot of time polishing our dialogue and learning how to make […]
