Dialogue technique(s)

fliptzer

Hi everyone,

Just looking for advice on technique, I am writing another book and use mainly dialogue to tell the story but am looking for ways of breaking it up instead of constantly writing he said, she said, etc. etc.

Apart from words expressing a tone or meaning, eg. “XXX” he sighed, laughed, cried, screamed, etc. I am looking for advice on bodily/facial expressions to break up long dialogue sequences.

Such as, “XXXX” she raises her eyebrows, or, “xxx” she looked at him sideways. –> the type of thing that sets a tone without spelling it out. Anybody else have that problem?

Any ideas, suggestions examples or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Thomas_S_Hunterson

/edit: sorry i think I may have misinterpreted you

rockbeer

fliptzer wrote: »

Apart from words expressing a tone or meaning, eg. “XXX” he sighed, laughed, cried, screamed, etc.

I would ruthlessly avoid this kind of thing. If you pay attention to quality writing you'll notice it rarely indulges in such contrivances, which are generally the preserve of low-grade output. They just jar.

What you really want is for all the he said - she said stuff to be as invisible as possible. This means:

- constructing your dialog carefully so the reader can follow who is speaking without you having to spell it out after every line.

- Cleverly inserting snippets of action between the lines of dialog. Show your characters doing the kinds of things people do during conversations. Lighting cigarettes, fiddling with their hair and jewellery, sending text messages... whatever, as long as it's in character.

- When you must say 'he said', just say it without fuss. It might feel repetitive when you write it, but I promise you your readers will barely notice it as long as the dialog itself is good enough.

The best advice on the subject can't be provided in a forum post. It's all their in your favourite books. The best thing you can do is to read carefully and study how the writers you admire handle this stuff.

fliptzer

Thanks for that, I've been reading a lot of books and like you say sometimes it is really noticable whist othertimes it isn't.

I'll try what you suggest, maybe focus a bit more on body language but not overuse it.

Thanks.

EileenG

A lot of the time, you don't need to do anything. Just have what they say, and in the next line, put the reply. Read it out loud and see if it makes sense.

Don't be afraid of reported speech, it can speed up a lot of boring stuff.

Don Schneider

Dear Flip:

You are contemplating writing an entire novel using mostly dialogue? For you to even consider such a proposition leads me to believe that you are either a first-tier professional or a writer who is devoutly devoted to the craft for its own sake. Either way, salute!

The only example I can think of off the top of my head that even remotely resembles such a proposition would be Ayn Rand, whom I personally have never been enamored with as a writer per se. (Her philosophy is another matter.)

Although this doesn’t answer your question, here is a quote from my own note as to how I approach dialogue:

"I always pride myself on the authenticity of my dialogue and usually pattern a character's speech after an appropriate real life model."

If I don't know one personally, then I seek out a character appropriate person to spend some time with on one pretext or another (so he or she will remain natural and not try to impress me), if possible.

The very best of luck to you!

Don Schneider

fliptzer

Thanks, I’ve started on a sequel to a book i finished last year but it's not all dialogue.

Due to the nature of it, very religious/spiritual background, etc. I decided to use character dialogue to develop the plot and fill the reader in on the background – instead of having a couple of chapters dedicated to background and concepts that are difficult to explain. So got the characters to explain them in their own words instead of mine.
It’s not all dialogue but a lot of it, like stories with a lot of character interaction and was looking for any ideas people had about the technical side of writing, etc.

MojoMaker

In that case read more C.S. Lewis - he does this very well.

dubscribe

I agree with previous posters. If you have to use facial expressions etc prolifically throughout your work then you are showing - not telling - a cardinal sin in all good writing.

Perhaps you need to re-examine the very words your characters are speaking. See if you can portray their demeanor in their dialogue?

fliptzer

All good points!

It's very hard to find the perfect balance that is easy to read and not explaining too much. I'll take the advice on board, thanks.