Too much dialogue?
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Copyright © 2012 The Office of Letters and Light :: All posted novel excerpts remain copyright their authors.
Too much dialogue?
So my novel is 75000 words and pretty much done. Problem is, the last 1/3 is alot of dialogue. The first 2/3 is discovery and the last part (alot of dialogue) is alot of revealing. I dont think I can cut much of it without losing the vital information it posesses. Is there something I can do to fix this problem? I am trying to add alot of movement between words and descriptives to break it up but I still find myself worrying...HELP
Re: Too much dialogue?
If the dialogue is well-written, the movement between words and the descriptives just keep the reader from the interesting dialogue. If, on the other hand, it's poorly written, then it won't help that you interrupt it with some other stuff going on. Instead, you should make the dialogue more interesting. Oh, and an old maxim of mine is that every word should be there for its own sake. Adding stuff that's supposed to break up the dialogue just means that your characters will be lifting glasses and moving their hands and doing all kinds of annoying distracting things that clearly don't have any real reason to be there.
Re: Too much dialogue?
Don't worry? Most of my writing is dialogue and as far as I know it hasn't hurt me. I did have someone tell me "they normally don't publish stories with over 2/3s dialogue" (yes, I had a short story with that much dialogue) but they liked it so they were happy to have it in an anthology. Dialogue is actually one of the best ways to make things interesting in my opinion.
Re: Too much dialogue?
it depends upon what the dial0gue is.
if it is moving the story forward and enhancing conflicts and developing character, there is no reason to worry about it.
if its just yammering, cut it visciously.
and certainly DO NOT stuff in non-dialogue "padding" just to cut down on the % of dialogue!
Re: Too much dialogue?
I'd say that you should quit thinking of dialogue as a "problem". And ditto on avoiding shoving in "movement" and "descriptives" if the only purpose of them is to "break up" the dialogue. About the only thing that's likely to do is kill your pacing and the tension of the dialogue.
Something you apparently don't realize: Dialogue can be exciting too.
Re: Too much dialogue?
It is pretty imparative to the story. My MFC is being told what she really is...but it is taking about 4.5 pages to do and after that scene she accidently summons the ghost of her dead mother...another 4 pages.....
I love dialogue and my MFC is witty and entertaining but everything I read says that too much dialogue can bore the reader...
Re: Too much dialogue?
Don't know what you're reading, though you did inspire me to have this as my blog post today: http://jessicadall.wordpress.com/2012/01/24/too-much-dialogue/
In a summary, I write in mostly dialogue and have never had a problem with people not like it/being bored.
Last Paragraph:
"At least in my opinion, the genre of your novel and the situation of each scene is going to dictate how much narrative is needed just as much as my preference for dialogue. Rather than worrying about a ratio, or if people aren’t going to be happy with this much narrative or that much dialogue, weigh the pros and cons of each for what you want to happen in the scene. After all, if Frankincense [short story that is referenced earlier] is any indication, good writing will come out above any ratio of dialogue to narrative. It’s just about getting it to be good."
Re: Too much dialogue?
Thanks guys :) Makes me feel much better. I know the dialogue is pretty necessary to the direction and unfold of the storyline :)
PS Aria617 Great blog post
Re: Too much dialogue?
Depends on the dialogue.
If the dialogue is full of angst, useless babble and summing up things the reader already knows, cut it down.
If it's funny, useful, advances the plot, explains things that are necessary and develops character's personalities and relationships, then by all means keep it.