August Writing Challenges: Day 15 - Dialogue Without Words

August. The summer is nearly over. Kids are going back to school. You now have some time on your hands.  Okay, you still have a list of chores a mile long, but let's put writing at the top of the priority list, okay?

I am going to challenge you with a writing prompt every day this month. Are you up for it? I hope so.

The writing challenges will be about a variety of topics and hopefully cause you to dig into your writing toolbox to complete with emotional skill.

Watch out, I just might throw in a fun one, well, just for fun!

For the fifteenth challenge we're going to attempt to write a scene using no words to convey dialogue:

Here is your challenge:

First, write a sentence or two describing the tension you intend to explore between your characters: What does each one want?

Using NO dialogue, in less than three hundred words, let the reader discover something about the relationship between two characters by where we find them, what they are doing, and how they interact with each other.

Use this basic formula:
Reveal character A in a place (setting) doing something (activity). Character B might already be in the scene, or B might enter. Either way, B has a strong need or want - an ISSUE he/she wants to address. B interrupts or engages A, who also has an objective - something he/she is trying to get done, and / or something he/she does or does not want to talk about. This clash of objectives is an important element in the scene.

TIPS:
Focus on selecting and utilizing setting and activity so that your readers discover - because you show them, rather than tell them - something essential about at least one, if not both, of your characters.

DO NOT USE DIALOGUE.

This challenge requires you to have setting and action, not something your characters say, communicate to the reader.

This might be frustrating, and give you all kinds of ideas about what you WILL have them say to each other when you have a chance.

IMPORTANT: 
Do not tell us what they would be saying. Part of the challenge is to explore how we communicate without words.

I hope you find this challenge enjoyable.

August Writing Challenges: Day 13 - Drama

August. The summer is nearly over. Kids are going back to school. You now have some time on your hands.  Okay, you still have a list of chores a mile long, but let's put writing at the top of the priority list, okay?

I am going to challenge you with a writing prompt every day this month. Are you up for it? I hope so.

The writing challenges will be about a variety of topics and hopefully cause you to dig into your writing toolbox to complete with emotional skill.

Watch out, I just might throw in a fun one, well, just for fun!

For the thirteenth challenge we're going to see how well you can describe drama:

Here is your challenge:

Drama: Write about a time when you got stuck in between two parties fighting with each other. You can use your own experiences if you'd like to help give more personality to each character.

Next, write a letter, addressed to yourself, from the other person's perspective. In this letter, take on the voice of your adversary, as your adversary explains his/her perspective on why he/she was right and you were certainly in the wrong.

NOTE: This exercise is designed to give the writer practice at creating two characters that are coming to the battle with equal ammunition. It draws from the writer's personal history with conflict and tries to place the writer in the mind of the opponent.

This exercise is a great way to practice writing from perspectives other than your own. It's also a good way to humanize antagonists.

Enjoy!

August Writing Challenges: Day 11 - Who Are You?

August. The summer is nearly over. Kids are going back to school. You now have some time on your hands.  Okay, you still have a list of chores a mile long, but let's put writing at the top of the priority list, okay?

I am going to challenge you with a writing prompt every day this month. Are you up for it? I hope so.

The writing challenges will be about a variety of topics and hopefully cause you to dig into your writing toolbox to complete with emotional skill.

Watch out, I just might throw in a fun one, well, just for fun!

For the eleventh challenge we're going to have you throw yourself into a favorite character:

Here is your challenge:

If you could be anyone else (fictional or non) for a day, who would it be and why? 

Be as detailed and imaginative as possible. Choose a fantasy character if you'd like. 

Describe either in prose or dialogue who you are, who you meet throughout the day, where you go, what you do, and how you feel. 

Enjoy!

August Writing Challenges: Day 9 - Dream-Catcher

August. The summer is nearly over. Kids are going back to school. You now have some time on your hands.  Okay, you still have a list of chores a mile long, but let's put writing at the top of the priority list, okay?

I am going to challenge you with a writing prompt every day this month. Are you up for it? I hope so.

The writing challenges will be about a variety of topics and hopefully cause you to dig into your writing toolbox to complete with emotional skill.

Watch out, I just might throw in a fun one, well, just for fun!

For the ninth challenge we're going to reflect on a recent dream.

