Write Dialogue That Delights, Not Distracts by Jennifer Lamont Leo

Before I wrote novels, I was a playwright. I cut my storytelling teeth on skits, sketches, and plays. Maybe that’s why dialogue is my favorite part of writing fiction. Faced with a blank screen, I’ll often kick off a scene by writing out the dialogue first, then building the rest of the story around it.

Theatrical scripts are all about the dialogue. There’s no place for lengthy narratives about what’s going on, or detailed descriptions of setting and time period. Dialogue, brought to life by actors and amplified by scenery, lighting, and costuming, has to carry the story.

In historical novels, of course, dialogue needs to be true to the time period, without making today’s reader struggle too hard to make sense of it. It’s a delicate balance We all cringe when an eighteenth-century character blurts out modernisms like “Okay” or “I’ve got your back.” At the other end of the spectrum, dialogue that labors too hard to communicate an accent or style of speech can be troublesome, too. Consider this tidbit from Margaret Mitchell’s classic, Gone With the Wind.

“’Is de gempmum gone? Huccome you din’ ast dem ter stay fer supper, Miss Scarlett? Ah done tole Poke ter lay two extry plates fer dem. What’s yo’ manners?”

This passage is meant to convey the speech of Mammy, an African American slave, and it does a pretty good job--if you read it out loud. If you’re like me, you had to go over it two or three times before making sense of it. That sort of effort kicks the reader out of the story, and may even frustrate her to the point where she stops reading and tosses the book in the “donate” box. How tragic if she missed out on Gone With the Wind’s epic story—or yours—because of hard-to-read dialogue.

Instead, sift in a few word choices to suggest an accent or distinctive speech pattern without trying to mimic it. With apologies to Margaret Mitchell, here’s one suggested rewriting of the above passage to make it a little more intelligible to modern readers:

“Is de gentlemen gone? How come you didn’t ask dem to stay for supper, Miss Scarlett? I done told Poke to lay two extra plates for dem. What’s yo’ manners?”

With a lighter touch, the reader “hears” Mammy’s vocabulary and cadence without being completely thrown off course.

Here’s a recipe for good historical dialogue: Gather authentic words and speech patterns of the era by combing through books, speeches, letters, and diaries. (If, like me, you’re writing about the twentieth century, you also have a rich lode of movies, TV, and radio recordings.) Sprinkle them lightly through your text to season without overpowering. Then sift out any twenty-first-century expressions that may have crept in. You’ll delight your readers with dialogue that enhances, and doesn’t distract from, your story.

Is there something in particular that you struggle with regarding dialog?

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Jennifer Lamont Leo loves all things vintage, especially stories set in the early twentieth century. Her debut novel, You’re the Cream in My Coffee, won an ACFW Carol Award. Her new book, Ain’t Misbehavin’, is also set in 1920s Chicago. An Illinois native, she now lives in rural northern Idaho with her husband, two cats, and abundant wildlife.

Links:
Ain’t Misbehavin’
You’re the Cream in My Coffee
Amazon author page
Author website
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Goodreads author page
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Weary of Writing? Put Down the Pen and Pick Up a Paintbrush by Jennifer Lamont Leo

There are times when it's helpful to step away from the computer and refresh our minds through another facet of creativity. Today, author Jennifer Lamont Leo shares her "refreshing" experience. -- Sandy

Jennifer: Eyes bleary and head aching, I shut down the computer, dissatisfied with the week's progress (or lack thereof) on my novel. Storyline snarls and a dulled creative spark had worn me down. My word count suffered as I deleted more sentences than I'd written.

The impetus for hitting "save" and shutting down was that I was heading off on a weekend retreat at a nearby campground. The retreat would be focused on paper arts--rubber stamping, card-making, and scrapbooking.

Now, I'm no artist. My talents are, shall we say, primitive. But I do enjoy making my own Christmas cards, and planned to use the retreat to get a jump-start on that rewarding but laborious process. It was already September, and time was a-wasting. However, this time I wearily considered begging off. After the lack of writing progress I'd been experiencing, how could I justify taking two whole days off to work on my Christmas cards?  I needed to be writing, writing, writing. (Cue crack of whip.)

In the end, I chose to go to the retreat, and I'm so glad I did. Although I did not write a single word the entire weekend, I made more progress on my novel than I had in weeks. How could this be?

(1) Visual art stimulates writing creativity by exercising a non-verbal part of the brain. To give words, sentences, paragraphs, and grammar a rest and focus instead on color, shape, and perspective helped me change my own perspective. The various aspects of my brain, estranged for some time, managed to reconnect in fresh ways.

(2) Working with one's hands helps the ideas flow. Once I was more or less forced to concentrate on something other than solving some hairy plot tangle, my brain went ahead and solved it without me, as if saying, "Get out of my way and let me work."

(3) To clumsily paraphrase John Lennon, creativity is what happens when you're making other art. In other words, ideas sometimes flow when you switch to working in a different medium. "Frankly, getting out of your comfort zone creatively will often lead to your most creative solutions," wrote Stefan Mamaw and Wendy Lee Oldfield in Caffeine for the Creative Mind. 

(4) Spending quality time among other creative people: priceless. Writing is a solitary journey. As an introvert by nature, I usually don't mind the isolation. But to be among artists in full working mode was invaluable for "catching" the creative bug myself. Being among so many talented people for a whole weekend opened my mind to new connections, observations, and ways of seeing that I never would have stumbled across on my own.

So if you find yourself mired in writer's block, try picking up a paintbrush...or a camera, a pair of knitting needles, a bottle of glitter glue, a skein of embroidery floss . . . and make magic happen. You'll be glad you did.

What's the "go-to" creative hobby that allows you to recharge your writing brain?

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Jennifer Lamont Leo writes from her home in the mountains of northern Idaho, where she lives with her husband, two cats, and as much wildlife as she can attract. Passionate about history, she volunteers at a local history museum and writes history-themed articles for regional publications. She is also a playwright, blogger, and marketing copywriter. You’re the Cream in My Coffee is her first novel. Visit her at http://jenniferlamontleo.com. She is also active on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.