FICTION
DIALOGUE
KEYS TO UTILIZING DIALOGUE
• You must keep the dialogue concise
• You must make the dialogue flow
• And you must give the dialogue purpose
• Giving dialogue a purpose means that every line of
conversation in your novel must be there for a reason.
DIALOGUE SHOULD:
• Show, not tell
• Build tension and drama
• Reveal character in what’s said
• Create space in the page (good for busy readers)
Dialogue should move the plot forward.
DIALOGUE ACTIVITY
Activity #1: Read the short story: Inventing
Wampanoag, 1672
Answer the following questions: How does the use of
dialogue create mood, add to characterization or
influence the story
DIALOGUE QUESTION #1
• Will the story still make sense if the dialogue is
removed?
• If it can be removed without leaving a missing link in
the character's journey towards his or her goal,
scrap it.
DIALOGUE QUESTION #2
• Does the dialogue increase the suspense for what
is to come?
• If a character says something which causes the
reader to worry about the nature or the outcome of
an upcoming event, it should stay.
DIALOGUE QUESTION #3
• Does it change the character's situation, for better
or worse?
• Do they receive some good or bad information
which leaves them closer to their goal or further
away from it? If so, it is moving the plot forward.
DIALOGUE QUESTION #4
• Does the dialogue shed some light on what the
character wants?
• Anything which makes a character's goal clearer is
good and should remain - as should anything which
makes their motives (or why they want to achieve
their goal) clearer.
DIALOGUE QUESTION #5
• Does it serve to strengthen the character's resolve,
or perhaps weaken it?
• Are they told something which makes them wish
they hadn't bothered to achieve their goal in the
first place - or make them glad that they did? Either
one is good.
NO POINTLESS CONVERSATION?
• It should be noted, though, that some pointless
conversation in a novel is good. Keep the dialogue
authentic - and we all talk about the weather or
what we would like for dinner. Keep the chit-chat to
a minimum, though. And always ensure that if a
passage of dialogue starts out being about nothing
of any importance, it quickly gets to the point.
DIALOGUE SHOULD CHARACTERIZE
• Just as advancing the plot is one way of giving
dialogue a purpose, so too is adding to the readers'
understanding of character.
DIALOGUE CHARACTERIZES
• Maybe the speaking character tells whoever is
listening about a formative event from their
childhood, or about their love for their family, or
about their dreams for the future. T
hese revelations might not affect the plot, might not
be important for the telling of the story - but they help
to explain the character's motivation for wanting
whatever it is they want - and doing that helps us to
get to know them a little better.
DIALOGUE CHARACTERIZES
• Also understand that dialogue is the most important
tool in demonstrating the relationships between
different characters.
• The way two people speak to each other tells you
virtually everything there is to know about how they
get along. And demonstrating this to the readers,
particularly the relationships between the major
players in the novel, certainly gives dialogue a
purpose.
DIALOGUE SHOULD PROVIDE
INFORMATION
• Every novel has plenty of dry facts that the reader
must be told - the details of an important moment
from a character's past, for example, or the plan for
robbing the bank, or the history of the town. Such
details, which are not a part of the story but are
nevertheless important for understanding the story,
are known as the story's exposition, and dialogue is
one of the best methods there is for getting the
information across.
PROVIDING INFORMATION
• The key to exposition, which always runs the risk of
boring the readers, is to present it to them in bitesized pieces. This makes the potentially dry facts
more palatable and doesn't significantly disrupt the
forward momentum of the story.
KNOW YOUR CHARACTERS!
• Beware, though, of characters telling each other
things that they already know. A husband, for
example, could never say this to his wife... "Mary, my
sister, had to take Florence, their miniature poodle,
to the vet again." The wife will already know that
her husband's sister is called Mary and that Mary
owns a poodle called Florence.
DIALOGUE ACTIVITY
• 1. Create a conversation in which two characters
reveal something about themselves or their
thoughts. Apply the rule of one of the 5 questions
dialogue answers. The dialogue should tell the story.
• Read the story out loud. The class is to determine
what question your dialogue answers.