Here is your challenge:

Dream-catcher: Write something inspired by a recent dream you had.

 Imagine a beautiful dream you had once. Now write a story surrounding that dream. Maybe the event takes place in that area, or perhaps that is the same dream of your character, and so on. Do you have recurring dreams? Can you recall them? Draw upon your feelings about the dream and if it motivates you, create a character living that dream. Be detailed with your description, characterization, where the character lives, how the character reacts in your dream and dialogue.

Go all out. Embellish if it makes the story better. Use your imagination. 


TIP: Dreams are a series of thoughts, visions, or feelings that happen during sleep: an idea or vision that is created in your imagination and that is not real: something that you have wanted very much to do, be, or have for a long time.

Enjoy. I hope you realize you can recall more of your dreams than you thought.

15 Proofreading Tips for Writers

Let me ask you a question: How do you feel when you find a grammar error or typo in a book you are reading? Are you sad for the author? Sad for the editor? Do you feel a bit smug that you found the error and obviously no one else did?

What if it were your own writing and someone else caught the error? How would you feel then?

I'm going to give you some proofreading tips to help reduce the amount of errors or typos found in your writing.

Just follow these tips and hopefully one of your readers won't come across an error and feel a bit superior that they found an error you didn't.

Remember this, Mark Twain said, "The difference between the almost-right word & the right word is really a large matter--it's the difference between the lightning-bug & the lightning."

1. The first thing you can do is let your writing rest. For how long? For however long it takes to really get away from it and not have it in your head when you go back to re-read it. According to Hemingway, he wrote the ending to Farewell to Arms 39 times before he was satisfied.

2. Expect to do some rewriting. Leo Tolstoy wrote, "I can't understand how anyone can write without rewriting everything over and over again." Rewriting is the best way to learn to write.

3. Proofread in hard copy only. Reading on a computer is too easy to get lost in the writing and not see the errors.

4. Are you sentences properly constructed and clear?

5. Have you checked all questionable spellings?

6. Is your punctuation correct?

7. Have you used proper transitional expressions to tie your paragraphs together? Your chapters together? Does the continuity of the story flow throughout?

8. Does each scene have one clear and concise point of view?

9. Does your dialogue work with the story theme and move the story along or is it stagnant and conversational?

10. Have you read your story aloud? Have you had someone else read your story aloud to you?

11. Silently read your story backwards. This will help you catch many errors that are "hidden" in the story. You will not be caught up in the story and can focus on the words.

12. Proofread for one kind of error at a time. You will have to read your writing several times, but it's worth it if you can concentrate on only finding one kind of error at a time.

13. Always make sure you have double-checked your facts, figures, and names. There are many times I've read a book where the main character is named something like "Carl" in the first 5 chapters, and later changes to "Charles" in the remaining chapters. It can be very confusing to the reader.

14. Don't always rely on your spellchecker, but use your dictionary as well.

15. Always double check our apostrophes and contractions. Make sure they are constructed properly and fused appropriately.

I'm sure there are more tips out there for proofreading but these tips have done me well when it comes to my own writing. My publisher was always happy to receive one of my manuscripts because they knew they didn't have to put in a lot of time editing it. My manuscripts were one of the cleanest they'd ever seen.

Reference: The Least You Should Know About English by Teresa Ferster Glazier

Copyright: bradcalkins / 123RF Stock Photo

Dialogue that Propels the Story Forward

"Blah, blah, blah," she said.

"Yup."

"Did you hear what I just said?"

"Didn't understand it, more life it."

"Why you...!"

Have you ever experience or witnessed a conversation like that? Read one in your recent books? Did it make you want to throw the book against the wall and yell, "just get to the point!"

Been there.

Dialogue should be about something. It should move the plot forward in some way or it's useless. Pretty much like the beginning of this blog post, eh?

As a writing coach, it's difficult not to tell my clients that their dialogue just doesn't work, and then try to get them to understand that it must connect with the theme and plot, include tensions and suspense, all while moving the story forward.

So, they usually throw up their hands in despair and ask, "Why write at all?"

I have a trick or two to help you. Actually my trick is Gloria Kempton and her book Dialogue: Techniques and exercises for crafting effective dialogue. The tricks are hers and now yours.

