In the context of a novel, a dialogue is either lines or passages intended to be spoken by the characters. In general it is a conversation between two or more characters. It is part of a scene, preferably the immediate scene. Stage plays and movies are a sequence of immediate scenes. Novelist creates these scenes so that the reader can imagine them as he/she reads as if watching a play or a movie. That is the visual aspect of novel writing. The reader can see it all, the setting, the characters, their actions including their conversation. Narrating the  immediate scene, as if happening on stage, is showing.

So what is telling in the context of fiction? It is describing what is not on stage. It is what the reader cannot see. Don’t confuse telling with what one character is saying to another as in a conversation. A character could be telling another whatever. But if it is a part of the immediate scene, it is showing.That’s what happens in a stage plays and movies. The dialogue is part of showing. The audience/ spectators can see the actors talking.

DIALOGUE OBJECTIVES

For the conversation between characters to be interesting and engaging,  it should accomplish one or more of the following:

• Create tension.
• Arouse the reader’s curiosity.
• Cause a turn of events in the plot.
• Affect the relationship between participants for better or worse.
• Heighten the conflict in the novel. Conflict being the hurdle(s)  that prevent a character from attaining his/her goal. (See definitions of conflict in main menu.) The hurdles may be external forces (e.g. the antagonist(s),  or a natural disaster (e.g. tornado, tsunami, earthquake) or internal forces (e.g. the protagonist’s mind, or a personal weakness).

Novice writers create dialogue instinctively. Effective dialogue is written to build a tempo, a pace in the story. Short sentences, whether dialogue, or part of narrative increase the pace of the novel. Long ones, extending over many lines, slow it down and can even cause  unnecessary pause or interruption in the plot.

An important point is that dialogue in a novel is a semblance of speech, not actual speech.

“Sun will rise from the west tomorrow,” the scientist said. “That is impossible,” replied his assistant. Instead, the assistant could have said, “Impossible!”

“Will the sun rise from the west tomorrow?” he asked.  “I can’t say,” the scientist replied. ” He could have said, “Can’t say.”

Now go to CREATION submenu.