Dialouge

Dialogue in your narrative is just as important as theme, setting, plot, and engine. Without good solid dialogue your reader will get bored and put down the book or bunh your screenplay into the dust bin before ten pages have been read. There are five standards to dialogue that are an absolute must.

1. Dialogue Furthers a Character's Agenda
Every character, in every scene, has an agenda. They have a need that must be pushed forward. Every word out of the character's mouth must feed this agenda and must be presented in order to further the character's want or need in the scene. Even in scenes with very minor conflict, or none at all, the spoken word drives the agenda. In the example below, we see a couple deciding on where to go for dinner. Echo should like to go for sushi. Saku should like to go for Mexican.

Echo: What do you feel like for dinner, babes? How about we go for sushi?

Sakuryu: I guess we could do sushi. But what about if we go for tacos instead?

Echo: I could totally go for Auntie Izu's sushi boat.

Sakuryu: That sounds pretty good. But I don't know, tacos sound really good too. Don't you think?

Echo: Yeah, tacos sound koosh. We can go to sushi tomorrow.

As you can see in this example, both young ladies are very gently pushing for the food they desire, without being combative or arguing with each other. Each point of dialogue reveals and furthers each ladies' agenda. Please be sure all of your dialogue does the same.

2. Dialogue Must Reveal
Dialogue always reveals story information, character information, or information about events that are happening. Dialogue is never used for exposition. Dialogue must reveal information or move the story forward. If your dialogue does neither then it has absolutely no business whatsoever being in your narrative. Now, that being said:

3. Dialogue Never Reveals Anything Another Character Already Knows
Dialogue telling a character something that is already known to the character is a waste of time and effort. Oftentimes, it is used for exposition for the benefit of the reader, but never works. For example: Husband: I'm so glad I married you right here ten years ago, Marsha. You and I have been husband and wife for ten years and our only child, Ricky, is happy! Isn't that awful? Please, never use dialogue as a means of exposition. There are much better ways to pass information to the reader through descriptive text.

4. Dialogue is Conflict and Tension
Dialogue should always contain a measure of conflict in it, no matter if it be very gentle or full in your face screaming matches. Consider most of the conversations you have in your daily life. Your boss calls you into his office, your spouse of significant other says 'wee need to talk.' Comments like these immediately causes you to feel tense and apprehensive, don't they? All dialogue in your narrative should be the same. Bear in mind that when writing dialogue, people don't simply talk easily and relaxed. There's always some tension involved. Sneak a peek back at the conversation between Echo and Sakuryu. Can you feel the tension? Each of the ladies wants something very specific, and although the conversation seems amiable, there is tension in it.

5. Dialogue is Subtext
People very, very rarely speak exactly what they're thinking. Most people 'sugarcoat' their comments and statements for a number of reasons, not least of which include being polite, carrying a respectful tone, or to avoid causing offense. Your written dialogue should be the same way. Even if a character is stating a fact, such as "I live in Miami", the character might embellish, saying something such as "I grew up in a very old neighborhood in downtown Miami." If characters don't shelter and couch their wants and needs and instead spout them directly, your written dialogue will sound stiff and unnatural. Below I have written and example of subtext. A 13 year old girl out on her own for the first time with friends comes home two hours late and finds Dad waiting for her. Dad is angry and worried, daughter is apologetic but also defiant. The dialogue is pure subtext, with the meaning of the statement encased in hypotheses so you can better understand how subtext works. Now also keep in mind the conflict in the dialogue.

Dad: "You're late." (I have been very worried about you.)

Daughter: I know, I'm sorry. I lost track of time. (I'm sorry I made you worry.)

Dad: Did you forget our phone number? (Why didn't you call?)

Daughter: I said I was sorry. What's the big deal? (I don't understand why you're so upset.)

Dad: We told you to be home at nine. It's after eleven. (I was afraid you'd been hurt.)

Daughter: I promise it won't happen again. (I didn't mean to scare you.)

Dad: Okay. Go on up to bed. (Apology accepted.)

One other note about proper formatting of daialogue. When someone speaks of time, the number is always spelled out: Eleven o'clock, never 11 o'clock. When numbers appear in such things as age or street address, the numbers are presented numerically: Ed is 62 years old and lives at 1234 Pine Street.

Keep writing!