Dialogue Is Action

Dialogue carries more weight than most writers give it. This is a problem, because when dialogue is treated as filler between the "real" scenes — the action, the description, the important bits — it goes flat. Characters talk in circles. They say what the author needs said. They explain things to each other that both characters already know, for the reader's benefit, which is called "As you know, Bob" and which is the surest sign that the dialogue is serving the author instead of the story. Dialogue is not conversation. Real conversation is boring. People repeat themselves. They um and ah. They start sentences and abandon them. They talk about the weather. Dialogue is conversation with everything boring removed and everything meaningful compressed into the smallest possible space. Think of dialogue as action performed with words. A character who says "I think we should leave" is doing something. She's proposing a departure, but she's also revealing that she's uncomfortable, that she has the authority or courage to suggest leaving, that the situation has reached a point where leaving is preferable to staying. The line does four things. It moves the plot, reveals character, establishes power dynamics, and creates tension. In five words. Now consider: "We should probably go soon, don't you think? I mean, it's getting late, and I have work tomorrow, and the babysitter is only booked until ten." This is realistic. People talk like this. But on the page it does one thing — propose departure — and takes thirty-one words to do it. The extra words don't add character. They add realism. Realism is not the same as good dialogue. Rules I follow: Every line of dialogue should do at least two things. Advance plot and reveal character. Or create tension and establish relationship. If a line only delivers information, it's exposition wearing a costume. People don't say what they mean. This is the most important rule and the one most often broken. Characters who say exactly what they feel are characters in a therapy session, not in a story. Real people deflect. They joke when they're hurt. They change the subject when they're cornered. They answer a different question than the one that was asked. The gap between what a character says and what they mean is where the reader lives. Dialogue tags should be invisible. "Said" is invisible. "Exclaimed," "declared," "retorted" — visible. They call attention to themselves. Worse, they do the dialogue's job for it. If the line is an exclamation, the reader will hear it. You don't need to label it. Silence is dialogue. A character who doesn't answer is answering. A pause before a response changes the response. "Yes" means something different after a silence than it means immediately. Use the space between lines. Read your dialogue aloud. If you feel stupid saying it, a character would feel stupid saying it. If the rhythm is wrong in your mouth, it's wrong on the page. The ear catches what the eye forgives.