Why is dialogue essential? 7 roles dialogue performs in a narrative
If you're looking for a surefire way to improve your story, you'll be glad to know that you have a quick-acting method at your fingertips. According to the writing expert James Scott Bell, this is "the fastest way to improve a manuscript".
I'm talking about dialogue.
But here's the thing: Dialogue is more than just the words that you put in the mouth of your characters. On screen and on stage, it is the actor's job to take their lines and fill them with meaning, expression, emotion, etc. On the side, that's your job.
To be effective, a passage in the dialogue typically includes action, body language, subtext, and the thoughts, opinions, and emotions of the viewpoint. It is a powerful, dynamic device that draws readers deep into your story.
7 tasks The dialogue must be completed
Dialog is not just window decoration. It must earn its place in history by performing one or more crucial functions. In an exciting story there is no room for boring chatting or static fluff.
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In an exciting story there is no room for boring chatting or static fluff. The dialogue must deserve its place.
Here are seven important points in the job description for the dialogue. A single passage in the dialog may not do all of these things at once, but should accomplish at least one thing:
1. Characterize
Dialogue is a great way for characters to reveal themselves in the words they use and how those words are delivered. Make sure you stay consistent in each character using clear language patterns, colloquial language, and the jargon of each character's profession or background.
When your POV character speaks, their thoughts, feelings and opinions should have the same taste as their words or give the reader an explanation of why they are not.
For example, consider the differences in character that show up in these three ways of saying the same thing:
"Fix me a sandwich, right?"
"Get off your butt and make me a damn sandwich."
"I could really eat a sandwich and no one does it better than you. Would you mind?"
2. Aggravate conflicts
The conflict can be external – character against character or character against the environment – or the dialogue can reflect the internal struggle of the point of view. Conflicts in dialogue can arise and escalate in a variety of ways – through disagreement, threats, lies, wheezing, demands, appeasement and ridicule, to name just a few – but don't let yourself get drawn out into a lengthy tug of war.
Here's a quick example from my thriller Steadman & # 39; s Blind:
Frank hadn't moved since Steadman had left him to pursue the fleeing man, and he didn't answer Steadman's excited announcement. Fear sank like a lead weight in Steadman's stomach.
"Frank?"
A tense moment passed, then a trembling voice rose from the gap. "I'm there."
"What's going on, Frank? You told me you were fine." Steadman could not prevent an accusation from creeping into his words.
"No, I haven't," replied Frank. "I said I wasn't shot. I never said my leg wasn't broken."
"Oh damn it, Frank. Wait, I'm coming."
3. Generate tension
The dialogue is a great way to create excitement and prepare for later payouts. Your characters can predict future events by giving little clues that surprise, advise, and worry about major dangers or conflicts. Use this technique in a moment of low tension to raise and build it up, but don't waste it on unimportant events.
In Shakespeare's play Romeo says to Juliet:
"I have a nightcoat to hide from her eyes.
And but you love me, let her find me here.
My life ended better with their hatred
As death proroguèd, lack of your love. "
We are laying the foundation for danger and tragedy. Readers take a mental note and keep reading to find out how the premonition will work.
Here's another example from Alfred Hitchcock's film Psycho. When the Janet Leigh character checks in at the Bates Motel, she sees a toxic dispute between Norman Bates and his mother. He replies to her concern by saying that "mother is as harmless as one of these stuffed birds".
The scene creates an uncomfortable dynamic between the characters and makes us suspect that something is lurking beneath the surface of their relationship. We are looking forward to looking further.
4. Expand the storyline
Passing through the dialogue should create a sense of movement and move your characters further away from or closer to their respective goals. This often happens at the turning point of the scene when information is revealed that dramatically changes dynamics.
In my thriller Nocturne In Ashes I have a character who desperately needs a helicopter and a pilot. This dialogue advances the action by further removing it from its goal and increasing the effort and tension:
"He told me if anyone could take me there it would be Bobby Baines and he gave me this address. I hope you don't mind. "He flipped his empty glass onto the rosewood table on his elbow." I'm afraid Bobby was my last hope. "
She swirled her drink across its depths with a solemn eye, then turned her gaze to his.
"You see a classic situation here with good and bad news. The good news is that I am Bobbi Baines and I am a damn good pilot. The bad news is that the type of surgery you are talking about, apart from the extreme one Risk of tearing an engine and practically killing the helicopter. Nobody wants to subject his bird to it. "
This revelation takes the character further from its goal, but the next line of dialogue by Bobbi Baines changes everything and sets the plot in a new way. I won't spoil it for you. Read the book!
5. Strengthen the atmosphere and create mood
Do this by letting your characters use words that convey the tone of your story. In their comments to each other, they judge their surroundings, create an image in the mind of the reader and determine the mood.
Here is an example from Ken Follett's award-winning novel The Key to Rebecca:
Ishmael stood on his shoulder. He said, "Was it a long trip?"
Achmed nodded. "I came from El Agela in Libya." The names meant nothing to his cousin. "I came from the sea."
"From the sea!"
"Yes."
"Alone?"
"I had some camels when I started."
Ismael was impressed: even the nomads did not travel that long, and he had never seen the sea before.
* Funny fact – did you notice the camels Achmed mentioned when he started? The opening line of The Key to Rebecca is one of the most famous of all time and reads as follows: "The last camel collapsed at noon."
6. Enter background information
Do not interrupt the action to achieve this. Keep the characters moving and weave the information into the action.
Elizabeth George calls this a THAD – Talking Heads Avoidance Device. Characters who are statically seated at a table are very difficult for the writer. Make it easier for yourself and the reader by giving your characters something to do. If you make a good choice, the activity can reveal more about the characters and the subject.
As always, you need to make sure that the reader takes care of your character before delving into too much background. James Rollins gave a fantastic workshop on how to do what I wrote in How to Write Action Scenes That Wow Your Readers.
Be sure to include sensory details that are filtered by your point of view, as well as emotions, reactions, and opinions. And don't be free of charge, load the dialogue with information that the characters would already know. The reader takes up such tactics and it feels artificial. Keep it real.
7. Summarize the offstage business
Some events in your story may take place behind the scenes, but the reader still needs to know what happened. When your characters talk about the important elements of this offstage business, this is a valid and economical way to cover your bases.
Again, make sure the reader is invested in the results and avoid using a language that feels like a report. Find new ways your characters can talk to each other.
The importance of dialogue
I love writing dialogues. It's fun and the fact that it's a power player in your author's toolbox is a fabulous bonus. Readers eat up white space. When there are more dialogues and shorter paragraphs, it catches the eye and increases the pace so that readers can turn these pages.
Study the techniques and practice them in your work. Make sure you know the right mechanics and organize your paragraphs correctly so that nothing interferes with the flow of the dialogue.
Start your keyboard and put the dialogue in your story!
Can you imagine other important roles that dialogue plays in a story? Tell us about it in the comments.
WORK OUT
Let's write a dialogue! Select one of the prompts and write a dialog passage between two characters. Make sure that the conversation serves at least one of the purposes described in the article.
On a transatlantic flight, Joan has the window seat and has to pass Felix to go to the toilet.
Brenda rushes to the supermarket to find all the items for her party, and her teenage daughter is more of an obstacle than a help.
In the forest, two men argue about the best way to make the campfire before the sun goes down.
Write for fifteen minutes. When you're done, post your work in the comments and give feedback to your co-authors!
Joslyn Chase