Your Dialogue Must Move The Story Forward
Move the plot forward. Sounds easy, right?
Dialogue is a means to an end, not the end itself. Don't get all caught up in your characters having a great conversation that you forgot what your story was all about and why these two characters were in it.

Simple tip: You engage your characters in conflict and use dialogue to increase their struggle.

According to Ms. Kempton:

Dialogue is one of the fiction elements you can use to propel your plot forward and integrate your theme into each scene. They way you do this is to set your characters up in an animated discussion scene that does any one of a number of things: 

• provides new information to the characters about the conflict, 
• reveals new obstacles that the viewpoint character must overcome to achieve his goal, 
• creates the kind of dynamic between the scene characters that furthers the story's theme, 
• introduces a pivotal moment in the plot that transforms the character(s), 
• set up the discussion so the character (and reader) are reminded of his scene and story goals, 
• and/or accelerates the emotion and story movement to increase the suspense and make the situation more urgent for the characters.

If you remember the seven purpose of dialogues, you can get through this.

Provides New Information
Have your characters talking and then have one of them add a new bit of information that takes the conversation and plot into an entirely new direction. Throw obstacles at your readers.

Reveals New Obstacles
When considering dialogue, an obstacle to a character's goal works the same and throwing in a new topic or conversation direction that creates immediate conflict. The character can express his discomfort verbally, but he's going to have to physically do something to move the story forward.

Increases Suspense
Suspense increases when you keep making it look worse for your characters. You can do this very well with dialogue because the character is already "in the moment" and the reader is "watching" how the character is going to handle the suspense that's been dropped on him.

According to Ms. Kempton: Suspense is achieved in dialogue when the viewpoint character gets "that feeling" about the other character in the scene. Or suddenly realizes that things are not as they seem.

Furthers The Theme
Gloria Kempton loves when an author lets a character reveal the story's theme in dialogue. In her book, "Dialogue" she tells about getting a "kick" out of observing how other writers do it, whether novelists or screenwriters.

She says: When a character announces the story's theme in the middle of a passage of dialogue, it gives the other characters the opportunity to respond and move the action in one direction or another. This can be very effective, because while the reader my not necessarily be able to recognize the theme as the a-ha moment in the story, subconsciously it registers as a pivotal moment and the reader holds her breath, waiting to see how the other characters will respond.

Shows Character Transformation
As writers, we should be changing our characters, in subtle ways, throughout our story. This is why we write fiction. We want to show how our character can change. For the better or worse. In order for a transformation to happen, and our characters changed forever, a profound moment has to happen. In dialogue, it happens with words.

Reveals/Reminds of Goals
Obstacles. That's an important elements when helping characters change and move the story along. Throwing obstacles at your character reminds him/her about their goal, their intention in the scene, and in the story.  To do this the best way possible, you use your protagonist to show these change with action and dialogue.

Gloria says: In every scene, you want to remind your reader of the main character's intention, as this is the way you engage your reader and keep engaging her as the story progresses. Using dialogue for  this purpose is especially effective because the character is stating his goal out loud.

Would you rather your character say around and thought about his passion or reminisced about his intention? Showing with dialogue is so much better. And it moves the scene along.

Keeping Your Characters In Social Settings
I know it sounds simple, but dialogue can't happen if there isn't more than one character. If you have your character talk to themselves too long, the story goes south and the reader becomes bored. So, how do we keep the story moving? Add more than one character to the scene.

Readers really enjoy when characters are engaged in dialogue and action.

Simple Tip: A scene of dialogue must always move the story forward in some way.

There is a strategy for bringing all three elements of the scene together: dialogue, narrative, and action. It's so the scene is balanced and focused on its purpose.

Was this helpful?

Resource: Dialogue: Techniques an Exercises for Crafting Effective Dialogue by Gloria Kempton

Copyright: coramax / 123RF Stock Photo

The Least You Should Know - Quotation Marks

Quotation Marks are a fickle creature when it comes to punctuation. Where do you put them, when do you put them, how do you put them?

All great questions. Usually quotation marks go around speech. Dialogue. Talking.  Like this little guy here to the left. He's speaking but we don't know what he's saying so we need to give him quotation marks to indicate what is speech.

Got it?

But, did know that you put quotation marks around other things you write besides dialogue? 

