  |
|
|
|
To Speak or Not to Speak: Creating Dazzling Dialogue, Part II - Page 4© Kim Kay
DOs and DON'Ts of Good Dialogue
DO use body language and gestures to enhance your speech. This helps convey emotion and is particularly effective when the character isn't telling the truth. While lying to his wife about working late, a man might look down or fidget. This shows the reader that the speaker's words are unreliable. DON'T make your dialogue echo your narrative. For example: Alice was coming down with a cold. "I think I'm getting a cold," she said. DO make sure your characters have something to say before letting them speak. All dialogue should have a purpose. Mindless chatter will do nothing but slow down the pace of your novel. DON'T use cliches unless you have a character who uses them continuously. It is okay if using cliches is a vocal trait of that character. Another exception is if you twist them so the result is unexpected. For instance, after a long speech, a character might say, "That's my four cents," instead of "two cents." DO consider to whom the character is speaking. People use different words and different tones when speaking to children, their spouse, and their boss. DON'T use filler words like "um," "uh," "well," and "you know," unless it is a vocal trait of a particular character. Otherwise, it slows down the dialogue. DO read your dialogue out loud. It will give you a better idea of whether or not it sounds natural and will also allow you to catch unexpected rhythms or rhymes which you may miss when reading it silently. You might even want to consider reading it to someone else or into a tape recorder and playing it back. Good dialogue can really enhance your novel. Start listening to people around you. Carry a notebook around and when you hear a phrase you like, write it down. Note the age, sex, and background, if known, of the speaker. Pay close attention to the dialogue in books, movies, and television shows. Write it down, as well. Pretty soon, you will have a large collection of words and phrases used by a variety of different people. This will give you a good idea of how each person has their own, unique voice. If you can transfer that to your characters, you are well on your way to creating dazzling dialogue.
The copyright of the article To Speak or Not to Speak: Creating Dazzling Dialogue, Part II - Page 4 in Novel Writing is owned by Kim Kay. Permission to republish To Speak or Not to Speak: Creating Dazzling Dialogue, Part II - Page 4 in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
|
|
|
|
