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❝The best way to solve problems and to fight against war is through dialogue.❞
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Hi, there! Welcome to the Lesson on Dialogue. Maybe Malala wasn't talking about literary dialogue in the previous quote, but don't let that take away from its importance!
A story without dialogue is not a book—it's a textbook. A textbook doesn't show human interaction, it only describes it, and you want your story to feel like you are immersed in it, watching each chapter unfold. Dialogue can be used to describe the environment, further characterization or the plot, or even set the mood of the passage. Sure, you could do all of those things without it, but then it wouldn't feel human, would it?
Dialogue is the best way to let your unique characters shine and show off your knowledge of human reactions and interaction. Great world-building shows off your awareness of your surroundings, while great dialogue shows off your awareness of diverse human perspectives. So, we thought we'd offer a couple tips and tricks on how to make your dialogue shine!
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1. Make sure every single line of dialogue you write has a purpose.
Whether that purpose is to show a piece of a character's personality or to add a touch of humor. Maybe it's purpose is to show what the character is feeling, or how they are reacting to their surroundings or what someone just said to them. But no matter what, you must be able to justify every single line.
Also on that note, there should be a healthy mix of all those things in your dialogue. If all of your dialogue was written to be funny, there's no characterization. If all of your dialogue was written as the character's reaction to their environment, then there probably isn't enough shifts in emotion throughout the book to make it feel natural. Not all novels are comedic, but you should be able to feel your character's heartbreak and pain in a dramatic story. On the flipside, a humorous novel should also display other emotions since none of us are 100% hilarious.