Yep, and we're going to learn how to use quotation marks properly in this post.

So, let's begin.

1. Put Quotation Marks around the exact words of a speaker (but not around an indirect quotation)

She said, "I will not go." (Her exact words.)

She said that she would not go. (Not her exact words.)

Whenever that precedes the words of a speaker (as in the last example), it indicates that the words are not a direct quotation and should not have quotation marks around them.

She said, "I will not go. I have other plans. Don't bother picking me up."

The words telling who is speaking are set off with a comma, unless of course, a question mark or exclamation mark is needed.

"I will not go," she said.

He said, "You will go."

"Don't you understand me?" she asked.

"Come here!" he shouted.

Every quotation begins with a capital letter. But when a quotation is broken, the second part doesn't begin with a capital letter unless it's a new sentence.

"Genius," said Anthony, "is the art of taking infinite pains."

"Don't be afraid to take a big step if one is indicated," said David Lloyd George. "You can't cross a chasm in tow small jumps."

Always begin a new paragraph with each change of speaker.

"May I have that brush?" I asked.

"What for?" Nancy said.

"To brush my dog's hair," I replied.

2. Put Quotation Marks around the name of a story, poem, essay, or other short work. For longer words such as books, newspapers, plays, or movies, use underlining (which means italics in print) or use italics.

I like Robert Frost's short poem "Fire and Ice."

Have you seen the movie Star Wars?

Rachel Carson's essay "And No Birds Sing" is found in her book Silent Spring.

We went to see the play The Lion King.

There you have it. Quotation Marks aren't as difficult as we once thought, once we know the rules, right?

Did you get all your questions answered? Do you have more questions about Quotation Marks? Ask in the comments below.

Looking for Story Ideas in the Strangest Places

Where do you find your story ideas? Do you listen to other people's conversations? Do you take a walk in the park and get the spark of an idea from the wind in the trees, the waves of flowers as the wind rustles through?

Maybe you see a child playing on the swings and it reminds you of a long lost childhood.

Here's an exercise for you to get more story ideas from strange places.

Do you remember the five and ten store from your youth? Ours was a Ben Franklin store. I loved getting a chance to wander the many aisles and see all the items for sale. Ben Franklin had everything from bolts of fabrics to nuts and bolts of every size.

What we have now in our lives are Dollar Stores. Or Family Dollar Stores. Or Deals. Or Dollar Tree. Or whatever they are calling it in your area. It's a dollar store. Where everything is not a dollar. It's basically a place to sell overstocked items at a lower price.

If you strolled through one you, first you'll find items you never thought you needed, but you are sure you can find a use for, and second, you'll find a plethora of story writing ideas.

Here's a recent visit to a dollar store that had a refrigerated and frozen food section. I'll list some of the story ideas and you choose one to write:

1. Write the story of a nun buying twelve cans of Silly String and a pair of ear buds.

2. Play out the life story of a little boy crying at the top of his lungs because his mother won't buy him a plastic fireman's hat.

3. Write the rest of the dialogue that begins with an elderly woman yelling to her husband, "George, you gotta start eatin' better, like the doctor said. Do you wanna get these frozen fish sticks?"

Wait for a moment.

If you go to your local dollar store, stand still and listen. You'll find story ideas galore.

What was the strangest place you ever found a story idea?

Writer Turned Architect - Designing Your Perfect Workshop

Let's take off our writers' caps and put pencil behind your ear and grab a tape measurer. We are going to build us the "perfect" writers' workshop.

For better understanding, we are talking about fiction writing. Ok, now that we got that out of the way, resume.

Is there such a thing as a "Perfect Workshop?" Let's start with that, shall we?

I think so. I think if we held a consortium and asked writers of various stages in their writing career what the entities they felt needed to be in a workshop of their choice, we could build not one, or two, but many "perfect" workshops.

So, let's begin at the beginning. If you were a beginner writer (or those who aren't and can look back and say "hey, I wish someone asked me that question!") what topic or topics would you like to be taught?

What is most important to you when developing your book or writing?

•   Characters
•   Plot
•   Point of View
•   Description
•   Dialogue
•   Setting and Pacing
•   Voice
•   Theme
•   Revision/Editing
•   Business of Writing (remember, this can be a WHOLE other group of workshops)

Look at the list I just created above. We could create separate workshops on each topic. Don't you think?

