The Catholic Writers Guild

Most new writers have trouble with dialogue. I know I did. Luckily, I have an author in my writing group who is a master at it. He has a real knack for creating believable and creative dialogue that fits his characters so completely that the reader could recognize what character is speaking without tags. I have learned so much from his natural talent that I would like to pass it on in my next few posts. 

Is your dialogue believable?

Who is your character? Does he speak from who he is? Does her speech work with her educational, ethnic, and economic state? Have you, as a professional writer, studied the natural deviations of accents, slang, and directness or subtlety the reader would expect of this character?

Long before your character is given dialogue, a good writer prepares the reader with information about the character. That way, when the character speaks, the reader can not only accept the dialogue but expect the tone, nuance, and vocabulary limitations or eccentricities of said character. 

For example: A well-renowned physician is yanked into a police station and accused of murder. He jumps up and shouts, “Lemme outta heah, ya bums!” To be sure, this is an extreme example of dialogue that doesn’t fit the character. Your reader will be rolling in laughter. This is unbelievable dialogue. 

In real life, the reader might expect the physician to suddenly exclaim, “I will accept your apologies once you realize the mistake you have made. You’ll find yourself sorry when this dreadful misunderstanding is over.” 

He is now speaking to the nature of his character. Dialogue is not only used to offer statements and information that further the situation or relationship. Dialogue is used to continually affirm the true nature of the character. Unbelievable dialogue can confuse the reader.

How do you make your dialogue authentic?

Authentic dialogue does not mean reporting speech as it is actually spoken. Few people are direct or instantly clear in stating what they mean.

Example: “I want to tell you something. It’s been on my mind for a long time. It’s about the lipstick you wear. The lipstick you wear every day. It’s the shade. The red shade that you seem to like. You know what I mean. I mean it’s important since you wear it all the time. Do you understand what I mean? It’s the color. Do you understand me?”

This is not only wordy but takes too long to read. People in real life ramble, but you can’t bore your reader with disjointed, ill-thought out words. A good writer selects from the disorderly outpouring of actual speech the lines that are needed to state what must be said and rewrites it into language that sounds like someone speaking.

Example: “For a long time I’ve wanted to tell you about that bright red lipstick. It’s awful!”

Should you recreate ethnic speech?

In the last century it was popular to recreate the exact sounds of ethnic speech. Writers tried to be literally authentic. 

Example: A Yiddish character — “So, dis lady the udder day kums hin for puhink some gardders, you hearst me, nuh?”

This kind of imitation is no longer necessary. Nowadays, writers merely alter the verbal meter and arrange it into a pattern. Here’s the example that would fit today’s accepted dialog.

Example: “So for a pair of garters, this lady comes in, so I ask her…”

Your dialog needs to give an impression and not a duplication of reality. 

What is passive and dynamic dialogue?

Dialogue changes information from the passive to the dynamic. Pace is intensified by eliminating cumbersome words. The dialogue not only defines the character but gives the information imparted reality. Passive information is found in the description of a scene. It is given to inform the reader. Sometimes the relevance of the information is immediate, other times its importance is revealed later. Passive information tells. Dynamic information is included in a scene by the characters. Dynamic information causes. 

Example of passive information: The two gang members hide behind the trash cans, carefully listening and waiting for the police to leave. Johnny accuses Sam of being a coward during the robbery. Sam is angry, claiming that the gun the store owner pulled out didn’t frighten him. He claims he hid in the aisle to think about his next move. Johnny says he didn’t pass the gang initiation because he’s a coward just like his old man.

Now the same written in dynamic dialogue: “Come off it, Sam. You hid when he pulled the gun. You’re a coward!” 

Sam glares at Johnny, “I ducked into the aisle to plan my next move. I’m no yellow-belly. I was about to come out blazing when the police arrived.” 

Johnny scoffs, “Sure, sure! You’re just like your old man. Now you’re not only a chicken, but a liar.”

 It’s dynamic because it causes the characters to respond and react. Information related by the writer is passive. The characters personalize the information and it becomes part of the novel’s foreshadowing of what is to come. It creates an obstacle for one of the characters and adds to the plot. 

The only way to learn to create great dialog is to do it repeatedly. I tend to write my first draft in a ‘tell instead of show’ fashion. It’s not until my first edit that I painstakingly revise my draft from a dull telling to an exciting showing. I usually let  my character’s dialog make each scene dynamic. A writer needs to learn their weaknesses and constantly strive to improve that area. 

Next post I will continue on the skill of formulating dynamic dialogue.