Comments on: Talking About Talking [Updated]

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:19:56 +0000

Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro. One of my favorite books!

By: Steve P., ND

Steve P., ND — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:32:58 +0000

I’ll add an addendum to the actual post in a bit with excerpts from Anita Shreve and Michelle Richmond.

By: Merrie Destefano

Merrie Destefano — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:28:19 +0000

I think all of these examples are fantastic and I wish they were mine. (green, here.) I just know that some books–maybe literary novels written by women, not sure–are more lush and would probably have more beats and narrative description between the bits of dialogue.

But as a reader, I would absolutely buy all of the books you sampled, and enjoy reading them.

Then I’d probably weep, kick myself, forget to brush my teeth, and stay up late eating ice cream, because I just don’t write that way.

P.S. I’m making up for no comments yesterday. I think the whole world already knows that I’ve killed more books than I’ve birthed.

By: Steve P., ND

Steve P., ND — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 19:11:48 +0000

I wanted to add a little addendum here to clarify my “these are all very similar” comment above. In a general sense, this is true. I believe this is a testament to the validity of the basic guidelines for writing strong dialogue. However, upon close examination, you’ll notice subtle differences in tone and rhythm. It’s these subtle differences that help to stamp the writer’s voice in his/her work.

By: Steve P., ND

Steve P., ND — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:55:39 +0000

Yes, these are all very similar. And that’s just the luck of the draw, considering I grabbed the books at random (and rather late at night).

You’re absolutely right, though – the dialogue needs to match the tone of the book and the voice of the character. This is even true for how the dialogue is structured – but in my experience, the best dialogue still follows most of the guidelines noted above.

(There are always exceptions. And some of them are exceptional.)

By: Merrie Destefano

Merrie Destefano — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 06:40:44 +0000

Lovely examples.

Makes me want to go work on some dialogue.

And make it brief. Succinct.

Oh, I have to ask. All three of these samples sounded very similar to me. Don’t you think the dialogue needs to match the tone of the book? And match the voice of the character?