Dialogue isnt so much read as it is heard by the reader. The eyes see the words on the page, the brain processes the thought, but then that little voice we all have in the back of our head becomes the character and actually says the words.
We immediately hear those words and decide whether the dialogue | | is legitimate. We decide whether the character, as we know him or her so far, would actually talk that way. If we dont know the character at all, we use a very broad baseline and decide whether wed accept a stranger on the street talking that way.
So to develop a winning technique for writing dialogue, youve got to listen to the way people speak. Family members, relatives, strangers, people on the telephone. What do they sound like
Youll notice that they almost all speak in short sentences. Two, perhaps three sentences at the most before they expect someone else to chime in.
Their paragraphs really do focus on just one thought or idea.
Our society abhors a vacuum, so a pause happens between speakers, not in the middle of one-persons thought. Thats also why a pause can be one of the most powerful dialogue tools when its used in a play. The audience wants someone to say something, anything, to relieve the level of anticipation.
When people speak, they use simple language. Yes, Ive know a few people who can speak wonderfully with an extensive vocabulary and make it sound totally natural. But thats the exception. Make your dialogue very simplistic.
If you actually transcribed what people say as they talk, and then read it a few days later, youd really have a tough time understanding what they were saying. The ums, the ahs, the tics, the embarrassed laughter, the stops and starts. Theyd actually read like idiots.
But when we listen to those people, we filter out all that verbal debris. So when you write dialogue, dont include it. You become the debris filter. Your dialogue doesnt become more realistic simply because the character reads like an imbecile unless you want your character to actually come across that way.
Unless youre writing a play, keep dialogue to an absolute minimum. Dont tell, show. Dont have a character explain a situation if describing the scene that does the same thing.
Also, people dont talk to themselves out loud, and their inner thoughts rarely take the form of dialogue. Youll have to come up with a solution to that one for your story. An excellent example of this is the movie Castaway, with Tom Hanks.
It isnt until we need some explanation that Wilson, a companion volleyball, makes an appearance.
Accents are fun, and Mark Twain received high praise as a writer who finally wrote the way people spoke.
But if you have a lot of dialogue, a heavy southern accent can become tiresome on the printed page. Tell the reader the character speaks with a southern accent and let them mentally fill in the drawl.
Fi |
| | are fun, and Mark Twain received high praise as a writer who finally wrote the way people spoke.
But if you have a lot of dialogue, a heavy southern accent can become tiresome on the printed page. Tell the reader the character speaks with a southern accent and let them mentally fill in the drawl.
Finally, keep the he saids, and she saids to a minimum. At any point in great dialogue the reader should know whos talking without much assistance from the author.
About The Author
Steve Manning is a master writer showing thousands of people how they can write their book faster than they ever thought possible. Here's your free Special Report, http://www.WriteABookNow.com/main.html.
This article was posted on November 21, 2006 |
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