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Rule 7: yakety yak
Rule 7.Dialogue makes or breaks a novel.
Things to remember about dialogue:
1. Only put the really important stuff in direct dialogue.
2. Avoid long speeches. Try indirect speech or internal monologue instead.
3. A character can say a lot without saying anything directly.
4. Avoid drawing attention to the mechanics with elaborate tag lines, she exclaimed.
5. At all costs, avoid trying to get across dialect (social or geographic variation) by means of spelling. Not only is it terrifically hard to do, there's a real danger it will look as though you are condescending to some of your characters.
6. There are better ways to handle this. Word choice and syntax if you need to establish character through dialogue.
7. If you're writing historical fiction, for dog's sake, do your homework.
October 22, 2005 12:18 AM
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Comments
Erm, I'm pretty sure that most of the novels that I consider great, from Jane Eyre on down to White Noise, break some or most of these rules. If this is intended to be advice for beginners, then I'm sure it's all sensible enough, but something about how you're stating them chafes.
Posted by: Guest at October 22, 2005 11:42 AM