Secrets of Writing: Dialog Part 1
If there’s anything as important as the structure and the characterization, it’s the dialog.
That’s why it gets its own section. There’s a lot to cover here.
People will judge you heavily by your dialog. Even if the plot is bad, the dialog can make you look good. There are a lot of half-baked stories out there people like because of the dialog. But dialog is no substitute for a great story. They should go hand in hand.
The technique of writing good dialog is fairly simple. But it can still be very tough to get right. It boils down to a few simple rules:
1. Dialog is not real conversation. It’s only supposed to sound real.
2. It must sound realistic. Say it out loud to be sure.
3. Keep it short and sweet.
4. If you’ve heard it before, think of another way of saying it.
5. All clichés must die!
6. Research! Cultures and sub-cultures have their own slanguage.
7. Dialog should not be expected unless you want it to be
The Nature of Dialog
Dialog is not real conversation. Real conversation is a boring and oppressive when translated to print. People use too many “Ums” and “Ahs” and “You knows” and “I means” and lots of other redundant words and sounds.
Dialog needs to be memorable. It can’t be even remotely dull. Because any forgettable dialog sucks energy from your story. Good dialog adds to the pleasure of reading and thus adds energy to the story.
The “show, don’t tell” rule applies as much to dialog as anything else we’ve talked about. If you can show us something visually, instead of telling us, it will work better for you. If not, then make that dialog zing.
Dialog should first be dramatic, then informational. That is your priority. Every line should advance the story and help make the responding dialog more exciting.
Have you ever seen a conversation between two people where you were just dying to hear everything they say because each line made you want to hear the other character’s response? You need to be able to do that in your story. You need to make those lines of dialog count.
This is helped by following the above rules. Now let’s get into specifics.
Prolixity
This is a form of writing that must be avoided at all cost. Unless you are doing it on purpose. Prolixity is the term for sentences that use too many words. Too many words makes a sentence boring. It makes it passive.
“We talked for what seemed like days as the cold September morning turned to afternoon, then night, then morning again as we talked and talked some more about all the things that were on our minds and all the things we should have done to stop the terror that was ravaging the city while we impotently looked on. Finally, we had a plan after discussing all the possible outcomes of every action we could take to end the problems that faced us.”
Aside from taking too long to say what it has to say, the above paragraph is full of redundancy. When you take too long to say something, your writing becomes vague. It causes the audience’s mind to wander. Think back on those days in high school when some boring teacher droned on about history or math. Remember how you would rather be doing something else? We’ll you don’t want the reader to feel that way. You want them to be excited and involved. Anything but bored.
The above paragraph would read better this way:
“We talked from dawn till dusk till dawn again, covering every possible contingency. The fear that was ravaging the city had to be stopped. Now we had a plan.”
Less is More
Short sentences have more punch. Long sentences take longer to read, so the energy it takes to read them is dragged out and diminished. People respond to sound bites more than to speeches. This is why people with emotionally charged causes sound more correct on television, even though they’re usually presenting disinformation and/or out and out propaganda.
The human mind accepts information more easily when the information comes in simple bursts. You’re driving down a highway and see a sign that says:
FOOD
This has more resonance for most people than: JOHN’S COUNTRY KITCHEN SERVING HOT MEALS AT A GOOD PRICE.
Both work, but the first one is primal. It allows you to fill in the blanks and create a immediate image in your mind. The second tells you more information and thus you have more to process in your mind. It complicates things.
If there was a sign that said: JOHN’S COUNTRY KITCHEN SPECIALIZING IN HAMBURGERS, STEAKS, BREAKFAST FOODS. WE ALSO HAVE SHAKES, MUFFINS, PIES AND OTHER CULINARY TREATS TO WHET YOUR APPETITE.
This is even more information. It’s also more specific. It robs us of our imagination. A vegetarian might be put off by all the mention of meat products. A dieter might think...too fattening, move on. But a sign that says FOOD allows us to become curious and want to find out more. It only tells us what we need to know. Nothing more.
The object of prose is to keep the reader interested. To keep their eyes glued to the page. You want them to read the next sentence and the next and the next. You want to stimulate them.
Keeping the text short and sweet does this very well. It retains more mystery, which due to human nature, makes the reader curious to know more. We want to know what’s in the box, what’s behind that door. As a writer, you’re leading them through a great castle, through secret passages, up stairs, through cavernous halls. You should keep their excitement high as they explore the mysteries you’re about to unfold.
Short sentences are snappy. They are easy to read, easy to understand. When you write a line of dialog or a line of prose in a caption, take a hard look at it. See if you can’t cut words, shorten it. See if it can’t be said more strongly, more effectively.
REMEMBER: Less is more when it comes to prose.
Next entry: A World Without America
Previous entry: Plasma Converter!
