Dialogue – The
Workhorse of the Story
By Gayle Bartos-Pool
Dialogue is the workhorse of the novel, short story, and screenplay. Even
Silent Movies had dialogue. Dialogue performs several functions. It provides: Character Development; Plot Advancement, and Action or Movement.
In other words: It brings the
story to life.
Dialogue Enhances (Describes) the
Character – How a character speaks and acts says a lot more about him or
her than just the words. Dialogue tells the place of birth, type of education, her
temperament, his soul. Speech patterns denote character just as costumes do for
an actor whether it’s a stammer or a dialect.
“Honey, somethin’s happened to yer
livin’ room. Did ya’ll get another dawg?”
Dialogue Advances the Plot –
and Provides Pacing – Good dialogue always adds something to the plot, whether
it builds tension, relieves tension, imparts needed information to the other
characters (and the reader), animates the story, thus moving it along; or even
slows down the pace when you need a breather.
“Why’d
you get out of the fund?”
“Frankly,
I was scared. They played too rough.”
“They?”
That got my attention. “Who’s they?
Does Racine have a partner?”
Dialogue provides real time action.
You are in the room with the characters as they speak. You are eavesdropping or
right in the middle of the conversation. Or the character might be speaking
directly to you. And dueling dialogue between opposing characters brings the
reader right into the action. But note: as the argument gets more heated, the length
of the sentences gets shorter.
“I never loved my
wife!”
“Did you kill her?”
“No!”
Dialogue gets you Up-Close and
Personal – Provides Tone and Mood while it brings the reader into the
story. – How the words are delivered sets the verbal stage on which the scene
is set; a whisper denotes mood just like a rant.
I lowered my voice before asking her my next
question. “Do you outrank him?”
“No, I sleep with him,” Trin whispered.
Remember: A character blurting out
information that advances the plot is far more interesting than a long
narrative description. But note: Dialogue is the illusion of conversation.
In order to know how a character speaks or acts, or even the words he
uses, you must get to know your characters…intimately.
First, make the characters seem real to you as well as to your readers.
Let them speak to you and trust them. Most writers will tell you they actually
“hear” their characters, and it is that particular “voice” that makes a
character unique.
Archie Wright’s the name. Dishing dirt’s the
game. My sandbox: Hollywood. The most glamorous and glitzy, vicious, and
venomous playground in the world. If you come for a visit, bring your sunscreen
and your shark repellant.
Make a character sound different from the other characters with him by
adding: a dialect or a foreign accent or words to denote an education or lack
thereof. Add rhythm to their speech to show how the person is thinking at the
time: hesitation vs. rapid-fire. Word
choice might show a character’s education level, but keep it consistent; a
drugged out biker probably won’t quote Shakespeare, but a professor in prison might quote Hamlet.
Speech should: Move the plot along
by telling us something about the character; convey information about the plot;
add to the mood; change the POV to get another character’s side; and add to the
reality of the piece. Just make sure somebody (a character or the reader)
learns something new during any conversation. But if something is conspicuously
held back, make sure it is found in the next chapter or at least by the end of
the story.
If there is no purpose to the dialogue, rewrite it or dump it.
“Larry and I didn’t have children. We had
two ‘vipers’ instead, just to be different. And to tell you the truth, if they
didn’t kill their father, they hired someone to do it. But their funds are
limited now. They’ll have to do the deed themselves.”
Language &
Body Language
Simple gestures describe the characters more fully than words alone.
Instead of: “Go ahead. Date my ex-wife!”
he shouted. Try: “Go ahead. Date my
ex-wife,” he said while slamming his fist into the wall.
Body language or Stage Business Helps Dialogue.
“I
love you,” he said.
She blew smoke in his face. “How
nice.”
Instead of a constant stream of he
said/she said, use stage directions to show how someone is reacting while
talking.
“I’m crazy about
you, too,” she said, looking at her watch.
Internal monologue can shake things up.
I couldn’t believe they found Brad’s body. I thought I
buried him deeper.
Things to
Avoid:
Expository dialogue: “As you know,
Fred…”
Pleasantries: “Hello. Nice weather
we’re having.”
Long speeches - Unless you’re Shakespeare; less is always more in
dialogue.
Adverbial action tags like: “I
loathe you,” she said fiercely. –
can be replaced with action: “I loathe
you,” she said, grinding her cigarette into the back of his hand. “Have a nice
day.” Instead of: he said gravely. Try: with
his head bowed he said...
Sometimes what the character doesn’t
say is important: “I knew you wouldn’t
care if I left you,” he said. She bit her lip.
Keep you, the writer, out of
the piece. Don’t let your thoughts get tangled with those of your characters.
Write a biography of your main characters, whether it’s a paragraph or a
page, describe who they are, where they came from, their background. Where a
character was “born,” went to school, and his neighborhood will dictate his
speech pattern, whether it’s a Southern drawl, a French accent, or a gangsta
rapper from the ‘hood.’
If you are having difficulty, start with a “stock character” straight
from central casting. If you want a villain, pick a character from some old
movie, like Edward G. Robinson, and than mold him into your own creation. You
can always find a picture in a magazine that fits the type of person you want
in a particular role. Cut the picture out and devise a background for him or
her.
If you know your characters, you can find their individual voice, even if
the character isn’t human. Dogs, cats and birds have found their way into great
stories.
After you have written your scene, read it aloud or have someone else
read it to you, or use one of the many software programs that reads your work
back to you. It will make a huge difference. You will hear things you didn’t
know you wrote (both good and bad) and you will pick up the redundancies and
misused words. And you just might find out how good you are at writing
dialogue.
Let your dialogue work for you. It has a lot to say.
