{"id":340,"date":"2021-07-28T01:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-28T01:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.stary.com\/wordpress\/?p=340"},"modified":"2022-03-18T02:11:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T02:11:43","slug":"stary-writing-camp-how-to-create-a-dialogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/official.test.stary.ltd\/resources\/stary-writing-camp-how-to-create-a-dialogue.html","title":{"rendered":"Stary Writing Camp: How to create a dialogue?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe plot design is the key to ensuring that the story goes smoothly and attracts readers, and it contains elements such as conflicts and dialogues<\/em><\/span><\/a>.\u201d The importance of dialogues is self-evident as conflicts. But what is dialogue, and how to create compelling conversations in fiction? This article will provide some particle tips.<\/p>\n

\"Stary
Photo by Cody Engel<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I. What is dialogue?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A Dialogue is a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or movie. When writing dialogue, think about the following questions:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Does this dialogue promote the characters\u2019 action?<\/li>\n
  2. Does this dialogue provide readers with new information?<\/li>\n
  3. Does this dialogue promote the emergence of the next scene?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For example, in the first chapter of \u201cDiving into You,\u201d the heroine and her two best friends were chatting in a bar:<\/p>\n

    I frowned. What love life? If I had one, then I would gladly talk about it. \u201cI am having even less luck in love than I am in my career.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cCarl?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cOh, if you want him, Riley, we can get you him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cI want him.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u201cI have a plan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    \u2026\u2026<\/p>\n

    \u201cYou just need to seduce him, that\u2019s all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

    The dialogue in this scene has the following functions:<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. It presents essential information. It shows the problem the heroine is facing: She has a crush. As she is about to graduate, she is considering whether she should profess her love or not.<\/li>\n
    2. It promotes the character\u2019s action. Riley\u2019s friend\u2019s words provoked her to drink a lot, and her intoxication led her to profess her love.<\/li>\n
    3. It promotes the next scene. While drunk, Riley recognized that the hero was her crush, and she flirted with him.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      II. The function of dialogue<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      1. Present story\u2019s information<\/strong><\/p>\n

      There are two ways to convey information in a story: Description and dialogue.<\/p>\n

      Tips:<\/h4>\n

      When conveying information through dialogue, do not write long articles. Instead, keep it short, funny, and life-like.<\/h4>\n

      Do not convey all the information at once. It is enough to convey only the key points.<\/h4>\n

      The more important the information is, the more intense the dialogue should be.<\/h4>\n

      2. Present the characters<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Dialogues can show the relationships, personalities, and actions of the characters.<\/p>\n

      Tips:<\/h4>\n

      Character vocabulary. The vocabulary used by different characters should be different.<\/h4>\n

      Syntax. When characters come from different regions or eras, or have different emotions, distinct syntactic structures can make the dialogue interesting.<\/h4>\n

      Specific titles. This includes the code words used in particular industries. For example, the mafia might use nicknames to indicate unique relationships.<\/h4>\n
      \"Present
      Photo by Kristaps Grundsteins<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      3. Set the tone<\/strong><\/p>\n

      Dialogues provide readers with hints about the type and emotional tone of the story, and they will give them different feelings. Thus, writers must pay extra attention to the opening dialogue.<\/p>\n

      4. Design scene<\/strong><\/p>\n

      The character\u2019s reaction to the scene can help readers get a feel for the environment. Characters\u2019 dialogues can establish a sense of dynamics in a scene.<\/p>\n

      Tips:<\/h4>\n

      Have the characters convey their feelings about the new scene via dialogues.<\/h4>\n

      Have the characters take action in the scene while having dialogues.<\/h4>\n

      5. Convey the theme<\/strong><\/p>\n

      A story\u2019s theme is relatively abstract and macroscopic. Try not to use narrative language to express the theme in a \u201cteaching\u201d way, but to express it in dialogues.<\/p>\n

