{"id":15286,"date":"2016-06-16T01:00:57","date_gmt":"2016-06-16T08:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/?p=15286"},"modified":"2016-06-10T20:17:05","modified_gmt":"2016-06-11T03:17:05","slug":"say-writing-dialogue-kay-keppler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersfunzone.com\/blog\/2016\/06\/16\/say-writing-dialogue-kay-keppler\/","title":{"rendered":"Say That Again: Writing Dialogue by Kay Keppler"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Loving<\/a>Let\u2019s\u00a0welcome\u00a0back monthly columnist, editor, and novelist,\u00a0Kay Keppler<\/a>, as she shares with us about writing dialogue.\u00a0Enjoy!<\/em><\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

People talk to each other all the time,<\/strong> so it seems as though writing dialogue should be simple. But many writers trip up over making dialogue sound natural. Here\u2019s a sample of something I see frequently when I\u2019m editing manuscripts:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you dare!\u201d he said.
\nShe was silent.
\n\u201cI do dare,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So how silent was she?<\/strong> Not silent at all. In fact, she spoke. So what should this author have written? If he wanted to convey that the character didn\u2019t respond immediately, he could have written:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you dare!\u201d he said.
\nShe paused.
\n<\/em>\u201cI do dare,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this way,<\/strong> the reader knows that the character had to think about what she wanted to say. If you\u2019re writing the scene from the woman\u2019s point of view, you can show<\/em> the pause by letting the reader know what she\u2019s thinking:<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t you dare!\u201d he said.
\nHow dare he try to stop her? Hadn\u2019t she made the tough decisions? Hadn\u2019t she earned the right to act?
\n<\/em>\u201cI do dare,\u201d she said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Writing good dialogue poses other challenges.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Watch out for:<\/p>\n

Monotones.<\/strong> Each character should have a distinct voice with a unique pattern of speech and vocabulary. Writing specific dialogue styles also helps you with characterization. However, don\u2019t overdo writing dialects. Using many words that are abbreviated or misspelled to convey accents is hard to read and can be off-putting for many readers.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Info-dump.<\/strong> Don\u2019t let your characters explain to each other facts they already know as a way to reveal backstory. For example:<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, as you know, Bob, when you were eight, our house burned down,\u201d said John. \u201cI escaped, but you were badly burned.\u201d
\n\u201cAnd that\u2019s why I hate to go camping!\u201d Bob said. \u201cI fear campfires. And marshmallows.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Find a better way to weave that information into the storyline. And unless one character is trying to find another in a crowded room or across the midway at the county fair, don\u2019t have one character address another by name. In real life, people don\u2019t talk like that. Establish identity in a different way, preferably with a simple dialogue tag.<\/p>\n

Small talk.<\/strong> In real life, when you meet a friend on the street or pick up the phone, your conversation might go like this:<\/p>\n

\u201cHi, how are you?\u201d
\n\u201cFine. You?\u201d
\n\u201cGreat.\u00a0What\u2019s up?\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, fiction has to be better than real life. In your story, cut this useless dialogue and go straight to the good parts\u2014whatever advances plot, prompts action, or reveals character.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Inflated tags. <\/strong>Stick to he or she \u201csaid.\u201d You don\u2019t need stronger verbs like \u201cshouted\u201d or \u201cmuttered,\u201d and you especially need to avoid tags like \u201cbarked\u201d and \u201cgrowled\u201d\u2014verbs that only characters from the animal kingdom can like.<\/p>\n

Convey the weight and volume of your character\u2019s statement by writing strong dialogue, rather than relying on the tag to convey the emotion you want the reader to understand.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cSaid\u201d is a word that disappears on the page, and that helps keep your readers engrossed in the story and turning pages.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Too many tags. <\/strong>You don\u2019t need a \u201che said,\u201d \u201cshe said\u201d after every line of dialogue, but at the same time, don\u2019t have so few that readers get lost about who\u2019s speaking. Ask a friend to read the page. If they get lost about who\u2019s speaking, add a couple of tags to keep it straight.<\/p>\n

Stilted exchanges.<\/strong> Read your dialogue out loud and see if it sounds like something your characters would say. Use contractions, sentence fragments, or other shortcuts that people normally use in conversation.<\/p>\n

Say What?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Reading dialogue is fun for readers; it clarifies your characters\u2019 personalities and shows, not tells, what your characters think and feel. If you have trouble getting dialogue to sound natural, pay close attention to conversations around you and the interactions you have every day with your coworkers, friends, kids, neighbors, store clerks, ticket takers, bus riders, people standing behind you in line at the grocery store\u2014even people you listen to on YouTube<\/a>. You\u2019ll get lots of ideas about how to make your characters\u2019 conversations come alive.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

ABOUT THE AUTHOR<\/h2>\n

Kay Keppler<\/a>\"Kay<\/a>\u00a0is an author\u00a0Zero Gravity Outcasts<\/a><\/em>, Betting on Hope<\/a><\/em>,\u00a0Gargoyle: Three Enchanting Romance Novellas<\/a><\/em>, and editor of fiction and nonfiction \u2013Angel\u2019s Kiss<\/a><\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Outsource It<\/em>! She lives in northern California. Contact her here at Writer\u2019s Fun Zone in the comments below, or at\u00a0kaykeppler@yahoo.com<\/a>\u00a0to ask questions, suggest topics, or if you prefer, complain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People talk to each other all the time, so it seems as though writing dialogue should be simple. But many writers trip up over making dialogue sound natural. 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