Thursday, January 17, 2013

Dialogue Without a Word

Dialogue:

"This lady suddenly appeared out of nowhere, saying she was a time traveller," Jessica explained. "There was a bright flash of light and suddenly she was giving me this necklace, telling me she was being hunted. Then, she disappeared."

No dialogue:

Jessica told David about the time traveller, how the woman had suddenly appeared in a bright flash of light, giving Jessica a necklace and telling her she was being hunted, before disappearing.

Minimal:

Jessica told David about the time traveller.


All get the job done, but one is more preferrable over the others, and it will depend on previous circumstances which one you want. If the time traveller scene just happened, go with the minimal to avoid readers being frustrated. If it happened quite a while back, or if it wasn't in the story and this is the first time it's being introduced to the reader, go with the first or second one.

When to use the dialogue versus the non-dialogue is really a matter of choice. Sometimes one will just fit better than the other. Other times, you'll notice the non-dialogue one is shorter. If you want to keep something quick and avoid getting bogged down by the nuances of character conversation, go with the second.

Heck, for some really good practice, try writing a quick story with no dialogue at all.

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