|
Welcome to The Verb!
 And
then there's the conversation.
Ever notice what happens
when you come across quotation marks? You perk up. You read faster. Despite
the delicate creation of the fictional world, and all that dwells within it, nothing is as
interesting as
the words that come out of characters' mouths.
And I have to
tell you, when I see no dialogue in the first few pages of a manuscript,
I become concerned. Why can't I hear her say that? Why can't I see
that acted out? Is this summarization of events and conversations going
to be a pattern?
 The
technical term is telling, not showing. And most every
storyteller out there knows it's a writing sin. Not because it'll make
you go blind, but because it'll make your readers feel detached. Bored.
Dialogue, on
the other hand, is active, unfiltered and, thanks to quotation marks,
visually separate from the rest of the text. It easily draws in readers
and places them there, in the moment. They receive vital information and
witness raw emotion straight from the mouth. Therefore they
immediately feel. They don't have to rely on explanations.
It's the
difference between someone telling you how it feels to ride a roller
coaster, and you riding it yourself.
So whatever
you do, embrace dialogue. It is essential in bringing your story
to life. But also remember that not any dialogue will do.
THE BIG DON'Ts
1. Don't
engage in idle chit-chat. The goal of dialogue is to reveal
character and to advance the story. Hearing characters order breakfast
or discuss the weather only tires your reader. And takes up precious
space.
2. Don't
illustrate dialects. It may be tempting to break down accents
phonetically, but these are difficult to read. It's more considerate to
alert readers to the particular accent, then leave the rest to
their imaginations. He had an Irish brogue.
3. Don't
channel your English teacher. People naturally speak in contractions,
fragments and run-on sentences. Let your dialogue reflect that. (I
promise, no one is going to whack you with a ruler or pull out a red
pen.) When we do Proofreads here at ReadingWriters, we never
correct dialogue (except misspelled words) because that's
the way the character talks. Period. And if you want to experience the
best ungrammatical dialogue in the world, read
Elmore Leonard.
4. Don't
write dialogue only. Narrative tells readers what characters are
doing as they speak, and what else may be occurring during the
conversation. The only way to do this with pure dialogue would be to have
characters describe their actions.
"And now,
Annabelle, I am going to open this door and enter our house."
"Yes, Sam,
I will follow you inside with this basket of tomatoes I'm holding and close the door
behind me."
Awkward.
5. Don't
preach. Never ever let characters get on a soapbox and ramble for
pages. Even if they're ministers or lawyers. Speeches, if they must be
made, should be as succinct as possible. Break them up with actions or
interruptions from others. This way, the character won't appear to be
such a windbag.
THE BIG DOs
1. Do
write scenes with dialogue only. Yes, this is also listed in the
Don'ts, but in this case, it's an exercise meant for your eyes only. After
you've completed the dialogue scene, let it set for a few days.
When you come back to it, focus on decreasing the amount of words in each
sentence. How little can one say and still provide vital information
and/or emotion? Tighten those lines!
2. Do give
characters a distinct voice. An elderly sea captain is not going to
speak like an elderly science professor, and a thirty-something mom is
not going to sound like a teenage cheerleader. Take the time to discover
how your characters speak, and what they say will be even
more powerful.
3. Do use
attributions. These simple, almost invisible terms are needed now
and then to clarify who's talking. But don't rely on them to express
emotion. None of that he lamented ferociously or she exhorted
loudly. That'll only make readers giggle. He said, she
said is perfectly fine.
4. Do read
your conversations out loud. You may hear these lines in your head, but
you'll never detect the rhythm, the pauses, the inflections or the
repeats until you hear them with your ears. And don't be shy about
sharing. It's always fun to have family and friends read your work.
5. Do know
the format. Perfectly executed dialogue not only flows across the
page, it screams professional storyteller here! Never
underestimate the importance of proper punctuation.
 One
would think
that a storyteller's easiest task would be the construction of
conversation. After all, we've been talking most of our lives.
But the words that
come out of our mouths aren't the same as those that come out of our
characters'. Dialogue has a specific job to do, and that requires
careful planning. It may never equal the eloquence of, say, Shakespeare, but it can
most assuredly reach the height of memorable.
Elizabeth Guy
Editor
 |
\
