2 thoughts on “Things Writers Should Know: Dialogue”

1. The message is that in real life people talk to say very little at best, nothing is more common. You can’t afford that in a novel. Your dialogue has to count, advance the story and/or increase the tension and reveal future problems. Every word counts and your characters have no time to share the obvious as in real life.

   “hi, wassup?’
   “All’s good. You?”
   “Oh, you know, can’t complain.”
   “Plans for the weekend?”
   “Not sure, but might go check that new place, you know? looks like it’s full of killer chicks”

   DULL, real, useless, and the way people talk has no place in a novel.

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   • Howdy, Massimo! I agree with you wholeheartedly that your example is dull and useless. However, I do disagree with your point that “the way people talk has no place in a novel.” In a literary novel, no. In a science fiction novel, probably not. But in some books with a specific time/era and/or location, a TOUCH of what you demonstrated would be acceptable. 🙂

     For authors considering using dialect in their books, “a touch” equals a smidge, a word here and there, limited characters only, used very sparingly!

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