Make Dialogue Meaningful

Make Dialogue Meaningful

         There are some does and don't in writing dialogue.
         Do include dialogue as a major element in a story. Sometimes the character has to remember dialogue from the past. Sometimes it is internal dialogue. Dialogue may be the most revealing tool the author uses. It defines the characters. Make sure it says about them what you want it to.
         Use dialogue to move the story. Let facts be spoken by the characters rather than narrated by the author. Allow dialogue to describe situations and other characters.
         Don't allow your characters to lecture or become windbags. Keep dialogue relevant to the action and subject. It doesn't have to follow the rules of grammar in the same way narration does. We speak in fragments and phrases, but insure that your dialogue makes sense.
         Don't mangle the characters' speech. Only the very talented and experienced writer can write dialect well. A word or two with a missing g replaced by an apostrophe is sufficient. Two many words that have pecular spelling disrupt the flow and meaning. It is tiring and boring. A phrase or a proberb may define ethnic speech better than awkward and inaccurate spelling.
         One more caution about dialect: If may be offensive and insulting to some readers. This is especially true if the character is ridiculed or demeaned in the course of a conversation.
         Don't be afraid to say "he said, she said." If you don't want to use too many tags, be sure the speaker is identified by his speech. What is clear to the author, may not be clear to the reader.
         Speak up, and write on. Come Fly with Me--Kiter