Bringing Dialogue to Life

I've been rereading Karl Iglesias' fabulous Writing for Emotional Impact, which focuses on screenwriting but is every bit as applicable for novelists. In the book, he quotes advice from the late screenwriting legend (and three-time Academy Award winner) Paddy Chayefsky (taken from John Brady's out-of-print The Craft of the Screenwriter):

"I write laboriously worked-out dialogue...because I know what I want my characters to say. I envision the scene; I can imagine them up there on the screen; I try to imagine what they would say and how they would say it, and keep it in character...Then I rewrite it. Then I cut it. Then I refine it until I get the scene as precisely as I can get it."

Flat, mundane, and emotionally-false dialogue are death on the page, death to the project. But how does one get to the crisp, witty, plot-propelling and character-revealing lines that drive a real barn-burner of a script or novel? Rewriting, cutting, and refinement are crucial, but I believe the real key is in what Chayefsky says about envisioning the characters in the scene and imagining the conversation from them.

One helpful technique for improving dialogue that Karl Iglesias shares is the read-through or staged reading used by screenwriters and playwrights (a role I tried my hand at before my novels were published). To use this collaborative technique, a novelist might assign readers (critique partners spring to mind) each a role and read through a scene's dialogue. When the reader stumbles or something sounds clunky, that's where your red pencil comes in. If you have really good readers (experienced stage actors are wonderful at this, but anyone willing to engage his/her imagination will do) they may tell you, "My character wouldn't say this. I think she'd say _______________ instead."

Listen to the feedback you get. Embrace the spirit of collaboration. What do you have to lose, other than a few clunkers?

If you can't find a willing group of readers, you'll have to cast yourself instead. Let the scene play out in your mind. See and hear it "on the screen." Lock the writer in the back room and play the role of actor, director, and the audience instead.

Then take out your paring knife and sharpen every line.

The Tao of Dialogue

One of the most challenging skills a novelist needs to develop is writing great dialogue. For the purposes of fiction (or narrative nonfiction, including memoirs), the author has to do far more than depicting "real conversation," which (if you really listen) is most often halting, repetitive, and mundane enough to put anyone attempting to read it to sleep.

So let's agree that dialogue has to do far more, and far better, than simply sounding real. In general, writers do best to remember the following.

1. Keep it pithy. Assume you're writing the "Best of" whatever comes out of that character's mouth. So you want only the cleverest, the most conflict-rich, and the most character-revealing. And for heaven's sake, avoid the temptation to allow characters to speak in long monologues. Nobody likes a blowhard. Especially in print.

2. Keep it pertinent. All, or very nearly all, dialogue must move the plot forward, heighten the tension of the story question, or raise new questions. There's no room for "How are you, I am fine" drivel, not unless it's loaded with irony or subtext. (You can use narrative to reveal this, for example, characters engaging in trite conversation as bombs or bullets fly around them. Or try showing body language which contradicts the spoken word.)

3. Keep it peculiar. By that, I mean peculiar to the individual who says it. Ideally, each character in your story should be so richly realized (or at least hinted at) that his/her lines could not have been uttered by any other character. To check to see if you're succeeding, try stripping your scene of everything except dialogue, and then see if you can still tell who's talking in the conversation. Though this isn't always going to be possible (anyone can shout "No," for example), it's a very worthy goal.

For a howlingly-funny (and obscenity-laced, I warn you) example of pithy, pertinent, peculiar dialogue, check out the Twitter page of a guy who identifies himself as Justin, whose bio says: "I'm 28. I live with my 73-year-old dad. He is awesome. I just write down shit that he says." Justin proves he has a great ear for dialogue on his popular Shitmydadsays page.

Best grumpy old man material ever...

Today's question: Which authors do you particularly admire for writing great dialogue? Also, do you have any helpful dialogue tips to add?

P.S.- The adorable pups are from Loldogs. Check 'em out (if you have a taste for saccharine, anyhow.)