book details

Book: Writing Vivid Dialogue - Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors (Writer's Craft Book 16) by Rayne Hall

categories: Book, Fiction Writing, Fiction Editing, Novel Writing, Non-Fiction, Authorship, Short Story Writing, Writing Dialogue, Writing Skills, Creative Writing

Rayne Hall

about this book: Do your dialogue scenes lack tension, sparkle or wit? With this guide you will learn how to write dialogue to keep your readers riveted.

Here's an excerpt:

1 A QUICK FIX TO ADD INSTANT INTEREST: ASK QUESTIONS

Have you written a dialogue scene that's basically ok, but needs to be more interesting?

I have a quick technique to enhance it without major changes. Questions arouse the reader's interest, so simply turn some statements into questions.

Here are some statements, and how you might phrase them as questions instead. You can see how much more intriguing the questions are.

"I want Santa to bring me a doll."
"Will Santa bring me a doll?"

"I'm looking for my wallet."
"Have you seen my wallet?"

"You haven't gone to church for a long time."
"When was the last time you went to church?"

"The dam may not hold much longer."
"How much longer will the dam hold?"

"You never seem to listen to what I say."
"Do you ever listen to what I say?"

"Maybe there really is a monster in the lake."
"What if there really is a monster in the lake?"

Suddenly, the speaker's words have undercurrents which add depth and engage the reader. If you like, you can apply this technique liberally, and pepper your dialogue scene with questions. Keep only a few statements so the rhythm doesn't get monotonous.

In the next chapter, I'll show you how to escalate this method to create tension.

ASSIGNMENT

Take a dialogue scene you've drafted and are not entirely happy with. Change several statements to questions. Enjoy the 'before-and-after' transformation.

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