When I first started writing I was pretty scared of dialogue, for one thing it interrupted my beautiful passages of descriptive writing! But obviously, I pretty soon realised that I couldn’t hide from it for ever. It is still something that I have to make an extra effort with, but the following basic things have helped me.
- Don’t write dialogue as we actually talk. By that I mean, limit using ‘erm’ and ‘ahh’ for example. This can get pretty boring to read.
- Make every word count. Dialogue should move the story on.
- Dialogue can be used to ‘show’ something in the story ie reveal a character. Much more effective that just using description in many cases.
- Think long and hard before using dialect. Depending on how much you’re writing, it could get pretty laborious for the reader.
- Limit the use of adverbs.
You could try some of these out in this month’s flash fiction challenge? Post your 500 words on the theme of Obsessions on the website for comment. Mine will be there soon.
Janet Stock 