Dialogue (fiction)

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Dialogue in fiction is a verbal exchange between two or more characters. If there is only one character, who is talking to himself in his mind, it is known as interior monologue.

1 Purpose of dialogue
2 Identifiers
3 As You Know, Bob
4 Character Change
5 Characteristics of good dialogue
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Purpose of dialogue

Dialogue in a piece of writing such as a short story or a novel should have a purpose.

Break up narrative — The writer can use dialogue to balance out the other elements of fiction such as description.
Advance the plot — What characters discuss can ultimately change the course of the story.
Develop conflict — Arguing characters creates conflict; dialogue can also build tension.
Present information — Dialogue can be used as an alternative to exposition; instead of being fed dry facts, the reader will enjoy learning the background of the story.
Develop character — Dialogue can reveal the personality, age, intelligence and experience of a character.

[edit] Identifiers

Identifiers, also known as tag lines or attributions, let the reader know which character is speaking. An example would be:

"This breakfast is making me sick," George said.

The George said is the identifier. Said is the verb most writers use because reader familiarity with said prevents it from drawing attention to itself. Although other verbs such as ask, shout, or reply are acceptable, some identifiers get in the reader's way. For example:

"Hello," he croaked nervously, "my name's Horace. What's yours?" he asked with as much aplomb as he could muster. ^[1]

Stephen King, in his book On Writing, believes said is the best identifier to use. King recommends reading a novel by Larry McMurtry, who he claims has mastered the art of well-written dialogue ^[2].

Far-fetched substitutes are known as said-bookisms. Some said-bookisms are, in fact, impossible:

"What do you mean?" he smiled.

"I'm not telling," she sniffed.

"That doesn't mean I can't find out," he laughed.

It is impossible to smile or sniff or laugh dialogue. They should be avoided.

Other said-bookisms describe the content of the conversation:

"What is going on here?" she demanded.

"He thinks he's going to take it," he explained.

"You have to stop him," she insisted.

or the tone of voice:

"I don't know how he got here," she whispered.

"I don't know either," he murmured.

"Get out of here at once!" she shouted.

These are not explicitly wrong, but do distract. They should be used only when using said does not actually work -- asked is the most common use here -- and when it is necessary to make the tone of voice clear.

Many writers use said-bookisms as substitutes for dramatic speech. Putting the feeling into the words make the said-bookism unnecessary

"Come with me," he begged. "They'll kill you."

could be altered by putting his begging into his dialogue

"I can't bear it, you have to come with me," he said. "If they kill you, it will be all my fault."

Another way that writers try to vary their use of said is by attaching an adverb to it. In severe forms, these become Tom Swifties, immortalized by their use (or abuse) in the Tom Swift series:

"The temperature is going down," he said coolly.

Adverbs, like said-bookisms, should be used only when necessary -- as, for instance, to convey that the tone of voice contradicts the words used.

An identifier does not need to be used every time a character speaks. When two characters converse, the writer may drop the identifier for several lines. For example:

"Shut up," Mary said.

"No, you shut up," George replied.

"Don't speak to me that way."

"I'll speak to you any darn way I please."

However, if the identifiers are left off for too many quotes ("too many" varying based on how distinctively the characters speak), the reader may get confused. A solution that avoids overuse of said would be to combine dialogue with action. For example:

"This room is trashed." Jim bent over and picked up a half-empty bag of potato chips.

The reader still knows who is speaking; moreover, action can be inserted among the dialogue so that the characters do more than give the impression they are simply facing each other and opening their mouths. However, actions undertaken to tag the speaker are still actions, and should move the story forward. Occasional insignificant actions may add to realism, but to repeatedly insert action tags slows down the story. Furthermore, using them exclusively can grow repetitious. A judicious mix of identifiers and action tags will keep the readers straight in long passages of dialogue.

[edit] As You Know, Bob

While giving readers information through dialogue can be an excellent way to slide in necessary information, writers can also attempt to give information through implausible dialogue. Most commonly, this occurs in the form of As You Know, Bob dialogue. This consists of characters giving each other --without motivation-- long lectures about things the other characters know but the reader does not. Other problems include:

introducing characters who do not know something for no plausible reason;
introducing characters whose ignorance is plausible, but whose presence, along with the other characters' desire to explain, is not.