MONOLOGUES AND SOLILOQUY
• Monologue: a long speech by one actor in a play
or movie, directed to the audience or another
character
• Soliloquy: a long speech, by one actor in a play or
movie, directed to oneself.
MONOLOGUE AND SOLILOQUY
• Read examples of famous monologues and
soliloquys.
• Discuss purpose, characterization, feelings evoked
MONOLOGUE/SOLILOQUY ACTIVITY
• 1. Write a brief character sketch, explaining who
the character is, physical traits, etc. Use direct and
indirect characterization (at least 15
characteristics). Include the character’s name.
• 2. Create a scene for that character (2-4
sentences)
• 3. Create a monologue or soliloquy. Should be at
least ¾ of a page long (at least 15-20 sentences.
MONOLOGUE/SOLILOQUY ACTIVITY
CONT.
• 4. Write 3-4 sentences of reflection: Why did you
choose this character? What message or meaning
do you want the reader to understand through your
monologue/soliloquy? What key words or phrases
did you use to convey this meaning?
MONOLOGUE/SOLILOQUY EX:
• Character Sketch:
• Name: Tonya Barnes
• Tall, long blond hair, dark roots, long, narrow face,
dark brown eyes, hair pulled in pony tail, thick
makeup to cover blemished skin, Ugg boots
(scuffed on toes), dark blue skinny jeans, layered
long sleeved shirts, gold cross necklace, chews gum
loudly, easily agitated, tanned (orange/brown skin),
eyes look worn out, tired
SCENE:
• Character Scene:
• Tonya and Emily spent the previous night at a bar,
drinking until 12 am. Tonya was eventually kicked out
because she got into a verbal altercation with her
boyfriend Tony. She suspected that he has been
cheating on her, and she finally caught him buying
drinks for another girl. He claimed that the girl was an
old friend from college who just moved into town, but
Tonya didn’t believe him. After getting kicked out of the
bar, she had to stay at Emily’s apartment because she
was too drunk to drive home.
• It is early morning, Tonya and Emily are waiting in line at
Starbucks. They have to be downtown by 7 am to pick
up Tonya’s car to avoid getting a $25 parking ticket.
MONOLOGUE (SET UP)
• Tonya: God, this line is so long. Seriously, you would
think they could move a little faster. I mean, you
know that mornings are busy, hire some more
people and get moving.
• Emily: Relax, we will get there in time. I just hope no
one did anything to your car during the night.
• Tonya: I hope so too. I’ll kill Tony if anything
happened to that car.
• Emily: It’s not Tony’s fault you drank too much and
had to leave your car.
MONOLOGUE
• Tonya: It is Tony’s fault. Everything is Tony’s fault. I
can’t believe I took him back after the last time he
cheated on me. Can you believe that he had the
nerve to tell me that the girl he was talking to was a
friend from college, who just moved here? I mean,
does he think that after all we have been through, I
would buy that story? God, I hate him. I mean, I
have been putting up with his crap four the last 4
years. I have done nothing but sacrifice for him.
You know, I could have been a model. I was
offered a job in New York City once. For a soap ad.
That could have been my big break.
MONOLOGUE CONT.
• But no, I decided to stay here because I didn’t
want to leave him. I thought I loved him. And, do
you know what he tells me every time I bring it up?
He tells me to go, leave here and try to be a model.
He thinks I will come crawling back. Well, this time,
I’m not. This time, I am done with him. Then he will
see what pain is. Who will do his laundry, buy his
groceries? Why isn’t this line moving!? I mean, how
much skill and speed do you need to make coffee?
God, I’m so tired of stupid people. Anyway, I’m
over this town. I can get a job doing nails
anywhere, and who knows, maybe I’ll meet
someone nice.
REFLECTION:
• I chose this character because she reminded me of girls I
would see at clubs in South Philly (when I was 22 years
old).
• I wanted to create a monologue that shows that Tonya
doesn’t even realize that she is her own enemy. She
blames Tony for her problems, but she is actually the
cause of them. She thinks that she is better than others
(worker at Starbucks, pretty enough to model), but she is
actually rude and ignorant. She is disillusioned by the life
she has created for herself, but is not going to take
responsibility for her own role in it.