{"id":147,"date":"2012-03-02T11:21:42","date_gmt":"2012-03-02T11:21:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/grahamdinton.com\/wp\/?p=147"},"modified":"2017-05-09T22:21:22","modified_gmt":"2017-05-09T21:21:22","slug":"dialogue-mechanics","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/grahamdinton.com\/wp\/?p=147","title":{"rendered":"Dialogue Mechanics"},"content":{"rendered":"

Continuing my Friday theme of posting fiction writing techniques, here is some more about the art and science of dialogue.
\n\"wpid-dragged-2012-03-2-11-21.tiff\"
\n1. Dialogue<\/span> is the first thing readers look for.When I am browsing in a bookstore and pick up a novel I am considering, I flick through the pages and see the pattern and density on the page, the paragraphing and the dialogue. Then I read a little and it tends to be the dialogue that I read first. It sets the tone for the novel.<\/p>\n

So it is important to get dialogue right and I have studied the mechanics of dialogue from this great book: \u2018Self-Editing for Fiction Writers<\/a>\u2019 by Renni Browne and Dave King.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Don’t over-explain<\/span>
\n“You can’t be serious,” she said in astonishment.
\nThis is lazy writing. The writing should be strong enough that the reader gets the fact she is astonished.
\nResist the Urge to Explain. R.U.E.
\nLet the dialogue SHOW the emotion.
\nDon’t explain stuff in the narrative that you also explain in the dialogue – should be in one or the other.
\nAvoid all -ly adverbs attached to ‘said’, like grimly, swiftly, etc. You could occasionally use ‘softly’ if the person is whispering but that’s about it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 
\n3. Speaker attributions<\/span>
\nHe said. She said.
\nThat’s it. No more. Just use said.
\nNever use he growled, she snapped, he whined, etc.
\nWhere possible, and it’s clear, leave out altogether.
\nBad example:
\n“Give it to me,” she demanded.
\n“Here it is,” he offered.
\n“Is it loaded?” she enquired.
\nJust use SAID
\nReaders won’t even notice it.
\nBetter to say ‘He said’ rather than ‘said he’ – more common practice these days.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Substitute beats for speaker attributions<\/span>
\nThis can be handy when there are three or more people in the scene.
\nYou have to find a way to let the reader know who is talking, and there could be two or more ‘he’s’ or ‘she’s’ in the room.
\nUsed sparingly, beats can be useful, but don’t use too often
\nWhat is a beat?
\nExample: Dudley stepped between them and help up his hands. “Now, look, you two.”
\nBeats are bits of action interspersed through a scene, such as a character walking to a window or removing his glasses and rubbing his eye.
\nUsually physical gestures but could be a short passage of interior dialogue.
\nThey are used to help tie dialogue to setting and characters.
\nThey provide little bits of imagery that guide readers’ imaginations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Dashes and Ellipses<\/span>
\nUse dashes to show an interruption of a sentence from one character by another character.
\nUse ellipses to show a trailing off, when a character runs out of a sentence but is un-interrupted.<\/p>\n

6. Paragraphs<\/span>
\nStart a new paragraph when you start a new speaker.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In summary, there are some simple rules to follow that really help your dialogue flow and make your writing more professional.<\/p>\n

What are your experiences? Do you have advice for new writers about their use of dialogue?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Continuing my Friday theme of posting fiction writing techniques, here is some more about the art and science of dialogue. 1. Dialogue is the first thing readers look for.When I am browsing in a bookstore and pick up a novel I am considering, I flick through the pages and see the pattern and density on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-skill"],"yoast_head":"\nDialogue Mechanics - Graham Dinton<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/grahamdinton.com\/wp\/?p=147\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Graham Dinton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Graham Dinton\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6aa4cda20d85d970f20575808140fd28\"},\"headline\":\"Dialogue Mechanics\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-02T11:21:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-09T21:21:22+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147\"},\"wordCount\":500,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2012\\\/02\\\/wpid-dragged-2012-03-2-11-21.tiff\",\"articleSection\":[\"Writing skills\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/grahamdinton.com\\\/wp\\\/?p=147\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Mechanics - 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