In our daily interactions, most of us strive for dialogue that feels successful. We want clear communication between loved ones and among workmates. We want to ask clear questions and feel like the Other gives us definitive and useful answers. When critique is needed, it’s shared respectfully and presented along with productive possible solutions.
Two rules of thumb:
- In life, most of us strive for healthy dialogue.
- In writing, we should avoid it like the plague!
What? Why? Well… dialogue that “works” is boring. Hi-how-are-you pleasantries are obviously dull. They take a story nowhere. But even an argument can become boring if it’s overly repeated—or if it’s resolved too soon.
Suzy and her dad have a fight, but then they make up and learn new things about each other and all is well. In real life, that’s lovely. On the page, it can be disastrous. If such a conversation happens mid-book, it serves as a release and resolution of tension. The main characters are “all better now”. It’s such a release that the reader, consciously or not, feels like the story is done—even if there are other loose ends in the plot. Such a scene feels so strongly resolved, it causes the reader to put the book down with a sigh… and possibly never pick it up again.
Tension moves story forward. So your dialogue needs to drip with tension, and do NOT resolve that tension until the story is done. Thankfully, it’s easy to infuse quoted dialogue with tension. A few easy tips:
- Omit or paraphrase conversations that function well. Don’t quote these conversations unless they provide a strong definition of character voice/style/dialect early on.
- Look for conversations during which characters avoid telling the full truth, or they outright lie. Quote these conversations. Show that avoidance to the reader. Note the main character’s thought in the midst of the conversation, perhaps in the middle of a natural pause and physical gesture (referred to as a “beat”). Show that hesitation in contrast with what they actually say.
It might be a bit devious…
“You’re home a little late,” Paul said, his eyes more curious than accusatory.
“Oh, the line at the grocery store was terrible,” Melanie said. She thought of her delay at work, the half-hour pep talk with Jim, and how it needed to mean nothing. She put away the milk. “Every clerk had some complicated return and a bunch of people buying for a family of ten or something. Crazy.”
Or it might be overly cautious…
“I just want to know what I can do to help,” Cindy said and touched Karen’s hand.
Karen stared out the window for a moment. How could she tell Cindy that the most helpful thing would be to stay away. “I know,” Karen said and squeezed her sister’s hand. “I’m grateful you care so much. Just keep being you.”
“Paris, a discussion”by put_the_needle_on_the_record is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0
- Look for dialogue that introduces an unresolved conflict or a new complication in the story line. Quote that.
- But watch out for conflicts that get too repetitive. Even a high stakes verbal conflict can get dull if it’s the same argument over and over. Throw in a fresh complication once in a while to create a build.
- And look out for wildly explosive conflict too early on in the story. If you waste your high stakes conflict in the first chapter, it’s too much tension-release too early. Readers aren’t bonded enough with your characters yet to keep reading, even if the conflict is technically unresolved. Key conflicts need story arcs all their own. Map them out. Start small and build upward.
- Avoid hi-how-are-you pleasantries UNLESS they’re an obvious cover for what’s really going on. “How are you?” “I’m… fine.” This is suddenly interesting when exchanged by estranged siblings meeting at a parent’s funeral, or by a couple meeting to sign divorce paperwork, or by a boss and his newly laid-off employee.
In summary…
Dialogue is interesting when it’s connected to character development and conflict. Only quote dialogue when it’s vital to the story, when it needs to stand out. Quoted dialogue should show the reader fresh details about the core character or the core conflicts in the story.
Of course, this all goes back to our human condition, our addiction to stories that wrestle with conflict, high stakes, and survival. For more on that topic, take a look at the previous two posts about what to do when an early draft of your work feels flat or slow.