Dialog for the Minimalist Writer (3)

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As a minimalist writer myself, I have always loved dialog. To me, the spoken word easily and quickly conveys information that could otherwise take many long, boring paragraphs to relate. As a young reader, I used to pay particular attention to exchanges of dialog, because I found they moved the story quickly and effortlessly.

When I grew up, I realized I had been minimalizing dialog as well, because it is, can be, and should be so much more.

First of all, dialog does move stories along quickly, relaying a lot of information in a short space. The trouble is that for the writer, at least, it's not effortless. Dialog is a powerful tool that can, with a few short words, convey information, bring characters to life, and move the plot. Every exchange of dialog should, in fact, add to characterization or forward the plot. Both is good.

It should also read like a normal conversation. This doesn't mean that we want to see endless stammers, nor does it mean you should hang apostrophes at the end of your -ing verbs. ("How's in hangin'?") We do these things, yes, but most of us do it subconsciously, and reading dialog that way can be distracting, unless there is a particular character trait you are trying to draw out.

A normal conversation does, however, include evasions, beating around the bush, playing off of each other's word choices, banter, jokes, asides, and most of all — nonverbals.

Something like 90% of communication is nonverbal. When you write a line of dialog, the surrounding narration isn't there to slow it down the pace, it's there to expound and clarify.

"Hi," Jake said.

What do you mean? Is jake happy to see you or sad? Angry? Is he shy? Did he whisper it or shout it?

"Hi." Jacke's face split into a wide grin.

"Hi." Jake kicked a rock on the ground, refusing to meet her eyes.

"Hi." Jake clenched his hands into fists, wondering if he could do anything to avoid a scene. He had hoped she wouldn't notice him.

As with everything else, it comes down to character. You are describing a section of dialog from a character's viewpoint. What does he think? How does he feel? What does he see and how does he interpret other character's non-verbal cues when they speak?

It's not enough to write down what they say. That gets you maybe 1/10 of the story.

Try this: The next time you have a conversation with someone, pay careful attention to what you hear and see. How much of your understanding of the conversation comes from the words? How much from facial expressions, gestures, and tone? Afterward, write down as much as you can remember of the conversation (exact wording is not necessary). Don't just write down what was said, but what you each did. You can share your interpretations of what the other person said, as well as the intentions behind what you said. (This is not something you need to share with that person, although if it is a close friend or family member, and you feel comfortable, you could show them what you wrote and ask whether you interpreted their responses accurately. You may be surprised what you find out.)

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