Great Tips on Dialogue from the PSWA Conference

Mysti Berry provided those of us who attended the PSWA conference some great tips about writing effective dialogue--here are a few:

You can make dialogue stronger.

Dialogue should move the story forward, reveal character and underscore the theme.

People don't necessarily say what they mean.

Dialogue isn't 100% the same as human speech.

Find the core of the conflict.

Differences in the perception of power.

More power says less--who has the power in the conversation?

Play with power in the dialogue.

Everyone lies.

When two people are speaking, there should be a back-and-forth rhythm. 

Characters shouldn't address one another by name. 

And I'll add something about dialogue tags: Though said and asked are better than any fancy attributes--better still have the character do something,make an action the dialogue tags. No one sits perfectly still while talking.

During a conversation, people seldom give a long speech--if they try the other person will interrupt them.

Don't have one character tell another what that person already knows. 

Marilyn

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