Tips From A Chronic Reader: Dialogue
I'm not sure having good dialogue can make a book, but I'm fairly certain it can break a book.
Dialogue can serve a lot of different purposes in a novel when done well. It can help you get to know the characters better. It obviously helps tell the plot of the story. And it can also keep the book moving along. Let's be honest. Books that are dense with narrative and no dialogue can be slow and hard to read.
But when dialogue is not done well, it can make a book very hard to read - even if it has a good plot.
I read a lot of books by brand new authors that self-publish, and when I find myself not liking their books, nine times out of ten, it's because of the dialogue. And most of the time, it's because the dialogue sounds too mechanical and doesn't flow naturally. I'm amazed at how many times I'm reading a book and find myself saying "people really don't talk like that".
I like to listen to the podcast "Creative. Inspired. ALIVE." which is hosted by New York Times best-selling author Evelyn Skye and writer & creativity coach Joanna Phoenix. A few weeks ago, they interviewed author Jessica Goldstein, and one of the things Jessica said in the interview really resonated with me. She said she spent a lot of time early in her career transcribing interviews. And while it was lowly intern work, it taught her a lot about what makes good or bad dialogue, because she had to constantly listen to the real rhythms of people's speech. You can listen to the whole interview here.
So, if you're a new writer looking to make the dialogue in your books better, what can you do? Here are five tips that this chronic reader has for you!
Tip 5: Accents Are Not Always Your Friend
I read a book a couple of years ago that was written entirely - dialogue and narrative - in a Cockney accent. The author was clearly trying to get across a certain feel and vibe to the book. But my guess is that most people that picked up that book, put it right back down after just a few pages. It was HARD to get through. I pushed through the book and was glad I did, but your average reader won't do that.
My personal opinion is that when writing dialogue, an accent should only be used if you really want to emphasize something about a specific character. If all the characters in your book are from the same place, there is no need to write all of the dialogue with that accent. But if you have one or two characters that you want to highlight their background through an accent, knock yourself out!
Tip 4: Not Everyone Talks The Same Way
Let's be honest. A sulky teenager does not talk the same way her accountant mother talks. Yet in a book I read not too long ago, their dialogue was written to sound exactly the same.
This is just one example of where dialogue can sound too mechanical. Dialogue is such a powerful tool to help you develop your characters. While the sulky teenager is likely going to speak using some slang and a tone that indicates she's angry at the world, the accountant mother would likely speak more properly. If the tone and words of every character in your book sound exactly the same, you need to add more personality to your dialogue.
Tip 3: Use Dialogue To Develop Your Characters
You should be using your dialogue to develop your characters. Characters don't have to be developed strictly by paragraphs and paragraphs of narration describing them. Your readers can learn a lot about a character by what they say and how they say it.
Dialogue is what immerses a reader into the story. When reading good dialogue, you feel like you are there - observing the characters as the story progresses. So use the dialogue between your characters to develop them and the story.
Tip 2: Grammar Is Good... Most Of The Time
Do you speak with perfect grammar all the time? I'd say the answer to that is probably a big NO! I can diagram a sentence with the best of them thanks to my sixth grade teacher, Mr. Weigel . But native English speakers just don't normally talk that way.
Let's take an example. Which sentence sounds more natural?
"I cannot understand why we have made the decision to watch a movie tonight when we know we have to be awake early tomorrow morning."
"I don't know why we decided to watch a movie tonight when we have to be up early tomorrow."
Not only does the second sentence flow better and sound more like the way someone would actually talk, but it's also shorter. Hint: Stay tuned for a future blog post about editing and keeping things short.
Don't get me wrong. Grammar is important - especially in your narration. But consider "loosening" up a bit in your dialogue. Your sixth grade teacher will forgive you!
Tip 1: Read Your Dialogue Out Loud
In my previous role in my "day job", I was required to present in front of clients quite often. Every time I had to present, I would prepare my slides and then practice saying my presentation out loud. While I think my dog and some of my neighbors thought I was a little crazy (I did a lot of practicing while I was walking my dog), practicing out loud really helped me to sound more natural and not like I had just memorized words on a page.
There are many times when I'm reading a book and I ask myself whether the author read any of the dialogue back to themselves. And if they did read it back, did they really think it sounded natural? Did it flow or did it sound mechanical? Force yourself to read your dialogue out loud and ask yourself - would this character really talk like this?
For many established authors with book deals, an editor can play a big role here. But if you are self-publishing and can't afford an editor, you can still ask a trusted family member or friend to read your drafts for you. They don't have to read the whole book, but give them a couple of chapters and ask them to specifically focus on the dialogue and let you know if it sounds "real".
Wrapping It Up!
I hope if you are an aspiring writer, you found this helpful. Dialogue is so important to most books, and getting it right can be a challenge. Keep these tips in mind and good luck!
Disclaimer: I am not a professional writer or editor. I'm just a person who reads A LOT of books. After seeing some of the same mistakes being made over and over again by new authors and authors trying to self-publish without a professional editor, I decided to start this series in the hopes that it would help make their writing a little better.
If you found this helpful, please share it with others. And if you think I'm off the mark with any of my tips, or if there is something I missed, comment below or e-mail me at tips2livebywriter@gmail.com. And if you are interested in having me read a beta or advance reader copy of your book, reach out to me as well!
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