Okay, Let's take it a bit deeper.

Of these topics, what is most important to learn? Tell me. I really want to know.

Would you like hand-outs that the instructor would actually go over with you?

Would you like hands-on writing exercises where you could be brave enough to read yours to the group and possibly receive feedback? Would you like feedback from the other members of the group? Would you like feedback from the instructor?

How many people would you feel comfortable in a workshop style setting? 5? 10? 20?

I know, some of you are raising your hands in the background. I see you. Yes, I know what you're going to ask. What about critique groups? That's a great point.

Would you be interested in a critique group? Would you want to meet with writers of various calibers and work on pieces and have them read and critiqued by others?

I know, it's a bit off the topic of workshops, but that person in the back was waving their hand so wildly I had to pick on him, or else he might have fallen off his seat.

Let's get back to workshops.

Could you describe your perfect workshop to me in the comments below?

We're not talking price, location, or anything like that. If all those outside influences were met, and we just talked about you designing the subject, what would it entail?

So, tell me, at what level do you see yourself as a writer?

• Just beginning, no publications
• Just finishing with first book
• Looking to publish first book
• first book published, how to top it with a second?
• Advanced writer, several books under my belt, but something is missing
• Uber Writer. I know it all. Well I thought I did, until my books stopped selling and I can't find anything else to write about

So, with your level of writing in mind, describe the perfect workshop for you in the comments below. Can you do that for me?

Thanks.

Image Credit: vectorart / 123RF Stock Photo

Writing Tips - Ways to Begin a Story

Today's Writing Tip comes from Robie Macauley, from the book titled What If? Writing Exercises for Fiction Writers.

There are various ways a writer can open a story. As a writer it's your job to choose the most appropriate way to being your story. How do you want your story to start? With dialogue? With a description? With a backflash? WIth a character thinking?

Let's take a look at the various choices you have.

With a Generalization

"My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America."

-- Amy Tan, "Two Kinds"

With a Description of a Person

"He was lifing his kneads high and putting his hand up, when I first saw him as if crossing the road through that stringing rain, he were breaking through the bead curtain of a Pernambuco bar. I knew he was going to stop me." -- V.S. Pritchett, "The Sailor"

With Narrative Summary

"An unfortunate circumstance in my life has just recalled to mind a certain Dr. Crombie and the conversations I used to hold with him when I was young. He was the school doctor until the eccentricity of his ideas became generally known." -- Graham Green, "Doctor Crombie"

With Dialogue

"Don't think about a cow," Matt Brinkley said. -- Ann Beattie, "In the White Night."

With Several Characters but no Dialogue

"During the lunch hour, the male clerks usually went out, leaving myself and three girls behind. While they ate their sandwiches and drank their tea, they chattered away thirteen to the dozen. Half their conversation I didn't understand at all, and the other half bored me to tears." -- Frank O'Connor, "Music When Soft Voices Die"

With a Setting and Only One Character

"After dinner, with its eight courses and endless conversation, Olda Mikhailovna, whose husband's birthday was being celebrated, went out into the garden. The obligation to smile and talk continuously, the stupidity of the servants, the clatter of dishes, the long intervals between courses, and the corset she had put on to conceal her pregnancy from her guests, had wearied her to the point of exhaustion." -- Anton Chekhov, "The Birthday Party"

With a Reminiscent Narrator

"I was already formally engaged, as we used to say, to the girl I was going to marry." -- Peter Taylor, "The Old Forest"

With a Child Narrator

"I don't have much work to do around the house like some girls." -- Toni Cade Bambara, "Raymond's Run"

My Establishing Point of View

First Person

"There was no exchange of body fluids on the first date, and that suited both of us just fine." -- T. Coraghessan Boyle "Modern Love"

Third Person

"The August two-a-day practice sessions were sixty-seven days away, Coach calculated." -- Mary Robison, "Coach"

THE EXERCISE

A two-part exercise: First experiment with different types of openings for different stories until you feel comfortable with the technique of each. Then see how many ways there are to open one particular story you have in mind. How does the story change when the opening changes from a generalization to a line of dialogue?

THE OBJECTIVE

To see how experimenting with several ways of opening your story can lead you to a better understanding of whose story it is, and what the focus of the story will be.

