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be clear on every character's agenda in a scene, and the agendas in conflict.
It comes from a character who has an agenda, and is directed toward another character who has an agenda.
No matter how small or large the objectives, if they are in conflict the dialogue will work.
the reader must never catch you simply feeding them exposition!
The first thing to look out for is a character saying anything that both the characters already know.
Act first, explain later.
hide the exposition within confrontation.
A ton of information has been delivered here. You can supplement the dialogue with actions and inner thoughts.
if you have a character make a speech, make sure he isn't a bore.
Spade, on the other hand, says exactly one word when the conversation gets going. The other times he reacts in silence.
What if you have a character of limited education attempting to use "big words" to build himself up?
When a character does not speak English as a first language, syntax (the order of words) is the best way to indicate that.
Voice Journal. This is a free-form document, stream of consciousness, in the character's own voice.
What I'm waiting for is the moment when the character starts talking to me in a voice I did not plan.
figure out each character's desire in each scene and shape them so they face some form of opposition from the other characters.
Another way to add tension is to erect a barrier to communication.
Let's suppose that one of them has a reason not to be so open with her friend.
Take each character in the scene and bump up
conflict between them by 25%. Find a way to do it. Add an annoying quirk, or interruptions, or a more scathing remark. Get the fire going then stoke the flames.
Work on the fear factor from various angles. You will find that it's almost magical how your dialogue in that scene improves.
Agendas, arguments, barriers and fear––by keeping these four things in mind your dialogue will sizzle as well as dazzle.
It starts by creating a cast of characters who differ from each other so there is always the possibility of conflict or tension.
The lead character is Sam Spade, a battle-tested gumshoe. How would such a man talk? He wouldn't mince words. He'd get to the point. If you started talking nonsense, he'd cut you off with a sharp remark.
dialogue is tense between all the characters because they are so different from one another.
3. Give each character one quirk. Make them irritating to at least two other characters.
Is it something a reader would expect a character to say? If so, flip it. Have the character say the exact opposite. What does that show you?
You can weave subtext naturally into your dialogue scenes by knowing things a) the reader doesn't, and/or b) the other character doesn't.
Secrets Past relationships Rich backstory Shocking experiences Vivid memories Fears Hopes Yearnings
If you have characters operating in different roles, or in the same role with opposite agendas, the tension is automatic. The one exchange to be careful with is the Adult to Adult conversation.
The only transaction to watch for is Adult v. Adult. If they are both operating as they should, they would not have much conflict between them.
(Note, during a scene characters can change roles for strategic purposes. If an Adult isn't getting his way, he can become a Parent for a while, or a Child).
create memorable lines for your characters with a little curving. You write out the lines as they come to you, but later go back and find some that you can pump up.
dialogue is usually best when it is compressed.
Simply cutting those fluff words at the beginning will help with compression.
Unless you have an equally good reason, don't do it.
If you want to slow down the pace of your story, you increase the description between the dialogue and decrease the white space on the page. If you need to speed things up, decrease the description and increase the white space.
Do not use semicolons.
The attribution never goes after the em-dash.
there is a space between the last word of the dialogue and the first dot of the ellipsis, but not between the last dot and the close quote.]
It works best when the action beats also reflect the tone of the scene and what the characters are experiencing,
