R.E.A.L. Dialogue

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WritingREAL Dialogue | 2008 Linda Leigh Hargrove | [email protected] | Page 1 of7

Writing REAL

Dialogue

Whos afraid of a little dialogue?Common dialogue fears

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My characters will sound stupid or weak2. My characters will all sound the same3. My dialogue will slow down the story

What fears do you have?

Ways to overcome the fears and how to fix the mistakes

o Know your characters (more about this later)o Listen to live dialogue. Record it on paper or on tape.o Read dialogue of published authors (vary the genre). Dissect it. What works? What

doesnt?

o Read your dialogue out loud and have someone else read it out loud. Althoughdialogue isnt really how people talk its supposed to sound like it.

o Write and rewrite. Do the with purpose test (Ill talk about that later).Note: Dialogue doesnt work if it jolts you out of the fictive dream of the story. But if it

brings you closer to the character, the characters world, or the story, then its doing its job.


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A Tale in Two PartsWriting real dialogue starts with having a grasp of the mechanics of dialogue. Then once the

mechanics are mastered (dont worry thats not much to master) then we can move into the

art of dialogue.

Part 1: Lets Get MechanicalThe mechanics of dialogue consists of knowing the correct use of punctuation and knowing

the dialogue conventions.

Punctuation in Dialogue

Put quotation marks at the beginning and end of every passage of dialogue.o Example: Im ready to go, Joanie said, standing up.o

Or: Joanie stood up. Im ready to go.

o Or: I think Im ready, Joanie said as she stood up. Lets go. Use ellipses for words in a characters speech that trail off.

o Example: Unsure of herself, Joanie stood up. Im ready to go Use a dash to show an interruption or a character who breaks off in the middle of

a sentence.

o Example: Joanie stood up. Im ready to goI dont think so. Carl stood in front of her, blocking the doorway.1

Conventions in Dialogue

Attribution tags Action beats

Part 2: Getting ArtsyWe writers must give ourselves permission to get artsy with dialogue. We should know when

to use dialogue to provide sketches of things to come much the same way a painter uses

the charcoal to lay the groundwork for a painting. And like a photographer uses her aperture

settings, we should be able to use dialogue to set a mood, bring things to light, or cloakthem in shadow.

Uses of dialogueA richer story uses dialogue to accomplish three or more of these things in each scene. If

your dialogue does none of these things, its not needed at all.

a. Establish the tone or moodb. Provide exposition or back story


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c. Reveal character and motivationd. Create immediacy and intimacy (build reader empathy)e. Move the plot forward and/or increase its pacef. Create or add to existing conflictg. Remind the reader of things they may have forgottenh. Foreshadow

Note: Using dialogue to provide exposition and back story is tricky. Do so sparingly. If theresult seems unnatural and stilted then it probably is.

Objectives of DialogueEvery scene needs to move the story ahead. Every bit of narrative, action, and dialogue

should weave in conflict and a sense of expectancy. How?

Obey the two objectives of dialogue and your readers will be happy with the amount of

conflict and drama that carries them from scene to scene.

oCreate tension right now (stretch the rubber band)

o Move things along by building suspense for later (hold the rubber band down withScotch tape)

Your aim in plot driven fiction is lots of white space. Strive for a good mix of narrative, action,

and dialogue. Too much dialogue and your work tends to be groundless or maybe a

somewhat preachy. Too little dialogue and the story may be dry.

Draw on the different motivations, back story, likes, dislikes, etc of the characters in the

scene to meet these objectives. For instance, tension (or humor) can be high when you pit

two opposites against one another in dialogue. Have fun with their different agendas; use it

to your advantage to bring your dialogue to life.


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Making it REALOne of your biggest goals with fiction is to engage emotions. One way to do that is to know

your characters. Yes, every one of them. Not just the protagonist. Know where they come

from, where theyve been, and where theyre going. Know their motivations. What makesthem mad, sad, happy, etc. Get into the head of the people youve created. In some way, we

must become them.

When you know them this well, you are better able to bring realism into the dialogue. Its

been said that every scene should bring the protagonist closer to sure ruin and your

antagonist closer to sure victorythat is, in their minds and words. Weave these feelings and

motivations smoothly into dialogue and the reader will be convinced of their ruin and victory

as well.

Even though you want the characters to speak naturallyto appear as though they are

thinking and speaking for themselvesthe bottom line is you control them. So you have tobe a ventriloquist of sorts. Control the dummy, but dont let anyone see your hand in his

back or your lips moving. Otherwise people will say, oh, thats just a dummy. And

unfortunately they wont be talking about your character.

Writing realistic dialogue has been compared to playing a game. Like pool or chess, you

want to use one move to set up the next. The trick is to do it with skill and grace (theres the

art of it) that draws the spectator (the reader) in to watch/listen and enjoy.

Writer's Great Commandment: keep dialogue straightforward, with a minimum use of

attribution verbs and modifiers, and a very infrequent sprinkling of substitute verbs for "said"

when absolutely necessary.2

On knowing your characterso Some authors write dossiers of each character. Listing out their likes, dislikes, job

history, etc like a prospective employer

o Some authors shop for their characters at the mall.What are some other ways?

Layer your fiction1. Dialogue with purpose2. Action with purpose3. Narrative with purpose

Why with purpose? The with purpose test for dialogue: If the dialogue isnt something

someone would eavesdrop on then most likely it doesnt have a purpose. Cut it.


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Writing REAL dialogueo Relax: Remember to relax. Dialogue is just talking.o Emotional: creates and evokes emotions in the readero Ask: Are you writing with purpose question. If it doesnt have a purpose, cut it.o Layer: Layer the dialogue with purposeful narrative and action. Stretch the rubber

band and tape it down, lightly.


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ExercisesRemember to relax, evoke emotion, answer the purpose question, and layer the piece with

narrative and action.

1. Choose a picture from a magazine. Write quick a personal profile on him/her: likes,dislikes, etc. Then write a brief letter (three or four paragraphs) in their voice on any

topic. Last write a page of dialogue of them talking to you about that topic.

2. Create three characters. One romantic. One science fiction. One fantasy. Put themeach in the same scene. Write a page or two of dialogue.


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Sources1 Dialogue: Techniques and exercises for crafting effective dialogue, Gloria Kempton, Writers Digest

Books, 20042

Dr. Nathan Dodge, Reflections Edge, http://www.reflectionsedge.com/archives/jan2005/hsss_nd.html

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R.E.A.L. Dialogue