      Tips:<\/h4>\n

      Express the theme through specific argumentative dialogues.<\/h4>\n

      Use questioning, rebuttal, and doubting dialogues to convey the theme. There should be fewer large-length self-confessions.<\/h4>\n
      \"Convey
      Photo by Sam Dan Truong<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      III. How to train writing dialogues\uff1f<\/strong><\/h3>\n
        \n
      1. Let yourself talk to the character. Imagine the dialogue style of the character.<\/li>\n
      2. Read plays and movie scripts.<\/li>\n
      3. Change a previously written descriptive text into a dialogue.<\/li>\n
      4. Change a previously written scene with a conflict into a scene with dialogue.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        IV. How to make the dialogue interesting\uff1f<\/strong><\/h3>\n
          \n
        1. Do not let the two participants in the dialogue directly show their purpose (no direct questions). Add in some suspicion, cover-up, and intrigue.<\/li>\n
        2. Do not turn the dialogue into a Q&A. Let the characters have disputes.<\/li>\n
        3. Increase communication barriers. You could include third-party interruptions or refusals to answer questions for compulsive or emotional reasons.<\/li>\n
        4. Add elements of fear.<\/li>\n
        5. Arrange subtext into the dialogue (Secrets, past relationships, background stories, memories, etc.).<\/li>\n
        6. Display significant deviations in the characters\u2019 personalities (Authoritative and stubborn roles, balanced and restrained roles, hysterical and emotional roles, etc.).<\/li>\n
        7. Compress the dialogue and reduce repetitive and opening words. Use fewer long sentences and clauses to refine the conversation.<\/li>\n
        8. Let the dialogue develop in accordance with the actions, silences, and changes in the environment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          V. Dialogue modification examples<\/strong><\/h3>\n

          Background story<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Calvin, the young mafia heir, had to marry Adela to defeat his uncle and succeed him as the leader. In his eyes, Adela is just a willful woman who only cares about fashion and the prom. Although she is beautiful, she is not the best candidate to be a wife. Adela fell in love with Calvin at first sight, but her pride made her hide her emotions, and she deliberately acted indifferently in front of Calvin.<\/p>\n

          Adela\u2019s character slowly attracted Calvin, and he realized that she was more than just eye candy. She was a girl with an independent personality that dared to love and hate. More importantly, Adela didn\u2019t seem to care about their marriage. Without realizing he was doing it, Calvin began to pay attention to Adela. Everything was fine until one day, at a ball, Calvin ran into Emily, a woman who had once pursued him. Emily deliberately pretended to be drunk, and she fell into Calvin\u2019s arms. This scene happened to be caught by Adela. So, there was a quarrel between them\u2026<\/p>\n

          \"Dialogue
          Photo by Priscilla Du Preez<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          In the following example, all of the text is deleted except for the dialogue and some minor descriptions:<\/p>\n

          Adela: \u201cWhat are you doing, Calvin?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Calvin: \u201cAs you can see, I\u2019m attending a prom.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela: \u201cAttending a prom? Do you have to hug someone intimately when you go to a prom?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Calvin: (frowning) \u201cAdela, stop being capricious.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela: (smiles bitterly) \u201cYes, I\u2019m too capricious. Maybe I should be like you \u2014 \u201c<\/em>
          \nCalvin: \u201cLike me?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela: \u201cYes! Ruthless and careless. Like you. I know you hate me, and I know you hate our marriage, but you shouldn\u2019t use Emily to insult me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Calvin: \u201cWhether you believe it or not, I have nothing to do with Emily.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela: (sighs) \u201cLet\u2019s get divorced. As you wish.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Calvin: (surprised) \u201cDo you know how much divorces cost? They aren\u2019t cheap! And our families have so much invested in our arrangement! This is not something we can arbitrarily walk away from!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela: \u201cI know. I thought it was just a contract marriage. But now, things are different, and I want to quit.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Calvin: (frowning) \u201cGive me one good reason. Convince me. Otherwise, I won\u2019t let you go.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela: (crying) \u201cI fell in love with you, and I can\u2019t stand to see you flirt with other women!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Adela turned to leave, but Calvin hugged her.<\/em><\/p>\n

          Calvin: \u201cDon\u2019t go\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

          Dialogue Analysis<\/strong><\/p>\n

          This is an example of a \u201cPass Dialogue,\u201d but it is not excellent. This dialogue promoted changes in the relationship between the two. Adela confided her love for Calvin, and Calvin also retained Adela. However, there are some problems with this dialogue: It is too plain. It does not convey the protagonists\u2019 feelings to the reader, and their personalities are not distinct. Therefore, we should consider modifying this dialogue by:<\/p>\n