Why is dialogue so important to good story writing? The same reason that communication is essential to any good relationship-- because you have to understand someone to care about them. The main reason readers continue turning the pages is because they care about your characters, and dialogue is the key to allowing your reader to understand these new fictional characters.
Before writing a scene, play it over in your mind - several times - this helps to get the feel for the characters and the story dialogue. The first few times you play the scene in your mind it should be silent, but gradually, allow the characters to come to life. Visualize them speaking with one another, as well as consider the thoughts that are going on inside their heads. By doing this, when the dialogue emerges characters are talking to one another, not at the other person.
The art of dialogue writing is the most interesting tool we use to communicate information and reveal character. Among the secrets to engaging story dialogue is that the characters don't necessarily need to be talking about something important to the story. As an example, a man and a woman meet for the first occasion in a supermarket and the reader sees they are attracted to one an other-- they don't need to refer to their attraction. Instead, they discuss their loathing of queues and rising milk prices-- something they share which brings them together. The conversation becomes more compelling as it reveals their characters.
Whenever it comes to story dialogue, we need to express what we are trying to communicate in each particular scene, and then weave it into the action by breaking it into sections. Think about the way people speak in reality. They never just stand still and speak. They are always moving, touching their hair, folding their arms, raising their eyebrows, or touching their chin as they communicate.
A short, skillfully handled dialogue scene can infer past events, clarify the underlying nature of a relationship, and reveal what a character has been doing 'off stage'. If you can really get a character's tone and mannerisms right, at the end of the story your reader should know what your character's hopes are, their inmost desires, and how they were brought up.
What to do to set about creating realistic dialogue in your story? Start by watching and listening to real people when they speak. Study their behaviors and mannerisms and how they move while they are talking. However, in the real world people often say the same thing several times over, and in our fictional worlds we want everything to be concise and valuable to the story, so get a taste of how people interact with one another, but make in more concise.
Before writing a scene, play it over in your mind - several times - this helps to get the feel for the characters and the story dialogue. The first few times you play the scene in your mind it should be silent, but gradually, allow the characters to come to life. Visualize them speaking with one another, as well as consider the thoughts that are going on inside their heads. By doing this, when the dialogue emerges characters are talking to one another, not at the other person.
The art of dialogue writing is the most interesting tool we use to communicate information and reveal character. Among the secrets to engaging story dialogue is that the characters don't necessarily need to be talking about something important to the story. As an example, a man and a woman meet for the first occasion in a supermarket and the reader sees they are attracted to one an other-- they don't need to refer to their attraction. Instead, they discuss their loathing of queues and rising milk prices-- something they share which brings them together. The conversation becomes more compelling as it reveals their characters.
Whenever it comes to story dialogue, we need to express what we are trying to communicate in each particular scene, and then weave it into the action by breaking it into sections. Think about the way people speak in reality. They never just stand still and speak. They are always moving, touching their hair, folding their arms, raising their eyebrows, or touching their chin as they communicate.
A short, skillfully handled dialogue scene can infer past events, clarify the underlying nature of a relationship, and reveal what a character has been doing 'off stage'. If you can really get a character's tone and mannerisms right, at the end of the story your reader should know what your character's hopes are, their inmost desires, and how they were brought up.
What to do to set about creating realistic dialogue in your story? Start by watching and listening to real people when they speak. Study their behaviors and mannerisms and how they move while they are talking. However, in the real world people often say the same thing several times over, and in our fictional worlds we want everything to be concise and valuable to the story, so get a taste of how people interact with one another, but make in more concise.
About the Author:
Would you like to read more Advice on Writing, or Novel Writing Tips visit www.howtowriteabookadvice.net
No comments:
Post a Comment