I'd like to know what you thought of it, so please leave a comment at the end.

Writing Tips - 10 Rules for Good Writing

From Gotham Writers' Workshop Inc. comes the secret of Elmore Leonard's being both popular and respectable. Here are Leonard's 10 Rules for Good Writing excerpted from the New York Times article, Easy on the Adverbs, Exclamation Points and Especially Hooptedoodle.

1. Never open a book with weather.
2. Avoid prologues.
3. Never use a verb other than "said" to carry dialogue.
4. Never use an adverb to modify the very "said" ... he admonished gravely.
5. Keep your exclamation points under control. You are allowed no more than two or three per 100,000 words of prose.
6. Never use the words "suddenly" or "all hell broke loose".
7. Use regional dialect, patois, sparingly.
8. Avoid detailed descriptions of characters.
9. Don't go into great detail describing places and things.
10. Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip.

Elmore Leonard's most import rule is one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.

Give Me 250 - Dialogue

Let's celebrate our writing. Your Writing Coach has the "Give me 250 on Wednesdays" prompt. Every Wednesday I will give you a prompt and all you have to do is give me 250 words on whatever pops into your head about the prompt. It can be a draft or a final revision. Just give me the 250 words you want to share. Post the 250 words on your blog. Celebrate your writing!

Then, when you are finished, link your permalink post here and discover what others have posted for their 250. Share this link with your Twitter friends and Facebook friends. Share away. Just celebrate and share. Use the hashtag #250Wednesday on Twitter.

Only one rule: Encourage the person who linked before you. It's important that we all have validation for our writing. Encouragement is important. Validate another's writing; be supportive, just like you'd want someone to validate yours.

Invite your friends to join in the fun. What can you write in 250 words with our prompts?

This prompt will stay up for your writing pleasure for one week, Wednesday until Tuesday. Then, the prompt changes.

Let's grow this writing prompt challenge. Grab the button and share with others.

250 Wednesdays Button

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3/20/13 Prompt - Dialogue

Today's prompt is all about dialogue. Last week we wrote a silent scene using no dialogue. This week we are going to have two characters delve and explore as much about their character development, senses, description, plot and story all within dialogue.



Have fun with this. Did you enjoy the writing prompt?

Say What?

Dialogue.

It sounds easy right. You get two or more characters together and you start them talking. Ah, but did you know there are rules to writing dialogue?

Of course there are!

But, don't worry, I'll try to make them easy to understand and follow. So, let's get started. We all know that dialogue is plain and simple just easier and faster to read than narrative. It keeps the reader interested and moves the story along.

That's your first rule. Dialogue has to move the story along. As Dwight V. Swain says in The Things They Say article, "...ever and always dialogue must advance the plot. How do you make dialogue do this advancing? By having it give the reader information needed to understand what's happening."

I highly recommend a book titled Dialogue: Techniques and exercises for crafting effective dialogue by Gloria Kempton. I believe this book is the ultimate "go to" for your dialogue needs. Ms Kempton writes, "Dialogue not only creates space on the page, which is visually appealing, but it's also what brings characters to life in a story, which is emotionally appealing. We're much more interested in a story's setting when it comes through a scene of dialogue."

Yes! I totally agree. I don't know how many times I've said to my writers, use dialogue to set your scene. For example:

"The water is so warm!" Maureen said as she stepped slowly into the gentle waves.
"What did you expect when we came to Florida, you silly old girl?" Kay laughed at her friend.
"I wasn't sure, I mean, living next to Lake Michigan all my life, didn't even prepare me for this. But, " she paused as she bent down to pick up a pink seashell. "After Harold died and left me all that money, I knew I wanted something different."
"This is different." said Kay with a wry smile.
Maureen lifted her face to the bright sun. "It's so wonderful here." She shaded her eyes. "I just wish those darn seagulls would go find someone else to bug!" She laughed as a bold seagull dived hoping to snap up a tasty treat.

Do you see how we learn from this simplistic example that the scene is set in Florida at the seashore, and we learn even more, the characters are from somewhere in Michigan and they're probably older. All done without using narrative.

Just as important, while you're moving your story along with your dialogue, don't wander. And, no chit-chat for the sake of adding dialogue.

