What is the purpose of dialogue?

[Jo Zebedee]

Now, I love my dialogue. I could practically write a whole book of dialogue. I rarely get pulled up on it too much - everything else, yes.

I have been reading a few crits where the use of dialogue is queried as a methodology to move the plot on, and know of one agent on twitter who doesn't like a lot of it, and now I'm wondering if I'm using too much. To my mind a conversation is the natural way to pull the story along provided

A. It is natural ie like we actually speak

B. it has relevance to the plot
And

C. It is mixed with action and exposition.

What constitutes too much dialogue? Are there readers out there who like dialogue driven stories or should I join Hoopy and write plays? (I have considered it a few times, I think my addiction was fed by the theatre...) for those who don't like it - what is it you don't like?

 

[Ursa major]

I think dialogue adds variety to solid blocks of narration, which can often (in first person and very close third person) be akin to a monologue. The latter is fine if the voice is wonderful, but even then one can have to much of a good thing.

Just sayin'.



Okay, I like writing dialogue and don't want it to be yet another thing we are only allowed to use sparingly (as opposed to... er... sparringly ).

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

I once read somewhere that a novel should have some dialogue on the very first page in order to hook the reader. The thinking is that people are interested in people. The reader sees dialogue (before she even starts reading) and is interested.

I'd take that with a grain of salt. Certainly you can have a fine story without any dialogue at all; or a story consisting entirely of dialogue; or anything between.

Purposes of dialogue include, but are not limited to:

1. Revealing character. ("Howdy, bub" compared to "Good day to you, sir")

2. Revealing interactions among characters. (Are they helping each other? Fighting? Telling lies? Trying to convince or seduce?)

3. Revealing plot elements. This can be tricky. You don't want "As you know" dialogue, but sometimes one character can reveal something to another character in a realistic way, and provide information to the reader as well.

 

[HoopyFrood]

Hey, I write films! Though my tendency to focus on one small location probably would work better for the stage! But yes, come over to the script side, it's awesome.

I do love me some dialogue. My eyes naturally gravitate to it in books (sometimes at the expense of description, oops). But I tend to feel like dialogue does tend to be more...stylised and to the point in books. I like being more rambly and subtextual, which is what draws me to scripts.

 

[Mouse]

springs, you don't use too much dialogue. Ignore anybody who says you do.

I love dialogue myself too, reading it and writing it. I'll often skim (or skip entirely) passages of description to get back to the dialogue.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Hey, I write films! Though my tendency to focus on one small location probably would work better for the stage! But yes, come over to the script side, it's awesome.

I do love me some dialogue. My eyes naturally gravitate to it in books (sometimes at the expense of description, oops). But I tend to feel like dialogue does tend to be more...stylised and to the point in books. I like being more rambly and subtextual, which is what draws me to scripts.

Ooops. scripts, i meant scripts.

springs, you don't use too much dialogue. Ignore anybody who says you do.

I love dialogue myself too, reading it and writing it. I'll often skim (or skip entirely) passages of description to get back to the dialogue.

I will listen to you, Mistress of Dialogue, since your dialogue stye is one I emulate.

 

[Mouse]

Blimey, I wouldn't do that.

 

[Bowler1]

I'm another dialogue writer, and it's a style I like to do. There are lots of ways to write, but only one for you Springs. It may change over time, but this is your voice. It won't please everyone all the time, no matter how good you are.

I like a lot of what I've seen posted up recently, mate, so I think your doing just fine. But, as I do dialogue as well, I may not be the best judge.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

Your balance of dialogue to narration is fine Springs - at least I hope it is because you use less than I do.

I use dialogue:
1) To give the other character's POV.
2) As action ie maybe they are sitting round a dinner table talking.
3) To add humour to a dour scene.
4) To move the plot forward without infodumping or to reveal character.
5) Because it just works in that particular part of the story.

 

[HareBrain]

At the risk of sounding facetious, I use it when the characters have something interesting or important to say to each other (and as long as it doesn't disrupt the pacing to have the exchange shown as dialogue rather than reported). I can't really imagine that any dialogue used in this way would be seen as "too much". My guess is that the agent on twitter has been exposed to a lot of dialogue that wasn't.

 

[AnyaKimlin]

I suspect the agent on Twitter is objecting to infodump dialogue. Dialogue that moves the story on but is implausible.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Ty all. I think it sounds like we're all pretty close in our thoughts.( and thanks bowler and anya for your nice comments. )

 

[Abernovo]

To my mind a conversation is the natural way to pull the story along provided

A. It is natural ie like we actually speak

B. it has relevance to the plot
And

C. It is mixed with action and exposition.

I think you summed up my feelings in your original post. Your dialogue reads as natural to me, springs.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Dialogue can do many things. I think it's useful for adding a bit of humour through sarcastic remarks or suchlike and helping to define characters. After all, if no-one spoke it'd be hard to tell a taciturn chap from a talkative one.

I'd slightly disagree with B. It *is* a valid reason, but I also think that dialogue which develops a character and/or helps to immerse the reader in the world more can also be valid. It doens't have to be about plot.

 

[Hex]

To come at it from a different perspective, dialogue annoys me when:

* it's blatant infodump
* it's pointless ("Let's go to the playground," said Bob. "Yes, let's," said Sam. "Good," said Bob. "Let's go then," said Sam. "OK," said Bob. They went).
* it's used to explain things that the character probably wouldn't be thinking but which could be dealt with really neatly by a small bit of internal thought.
*(not so strong an issue but it does make me stop and wonder): when everyone is constantly emoting all over the place and sharing their innermost thoughts about everything. Just, you know. I'm Scottish. Let's have some emotional constipation around here!

I think sometimes people try to use dialogue instead of anything else and it can come over as flabby and pointless, also dialogue that reflects how people actually speak can be difficult.

 

[The Ace]

It's much more natural for a character to say how he's feeling than for an all-knowing narrator to point it out. There's also the fact that people talk to each other anyway, and there's always the attraction of a throwaway line.

"Should we tell him about the elephant ?" Asked Steve.

Conn shuddered, "There are some things man was not meant to know. I was there, remember ? And I don't want to know about the elephant !"

 

[Hex]

Yes, and there's a huge difference between:

"Do you love me?" she asked.

Roberto bit his lip and turned to look out of the window.

"Well?" She marched across the room and took his arm. "Do you?"

"Of course," he said, after a long pause. "Of course I do."

and:

"Do you love me?" she asked.

"Well," Roberto settled himself in the chair, "not very much any more. I think I loved you before Venice but then you kept winking at the Gondola guy and that made me feel humiliated and there was the whole thing with your stupid dog and I know you got rid of him when I asked but honestly he was yappy and stupid and probably the thing that decided me was when you wore the black dress..."

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Do tell me it's the first that works....

 

[Hex]

Hee.

Not necessarily, but that's how men of my acquaintance tend to behave.

Nobody loves me. Boo hoo.

 

[Glitch]

dialogue that reflects how people actually speak can be difficult.

Do you mean hard to read, or hard to write?

I thinking writing dialogue exactly as a person would say something doesn't usually read right.