Despite the name As You Know, Bob, the actual problem is that the conversation is not motivated. As in real life, people do lecture, and in fact, hector other people about things they already know. It is possible to put this information into the story if the character is given a reason to lecture. Even when dealing with ignorant characters, some reason is needed for the explanation.

[edit] Character Change

Demonstrating character change through dialogue can be a weak method. A character who declares, "I've learned my lesson now!" or "I've changed, really I have!" is no more plausible in fiction than in real life.

Comic writers may put the words in the character's mouth, only to show by action that the character has, in fact, not changed.

Effective demonstration of character change in dialogue requires that the character not declaim on the change, but demonstrate it by saying something that he would not have before, for example:

a formerly selfish character apologizing;
a formerly dictatorial character asking instead of demanding;
a formerly timid character telling an unpleasant truth to someone who will take it badly;
a formerly hostile person invoking his former enemy to do something with him.

[edit] Characteristics of good dialogue

Use of significant conversation – Everyday language such as "Hello" or "What's up?" should be avoided unless it is essential to the plot. Otherwise get to the meat of the conversation ^[3].

Avoidance of adverbs with identifiers – Adverbs can distract the reader. The writer should take angrily out of "Get away from me!" Sue shouted angrily. ^[4]. An adverb, however, can be used judiciously when the emotions of a character may not be clear.^[5]

Mastering of dialect – Using accents from different parts of the world can be implied but should not be overdone. Arrangement of words and minor misspellings in dialogue can give the impression of dialect, but should not draw attention to itself. When the writer uses massive misspellings and cliché phrases from a certain region, he makes a parody of the dialect ^[6]. Examples of realistic use of dialect in dialogue can be found in the novel Middlesex.

Using Distinctive voices – Even when the characters speak the same dialect, they should speak distinctively and maintain personality. A fearful character might hesitate, throw in disclaimers, or avoid direct accusations; an educated person might use more elaborate vocabulary and grammar than a less educated one. Figurative language is typically derived from a speaker's experiences. George Eliot provides a particularly potent example of forgetting this:

There are few women, we suppose, who have not seen something of children under five years of age, yet in "Compensation," a recent novel of the mind-and-millinery species, which calls itself a "story of real life," we have a child of four and a half years old talking in this Ossianic fashions -

"Oh, I am so happy, dear gran'mamma; -- I have seen, -- I have seen such a delightful person: he is like everything beautiful, -- like the smell of sweet flowers and the view from Ben Lomond; - or no, better than that -- he is like what I think of and see when I am very very happy; and he is really like mamma, too when she sings; and his forehead is like that distant sea," she continued, pointing to the blue Mediterranean; "there seems no end -- no end; or like the clusters of stars I like best to look at on a warm fine night . . . Don't look so . . . your forehead is like Loch Lomond, when the wind is blowing and the sun is gone; I like the sunshine best when the lake is smooth . . . So now -- I like it better than ever . . . it is more beautiful still from the dark cloud that has gone over it, when the sun suddenly lights up all the colours of the forests and shining purple rocks, and it a all reflected in the maters below."^[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

↑ Turco, Lewis (1989). Dialogue p.16.. Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0-89879-349-1.
↑ King, Stephen (2000). On Writing p.127.. Scribner. ISBN 0-684-85352-3.
↑ Lukeman, Noah (2000). The First Five Pages pp. 84-90.. Fireside. ISBN 0-684-85743-X.
↑ King, Stephen (2000). On Writing pp. 124-128.. Scribner. ISBN 0-684-85352-3.
↑ Levin, Michael (Jan., 2006). "12 Random (But Useful) Thoughts About Dialogue". Writer's Digest, p. 37.
↑ Turco, Lewis (1989). Dialogue pp.54-56.. Writer's Digest Books. ISBN 0-89879-349-1.
↑ 'Silly Novels by Lady Novelists' by George Eliot, Westminster Review, 66 (October 1856)