According to Ms Kempton, there are seven functions of dialogue.

Characterizes/Reveals Motives
According to Ms Kempton, "The most effective way to reveal your characters' motives is through their own mouths." In that same vein, the best way for you, the writer, to introduce a character to a reader is to use dialogue. You can use the same things you use in real life when you're interacting with other people: facial expressions and body language.

Remember, as Dwight V. Swain reminds us, "There are things a writer must think about, be aware of. If the words he puts in his story people's mouths are out of character, he'll be hard put to rise above them. Those words should reflect such factors as sex, age, occupation, status and background."

Sets the Mood in the Story
As the writer, you're in charge of setting and controlling the mood in your story. When characters interact, they exchange feelings and emotions. You should also be educing an emotion from the reader as well in order to hold their attention; to keep the reader turning that page.

Intensifies the Story Conflict
According to Ms Kempton, "Every scene of dialogue, in some way, needs to move the story conflict forward." That's a tall order, right? Just keep reminding the reader by using dialogue to show how critical it is for your character to achieve his/her goal.

Dwight V. Swain tells us this, "By the words your people say and the manner in which they say them, dialogue should characterize and individualize them, give information to advance the plot, reveal and build the emotion that galvanizes the story."

Creates Tension and Suspense
Ms Kempton says it better than anyone else, "Effective dialogue always, always delivers tension."

Tension and suspense must the at the core of nearly every scene. You might characterize these scenes with shorter words or shorter sentences to create more tension.

Speeds up your Scenes
That all elusive plot point - pacing. Yes, you can control pacing with dialogue. Used correctly, dialogue can move the story along quickly. Narrative, on the other hand, will slow the story down.

Adds Bits of Setting/Background
Go back and re-read my example above and see how I added bits of setting and background through dialogue. Most writers want to use narrative to set the scene before starting into the dialogue. That's not necessary.

Ms Kempton states, "Setting and background can actually be made interesting when incorporated into a dialogue scene. The reader experiences the setting through the viewpoint character's observations, and depending on the character, this could prove very interesting indeed. As long as there's tension, of course."

Communicates the Theme
In his memoir, On Writing, Stephen King writes, "When you write a book, you spend day after day scanning and identifying the trees. When you're done, you have to step back and look at the forest...it seems to me that every book--at least every one worth reading --is about something."

Stephen King is right. That something is theme. You have to know what your story is about and what you want it to convey to your reader.

Conflict + Resolution = Theme

This is what Gloria Kempton says about dialogue and theme, "Dialogue is not only a faster and more effective way to communicate the theme than to use long paragraphs of dry exposition, but it's also more emotional, up-front, and personal with the reader."


Dialogue is one of the most important tools the writer has you should learn to use it properly. Loren D. Estleman in her article Five Ways to Strengthen Fiction With Dialogue, suggests five steps for developing an ear for dialogue.

Write Plays
She says that even if you never sell them, the practice of writing dialogue forces you to exercise speech usage.

Listen to People
Janet Evanovich in How I Write can answer this, "Pay attention to the spoken word. Play it back in your mind. ... Dialogue is everwhere if you just listen."

Read a lot of Dialogue
Read. Read. Read. You've heard it all before. Read lot's of dialogue, see how other authors are doing it.

Read your Dialogue Aloud
Read your dialogue into a tape recorder than play it back. Have someone else read it to you. Listen to it carefully. You'll be surprised at what you hear and how quickly the fixes come to your mind.

Relax
Don't try so hard to make it work. Dialogue must come naturally. You'll know it when you hear it.


Some other DO's and DON'Ts in Dialogue courtesy of Robert Newton Peck and Janet Evanovich
Do keep your sentences and phrases short. People rarely talk in monologues
Don't worry about overusing the word "said".
Do break up your dialogue with an interjection from another character or a thought or action if any dialogue runs longer than three sentences.
Don't add useless "ly" adverbs following each said.
Do use a telling detail to remind us who's speaking when the conversation goes on a long time.
Don't use so many exclamation marks!
Do make sure each character uses different grammar and figures of speech appropriate to who he is and where he comes from.
Don't underline every other word because you think it's important.
Do be sure to use a reasonable balance of dialogue and narrative

That's it. Dialogue in a "nutshell". Now get out there and show the writing world what you've learned!