If any writer is hell-bent on tackling fiction writing, he or she will need to explore various avenues to generate dialogue that keeps their reader’s interest. Some naturally find it easy, while others encounter obstacles. Just what are some of the ways writers fail to produce clever and interesting dialogue?
Follow along to discover some ways writers don’t achieve a great dialogue.
Epic Dialogue Failures
Too Long
Unless you are a Victorian novelist from Europe in the 19th Century, long moments of dialogue will not work. Too many times new writers feel the need to expound great wisdom of their own opinions through the characters in their fiction. This is not necessarily a problem (as many novels are self-reflections of the writer’s perspectives of social and political views), but when it is done through actual dialogue it ruins the progress and flow.
Readers are not stupid. In fact, those who read fiction are some of the most intelligent people on the planet. Therefore, writers should maintain short, but concise dialogue (that sticks to the point!). Save the long paragraphs for your prose of settings and inner monologue. Leave the dialogue to no more than a few sentences each time. This will lessen the probability the reader will lose interest.
No Character Depth
All dialogue should—at all times—reveal character.
Instead of a character spouting instructions or discussing insignificant small talk, say something meaningful. Each word in a sentence that a character speaks should describe who he or she is more and more. This is tricky, however. Some writers fall into the trap of revealing too much too soon and find themselves suffering from lengthy paragraphs.
To cure this, write as much as you can on your first draft. Afterward, go back and edit the dialogue. Cut it down. Sprinkle character depth throughout the story, not just the beginning. Even the last few pages could benefit from a dialogue that shows how the character has reached his or her arc.
Not Real Enough
All too often, writers choose to mimic characters they have heard in movies. And they usually come off as goofy or not believable.
This is when a writer knowing the character is paramount. You must know how a person of that particular background, age, and gender will talk. If a young girl speaks like a politician, it simply will not be believable or interesting. If a college professor converses like a valley girl, the same will result.
The best solution to this is for the writer to seek out actual people and listen to how they speak. Eavesdrop on conversations. Write it down for later.
*Note: Dialogue is special and should sound as realistic as possible. However, I advise you to omit the “ums” and the “uhs” and the very common “like” that people say every five seconds. This is not a contradiction to my advice, but a suggestion to keep the story moving. When the reader’s eye comes across dialogue with slang or odd spelling from geographical accents, the reader will stop and decipher the meaning. This is not good. It takes the reader out of the fictional dream and makes them remember they are reading a text.
Colorful Dialogue Tags
This one is a no-brainer. To keep the reader involved in the fictional dream, always use said (for the most part). By using said more frequently the reader will easily continue the flow of the story. Seeing said will become common and lessen interruption from sudden unexpected dialogue tags.
Another reason to always use said is that other dialogue tags seem blatant—and therefore, overwhelming. When a writer uses “exclaimed” or “grumbled” it reflects an inability to tell a good story within the prose itself. The points leading up to that moment should have expressed the character exclaiming or grumbling. Doing so will keep the reader more interested and will tell a more vivid story.
One Paragraph of Multiple Speakers
Each time a new character speaks to another character, begin the dialogue on a separate line. Never merge conversations in one paragraph. And use quotation marks, too. Only in very select cases can a writer get away with not using any quotation marks. This is usually allowed if the novel is an artsy-type or some literary fiction.
One at a time
There will come times when a character may have a conversation with many others. This is very tricky. Writers tend to fall into the trap of describing too much or too little, resulting in boredom or making it unclear who is speaking.
My suggestion is to keep a dialogue between two people only. At least, try this most times.
If three or more people are conversing, then you will need to use their names in the dialogue tags.
To Sum it Up
Writers sometimes make the art of dialogue too difficult for themselves. Dialogue should be the fun part of the writing process. Your characters get to speak their minds! They are an extension of the writer. They are your creation. That is why it is absolutely mandatory that these simple rules are in effect at all times.
To learn great ways to write better characters, click here.
~M