Writing - Little Things That Make a Big Difference (Re-Writing Dialogue)

Hello, readers and writers! I mentioned in last week's post that we will be taking a look at my process for writing and re-writing dialogue. This has been a topic I've come back to many times, both as a reader and a writer, and it's one of the most common things other writers ask me about when they're feeling stuck in their work. Dialogue can be tough, so let's dig in!

When I write dialogue, it's rarely exactly as I want it to be. For me, the most important thing is actually getting the words down. When I write, I largely base my dialogue on the emotions I'm hoping to convey. I try to lay some preliminary groundwork in what the characters are doing - and what they have a habit of doing - as they talk. Aside from that, much of my dialogue work comes in my rewriting process.

Dialogue needs to have a purpose. Sometimes when I'm re-writing, I find that I've written a lot of fluff dialogue. much of this comes from just trying to get the words out and keep the story flowing. If the dialogue can be adjusted or rewritten so it can drive the story forward (or provide purposeful character development), then I keep it. Otherwise, I'll often cut the lines of dialogue, keeping them in an older draft for reference if there are any pieces I want to salvage for later use. 

When re-writing dialogue, I often ask myself these questions:

• Is the dialogue moving the story forward, or is it simply taking up page space? Is there a better way to portray this information, and do I need it?
• Is this dialogue developing characters or backstory? Dialogue is a great way to provide exposition without expositioning readers to death. However, I always ask myself if the backstory or character development is necessary, and if it is written in a way that readers will, essentially, pick up what I'm putting down. 

If the dialogue is something I have decided it's important enough to keep, I've decided that it has a purpose within the story. Because of this high importance, this is an excellent opportunity to slow things down. Dialogue, once deemed "worthy" to stay in the story, is a perfect chance for writers to show what's going on. When I'm re-writing the dialogue I wish to keep, I ask myself more specific, focused questions.

• Is this a conversation my characters would actually have? Should they be having this conversation?
• Is this something my character would say? Does it reflect what they are thinking/feeling?
• What else is going on here? Because we've deemed this scene worthy of the page space it uses, and we're slowing things down, let's tap into the five senses. 
  • What is my character thinking and feeling? 
  • What are they trying to say? Are the words they are using getting their point across? If not, is this intentional on my part as the author?
  • What is my character's body language? What does their facial expression look like?

Another thing I try to keep in mind is that, while I want my dialogue to realistically portray both my character's emotions and their traits (how they speak and what they would normally say), I also try to remember that people are going to be reading this book for entertainment, so that means I'll need to turn up the heat - amplify whatever emotions occur within the conversation. 

I hope today's post was helpful! For more on writing, editing, and other book-related things, check back next weekend!