Creative Writing 101

Lesson 6: Dialogue.

Dialogue to Show Character.

CHARACTERISTIC DIALOGUE.

Dialogue is a good way of revealing character. Consider the following examples.

"Get out!" yelled Jane. "Go on, get!"

"I think you should go now," said Alice.

"If you're not out of here in five seconds, I'll bash you with a broomstick!' threatened Ellie.

"Go on if you're going," said Beth.

"Depart. Or else," said Pattie.

These five women are all saying much the same thing, but they express themselves in different ways. Jane sounds angry and out of control, while Alice sounds very much in control. Ellie probably has a sense of humour, while Beth sounds petulant. Pattie's use of the formal ("depart") and the vernacular ("or else") may indicate humour or she may be pretending to have more class than she has.

Manner of delivery, word choice, sentence structure and length of sentence all help to illuminate character and background. Age and historical period can also be displayed in dialogue.

People with the habit of command tend to phrase their requests as instructions.

Insecure people, or those who feel themselves low in the social pecking order, apologise when there isn't any need.

Diplomatic people phrase their instructions as requests.

People who read a lot often phrase their instructions in an either/or request, which they hope will guarantee an acceptable answer.

For example, see these three women with their daughters.

Here is Karen. "I don't know why you never help in the house, Gina."

Here is Mary. "What are you going to do to help me today, Anna?"

Here is Deb. "Would you like to sweep the floor, Dinah, or would you rather wash the dishes?"

Each woman is expressing a desire that her daughter should help with the housework, but their requests are differently phrased, and will probably have different results.

Leaving aside the social and psychological reasoning behind these results, let's focus on what we can learn about the women and their daughters.

It seems that Anna is probably younger than the other girls. Her mother uses the tone of someone talking to a child rather than a stroppy teenager. Mary is also pleasant and in control, but she probably doesn't mind whether Anna helps or not.

Karen is exasperated. Maybe Gina never does help in the house, or maybe Karen's irritation really comes from another source. If Gina does help, she is likely to be grudging.

Deb is organised and accustomed to command. She probably reads parenting magazines. She expects Dinah to help, and Dinah probably will, if she's twelve or so. If Dinah is in her mid teens, she might respond with "Neither".

Here are three men, talking to their grandmothers.

Here is Dan. "Come on Granny, let's get you into the car."

Here is John. "When you're quite ready, Granny, maybe we'll be able to get there before next week."

Here is Kevin. "No hurry, Granny. The shops aren't going anywhere."

Dan sounds pleasant, but a bit patronising, while John's jocular manner doesn't hide him impatience. Kevin sounds calm and pleasant.

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