Carol Weekes - Author: Dialogue in Fiction

Every writer usually has a strength in one or more areas of fiction writing, while sometimes other areas require more work. Dialogue writing tends to be a stickler for some writers. The key is to really learn to listen to how people speak. You can't have all of your characters sounding the same (in other words, you can't have them all speaking the way your own inner voice sounds).


Dialogue is influenced by many different things: upbringing, geographical area, education, lexicon from jobs/professions, slang, music, culture, etc. ?And even within the same geographical area, the same town, the same street in that town - no two people speak exactly the same way.


People's language is influenced by favorite phrases or sayings, mispronunciation of words (such as a character who calls his secretary a 'secetary'; this can become a character tic of that person), their temperament (how they say things; do they enunciate a lot? Do they growl their words when their temper flares?)


Go to your local library and pick up half a dozen works of fiction by as many different writers. Then open the books anywhere and examine a page of writing where characters speak. How does each work differ in some aspect? How does tone and mood and tension get conveyed through the dialogue?


Here is the same sentence of dialogue that conveys three types of mood:


? ? ?"You will do what I ask," Tony's mother poked her head around the door and regarded him.


? ? ?"You will?do what I ask." Trigger used his knife tip to clean a fleck of dirt from beneath a fingernail.


Of course, the narrative that follows the dialogue also influences the mood, but note in the 2nd example how the word 'will' is stressed, more threatening than just a mere expectation.


Below is a URL that provides some information on writing dialogue:


http://crofsblogs.typepad.com/fiction/2009/04/dialogue-in-fiction.html


It is one of many on the internet to help you with this. Just type in 'writing dialogue in fiction' and peruse what pops up. But better yet, examine how published writers have incorporated this into their work.


Stephen King's characters became known for their Maine drawl; the infamous 'Oh ayuh' that often popped up in his stories. King, among many authors, paid attention to the idiosyncrasies of the people around them and how their vernacular actually came across to the listening ear.


From King's short story collection "Skeleton Crew" here are some examples of his characters' dialogue. I use King as an example because his books are universal; anyone, anywhere should be able to go into a library and find a copy of one of his books, and certainly, at least some examples online:


Here is an example of dialogue showing tension and growing unease, from his novella "The Mist":


? ? "I don't want to scare you, "I said, "but there's a bad storm on the way, I think."
? ? ?She looked at me doubtfully. "There were thunderheads last night and the night before, David. They just broke up."
? ? ?"They won't do that tonight."
? ? ?"No?" "
? ? ?"If it gets bad enough, we're going to go downstairs."
? ? ?"How bad do you think it can get?"


An example of how a young brother can speak to his other sibling in a teasing, condescending way, from the short story "The Monkey"


? ? ?"I don't like it," Petey said, and felt for Hal's hand. "Dennis, c'n have it if he wants. Can we go, Daddy?"
? ? ?"Worried about ghosts, chickenguts?" Dennis inquired.


Also note his use of the word 'can' pronounced as "c'n" (or 'kin') to denote the way a character can speak.


From the short story "Mrs.'s Todd's Shortcut", Maine locals sitting outside a general store discuss Mrs. Todd and her endless driving routes:?


? ? ?"She don't drive as fast as Phelia," Homer said. "I swan I used to think what an old-fashion name she had for a woman that could put a car through its paces like she could."
? ? ?...:Twas a Mercedez she drove," Homer said, answering the question before I hadn't asked. "Two-seater sportser. Todd got it for her in sixty-four or sixty-five, I guess. You remember her taking the kids to the lake all those years they had Frogs and Tadpoles?"
? ? ?"Ayuh."
? ? ?"She'd drive 'em no more than forty, mindful they was in the back. But it chafed her. That woman had lead in her foot and a ball bearing sommers in the backs of her ankle."

Courtesy credit to Google Images.com

Dialogue that captures the essence and nuances of the local dialect. Really pay attention to how people speak; listen to dialogue occurring on the street, at your work, in schools, on the bus, in restaurants. Listen not only to what people say but how they say it. How their voice might rise and fall; how they choose their words and convey their thoughts and emotions.


You'll also note the technical part of writing dialogue. ?All dialogue is conveyed with double quotation marks ("....."). ?Dialogue often uses what are called 'dialogue tags' to show how something is said. ?The most common dialogue tag is the word 'said'


? ? ?"You don't really know me," she said.
? ? ?"Why do you say that?" ?He looked at her above the rim of his wine glass. "We've known each other for years."
? ? ? "Yes," she smiled at him, but her smile was cold; as cold as dried egg-white; calculating. "I don't think this is working out."
? ? ?He felt his gut freeze. "What are you talking about?"
? ? ?"I think you know what I'm talking about," she said and placed her glass down hard.
? ? ?"You bitch," he growled, feeling his heart pound.


You mix narrative (the story-telling words in green above) with the tags (in blue above) with the dialogue to create a natural ebb and flow to your overall story telling.


Other dialogue tags can be used more sparingly to show mood, tension, rising action:


He screamed, she wailed, he hissed, they proclaimed, etc. ?But most of the time, the tag 'said' is used because it is barely noticed. And you don't have to use a tag every single time someone says something; only often enough to allow the reader to keep track of who is saying what. Examine some longer flows of dialogue between two or more characters in a story and how the writer keeps the words bouncing smoothly back and forth between all parties by:


- using dialogue style to show who is speaking
- using tags when required
- using narrative to help glue the story together such as character action (whether a character wipes at their brow, shoves their chair back suddenly, points a finger at someone prior to speaking, etc.)


Have fun with your dialogue writing. When you have a few free minutes, grab a piece of paper or your laptop and write a paragraph of dialogue. Think of any scene you witnessed at some point today where you overheard others; or perhaps a memory from the past. Put it into dialogue. Play with it. See how it looks. Read it out loud and listen to your words; all of your words, as you say them. Do they sound natural? Do they flow well? Do they capture the mood and essence of the scene you're trying to convey? Does anything seem to run on too long?


Go out and listen to folks chat; listen to life happen, and watch how people look and act and react as they speak. Of course, facial expressions, even without words (such as eyebrows raised, a mouth tightening, a brow furrowed) can also convey meaning, with or without words. But blend things together to create flowing, moving stories that impact.? ? ?

Source: http://www.carolweekes.com/2012/02/dialogue-in-fiction.html

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