Question

Prepare meaningful dialogues

Answer 1

So how do you write dialogue that carries this purposeful sense of the word?

1. Make your written dialogue cut to the chase
Effective dialogue - Now Novel quoteIn spoken conversations, we often change subjects, ramble, or use filler words like ‘um’ and ‘like’. Make your written dialogue cut to the chase. We often begin phone calls with pleasantries, for example, such as ‘Hi, how are you?’ Yet effective dialogue skips over the boring bits.



2. Blend dialogue with descriptive narration well
arrival, the reader must wait until the characters may resume talking.

Tartt crafts suspense finely in a scene where her protagonist overhears snatches of conversation between his new acquaintance Henry and their lecturer, Julian:

].

Julian finish speaking. He looked away for a moment, then bit his lower lip and looked up at Henry.

Then Henry spoke. His words were low but deliberate and distinct. ‘Should I do what is necessary?’
To my surprise, Julian took both Henry’s hands in his own. ‘You should only, ever, do what is necessary,’ he said.’ (p. 81)

Using dialogue overheard by a third party, Tartt creates suspense that ripples out from this brief exchange. The brief scene creates anticipation of a secret agreement between Henry and Julian coming to light. This colours our reading of future interactions between these three characters.

5. Avoid unnecessary, distracting or absurd dialogue tags
Writing dialogue - dialogue tagsDialogue tags – words such as ‘she said’ and ‘he grumbled’ – help to show who in a conversation between two or more characters is speaking. Sometimes (when alternate words for ‘said’, such as ‘grumbled’) are used, they also show the emotional state of the speaker. Yet using unnecessary tags has a clunky effect. For example:

‘Hello,’ I said.
‘Is it really you? I can’t believe it’s been so long,’ she said.
‘Sorry I’ve been such a hermit’, I said, smiling.

The placement and repetition of ‘said’ here has a deadening, unnatural effect. Compare:

‘Hello.’
She gave a start, surprised. ‘Is is really you? I can’t believe it’s been so long!’
‘Sorry I’ve been such a hermit,’ I said, smiling.

The second allows us to focus our attention more on the content of what characters say (and less on the fact that we’re reading dialogue).

Alternative words for said (such as ‘shrieked’, ‘whispered’, ‘spat’ and so forth) are like seasoning. Don’t burn the reader’s palate with too many. It’s widely considered good style for dialogue tags to be as invisible as possible. Heavy tag use is like an invisibility cloak cut too short – you can see the author’s clumsy feet sticking out.

6. Use specific dialogue to illustrate general relationships and situations
Besides using dialogue as a character development aid or to further plot, you can use dialogue as a narrative device to illustrate a general situation. For example, In The Secret History, Tartt uses a typical conversation between Bunny’s girlfriend Marion and Richard, the protagonist, to reveal the nature of Bunny and Marion’s relationship.

‘Lemme in, old man, you gotta help me, Marion’s on the warpath…’ Minutes later, there would be a neat report of sharp knocks at the door: rat-a-tat-tat. It would be Marion, her little mouth tight, looking like a small, angry doll.
‘Is Bunny there?’ she would say, stretching up on tiptoe and craning to look past me into the room.
‘He’s not here.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘He’s not here Marion.’
‘Bunny!’ she would call out ominously.
No answer.
‘Bunny!’
And then, to my acute embarrassment, Bunny would emerge sheepishly in the doorway.’ (p. 101)

Tartt uses the modal verb ‘would’ to show a typical conversation, an exchange that is an example of many like it. You can use dialogue this way to show a conversation that is often repeated, perhaps with different wording but the same underlying effect. For example:

‘Tidy your room,’ mom’s always saying. ‘What am I, The Dalai Lama?’
‘Yeah, and if you were, she’d be like ‘Wear your best robes. Iron out those creases.’
This is how Jim and I would banter all summer, trading the injustices of being teenagers in a world that had its priorities dead wrong.

Here, an example conversation shows how two boys on a summer camp became friends.

7. Start writing dialogue examples and good advice down
Whenever you come across examples of dialogue you love, or an insightful quote on writing dialogue, copy it out. It’s an effective way to improve your ear for written speech. In addition, read the dialogue you write aloud. Rope someone else in to read the other character’s part if possible. The ear seldom lies about the difference between dialogue that works and character conversations that fall flat