The young lady sighed as the dragon began entering the room. ‘Get your head out of the doorway,’ she snapped. Dragons like dialogue can be rather difficult to contain, and have the potential to wreak havoc in the story. The best advice I received is to restrict the use of dialogue. Like any writing tool it needs to serve a purpose, no idle chit chat will do. There is an art to refining the speech of characters and I have a tendency to use far too much in the first draft. I cannot help it sometimes I just need to get it out there to move the story forward.
The Back Story
Take care to weed out the back ground and extra information from your dialogue. If it sounds boring or gives too much away it can do more harm than good when left in. You may find yourself delving into the character’s lives rather than focusing on the events that take place. I find it helps to bring out a little about who the characters are and the choices they make. This can be said with few words, the less the better.
When Dialogue Counts
Like any writing tool choose when you want to use it, and take the time to think about how it changes the scene. Dialogue needs to make an entrance, or convey a message that could otherwise not be described. Just as the dragon misjudging the size of the door is not the best way to make an entrance. It could make for a great deal of fun though. Dialogue can work well for highlighting a misunderstanding when there is more than one opinion. Just as the dragon had not thought about how to get out of the doorway, and somehow managed to damage the walls as it left. No dialogue is needed to describe the aftermath for the scene, well maybe one word. Even dragons know they are in trouble when someone shouts their name. After all, I am still having fun with speech and choosing the right moments.
Chantelle Griffin 