In a guest post on Jane Friedman’s blog, Tiffany Yates Martin says asking the right questions can help you create natural-sounding, effective dialogue. “Dialogue in story isn’t like dialogue in real life, which can meander or be riddled with empty filler, circumlocutions, and verbal tics,” she says. “Story dialogue is more like concentrated orange juice: It gets rid of all the extraneous material and boils down communication to its essence.”
Yates Martin suggests using the classic journalistic structure of asking the why, when, what, how, and how much your characters says.
- WHY are your characters speaking? Every word of dialogue should be deliberately chosen. Does the dialogue advance the story, reveal information, or conceal something? Is your character speaking to communicate or to hide? Are they nervous or uncomfortable? “Good dialogue often multitasks, serving more than one of these purposes to create layers of meaning in story,” Yates Martin says.
- WHEN do they speak? “When your character speaks and doesn’t speak is an effective way to convey personality and relationships, further character development, advance plot, raise stakes, manage pace, and create suspense and tension,” Yates Martin writes. Consider the difference between a character who allows a long silence and one who chatters to fill it up. When they speak, is it at the appropriate time? Is it welcome? Is it planned? Also consider what your character doesn’t say when they have the chance.
- WHAT do they say? Even when your characters speak without thinking, you should choose each word with deliberate purpose. “How does it move them closer to their goals—or throw up an obstacle?” Yates Martin asks. “How does it show readers who they are or what they’re feeling or thinking?”
- HOW do they say it? Dialogue should reflect the character’s background, personality, experiences, and geographic region. It should also reflect their perspective and what they notice. Consider whether they speak slowly or quickly, if they mumble or slur their words, and if they are wordy or laconic. Are they loud, sarcastic, or deadpan? Are they blunt, diplomatic, or annoyingly vague?
- HOW MUCH do your characters speak? “Dialogue is a great way to dramatize character interactions and bring the story directly to life in front of our eyes, but too much of it can start to feel overly talky, or as if we are reading a screenplay,” Yates Martin says. On the other hand, too much narrative can be boring. Yates Martin suggests considering the purpose of your scene when deciding how much should be narrative and how much should be dialogue. “Scenes meant to reveal or develop character or relationships may come to life more vividly in dialogue rather than just narrative description,” she explains. “Introspective ‘processing’ scenes may benefit from more narrative exploration of the characters’ inner lives, context, or situation.” Fast-paced or humorous scenes may benefit from dialogue, while slower or serious scene could better use narrative.
