``Let's Talk About Dialogue,'' he pontificated.
Dialogue has to sound like speech, but it can't be a mere transcript; most people don't speak precisely or concisely enough to serve the writer's needs. Good dialogue has several functions:
Each of these functions has its hazards. Expository dialogue can be dreadful:
``We'll be in Vancouver in thirty minutes,'' the flight attendant said. ``It's Canada's biggest west coast city, with a population of over a million in the metropolitan area.''
Dialogue can convey character, but the writer may bog down in chatter that doesn't advance the story.
``When I was a kid,'' said Julie, ``I had a stuffed bear named Julius. He was a sweet old thing, and whenever I was upset I'd howl for him.'' (Unless Julie is going to howl for Julius when her husband leaves her, this kind of remark is pointless.)
Dialogue that conveys a specific place and time can become exaggerated and stereotyped:
``Pretty hot ootside, eh?'' remarked Sergeant Renfrew of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. ``Good day to get oot of the hoose and oot on the saltchuck, eh? Catch us a couple of skookum salmon, eh?''
Dialogue that develops conflict has to do so while also conveying exposition, portraying character, and staying true to the time and place:
``Gadzooks,'' said Sergeant Renfrew as he dismounted from his motorcycle. ``Wouldst please present thy driver's licence and registration, madam?''
``Eat hot lead, copper!'' snarled Sister Mary Agnes as she drew the .45 from within her habit.
Some Dialogue Hazards to Avoid:
Some Dialogue Conventions to Consider:
Each new speaker requires a new paragraph, properly indented and set off by quotation marks.
``Use double quotations,'' the novelist ordered, ``and remember to place commas and periods inside those quotation marks.''
``If a speaker goes on for more than one paragraph,'' the count responded in his heavy Transylvanian accent, ``do not close off the quotation marks at the end of the first paragraph.
``Simply place quotation marks at the beginning of the next paragraph, and carry on to the end of the quotation.''
Use ``he said'' expressions only when you must, to avoid confusion about who's speaking. You can signal increasing tension by moving from ``he said'' to ``he snapped,'' to ``he snarled,'' to ``he bellowed furiously.'' But the dialogue itself should convey those emotions.