This is an updated version of an article that I originally sent out as a newsletter in 2017.
Dialogue is one of my favourite parts of writing fiction. I find descriptions a struggle (and tend to go rather too light on them in the first draft), and narrative can be tricky ... but I love dialogue (and occasionally wonder if I should switch to script-writing!)
Dialogue can present a few problems for authors, though: it needs to be laid out correctly, according to conventions, and it needs to be clearly attributed to the correct character.
There are a few ways to do that:
- Using dialogue tags
- Using dialogue beats (aka action beats)
- Using nothing but the dialogue
Using Dialogue Tags
Here's what most people think of doing when attributing dialogue:
"Nice weather today," John said.
The "John said" is a dialogue tag: it "tags" the dialogue as John's. Of course, you can vary the dialogue tag:
"Nice weather today," John said, cheerfully.
"Nice weather today," John whispered.
You can also put it before the dialogue – which can be good if you want to slightly change the rhythm of your sentences:
John said, "Nice weather today."
Sometimes, a dialogue tag makes most sense: it's clear and straightforward. It can become a little repetitive, though, to tag every single line of dialogue ... and there are other ways to do it.
Using Dialogue Beats
In many cases, this is a great way to attribute dialogue:
John opened the curtain. "Nice weather today."
Instead of being a dialogue tag, this is a dialogue beat or action beat. John does something; a line of dialogue follows. Conventionally, we assume the dialogue is John's. (This is why layout and punctuation matter so much!)
Using Nothing but the Dialogue
If you have an ongoing conversation, you can sometimes get away with nothing but the dialogue.
Here's another example:
John opened the curtain. "Nice weather today."
"It's supposed to rain later," Adam said.
"Let's get a move on, then."
If John and Adam are the only people in the room, we can assume that the third line is John's. (Even if they're not the only people, we'd probably assume that, as John had started a conversation with Adam.)
There's nothing wrong with using dialogue tags, but having a few different tools to hand can help you break up any monotonous sections of your story, and can also give you greater control over the rhythm and flow of your piece.
