Hey Story Crafters,
I’ll wrap up the current discussion on writing dialogue by mentioning my thoughts on nonverbal communication and dialogue tags. There are other ways for characters to communicate other than speaking lines of dialogue. Though, depending on the method (like sign language), it can be tricky to pull off if you don’t do your research.
On nonverbal communication
Writing and Texting: This may vary based on author preference and style. For the most part, if a character communicates by writing on a notepad, a text-speech app, or if a character has written a note or texted, this is written the same way as external dialogue: in quotation marks, with an appropriate tag.
For example: “Can you believe this guy?” Annie wrote.
“No prob,” he texted.
For longer excerpts, like writing out an entire a letter, the best way to show this is as a block quote.
Signing: If a character you’re creating has a speech or hearing impairment, sign language (or hand signs, etc.) might be a form a communication for you to consider as well. Before you commit pen to paper (or text to word processor), make sure to do enough background research so you can accurately portray not just the way such a character might communicate, but also that character’s lifestyle.
If you’re considering writing a character with a hearing impairment, check out T. Frohock’s blog post series on “How to Write Deaf Characters” (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3). This is a good starting point for researching and exploring this potential character’s lifestyle and background.
On beats
Beats usually refer to characters’ body language, or physical gestures. A beat can also be internal dialogue—an internal beat. While body language and physical gestures do, technically, fall under the umbrella of nonverbal communication, beats are a writing technique, so I put it under its own heading.
Beats—body language or physical gestures, or internal dialogue—change the pacing in a narrative. They break up long sections of external dialogue, increase or decrease tension, and anchor the reader to characters (by identifying who is speaking and moving) and setting (by showing how characters are moving in a scene). In other words, beats provide context that help ground the reader to a scene.
Without beats, character interactions in a scene can get pretty boring. Not only that, but readers may find it difficult to connect with the characters, or the setting. And readers who find it difficult to connect to characters or setting tend to lose interest in a story.
Let’s take a look at an example below. (It’s a scene I wrote as a free-writing exercise.)
Context: A guy (Luke) being held prisoner for his special healing ability is confronted by a guy who wants to kidnap him for that ability.
A scene with few beats:
The man loomed over Luke, making him anxious.
“So, you’re that geezer’s latest investment,” the man said.
Luke swallowed and asked, “Who are you?”
The man grinned. “I’m the guy who’s gonna steal you.”
“Is that so.” Luke curled his hands into fists. “And what if I don’t want to be stolen?”
“Who’s gonna stop me?” the man asked, stepping closer. “You?”
“That’s right.”
A little dry, right? Compare it to:
The same scene, with more beats:
The shadows melted away as a man stepped into the pool of moonlight Luke was sitting in, and loomed.
“So, you’re that geezer’s latest investment,” the man said, his deep voice coming out in a lazy drawl. His angled eyes glinted in the pale lighting, and shamelessly appraised Luke.
Luke tilted his head back. He tried to keep his rapidly beating heart from ruining the blank expression he’d fixed on his face. This must be what a bird felt like when a cat slipped into its cage, and cornered it.
He swallowed down the lump of anxiety in his throat and asked, “Who are you?”
The man grinned, a scar tugging at his lips as he bared his teeth. “I’m the guy who’s gonna steal you.”
Luke’s heart stuttered. He knew that smile, the pleased kind that meant the future was looking very bright for the person smiling. Seeing it never failed to put Luke on edge. He’d gotten that smile several times since his healing ability activated, from people who wanted to use him for it. When he was younger, that smile had made him want to crawl into a deep, dark hole—or slip behind Auntie Babs—to hide away from the greedy monsters who wanted to monetize his ability. As he grew older, the desire to hide away transformed into the desire to punch whoever looked at him like a prized object in the face. He'd learned to endure that smile, and the appraising looks that came with it, so he wouldn’t end up locked away for “research purposes.”
Not that it had done him any good, in the end. But this guy wasn’t the jailor he'd chosen.
“Is that so.” Luke curled his hands into fists, and kept them hidden in the sleeves of his hoodie. “And what if I don’t want to be stolen?”
The man blinked, grin briefly fading into surprise. It reappeared as he stepped closer—the bloodthirsty kind that hungered for violence. “Who’s gonna stop me? You?”
“That’s right,” Luke said, smiling serenely. Then he lunged forward.
There isn’t a formula for how many beats you need, or should have, in a scene. You might be tempted not to put any in (in which case you have anchorless dialogue), or you might have too many beats. The latter case can slow the pacing until the scene almost seems to stop, losing the tension.
Don’t worry too much about beats during your first draft, though. Get the story out first. Then put the draft away long enough for you to have some distance from the story. That way, when you take the story out again for editing, you’ll be able to evaluate the narrative from a reader’s perspective. You’ll notice if there are scenes with odd pacing (fast or slow), too much dialogue, or not enough grounding in setting. That will help you gauge whether beats need to be added or removed from the narrative.
On dialogue tags
The most common dialogue tags used in writing are “said” and “asked.” If you’re worried about these tags being repetitive (or if you get anxious after typing either word into “Search” and several highlighted blocks pop up), don’t be. These tags may be common, but the magic of them is that they’re invisible to readers because of how frequently they appear.
Readers aren’t paying attention to dialogue tags. They’re paying attention to other details, like identifying which character is speaking. Uncommon dialogue tags have the tendency to draw attention to themselves, so unless that’s your intention, don’t be afraid to use common dialogue tags wherever necessary.
Aim to use uncommon dialogue tags (those that aren’t “said” or “asked”) during more emotional, dramatic moments to build tension and increase the pacing in a scene. Your first (gut) instinct for identifying emotional and action moments in your story is usually right, so using an uncommon dialogue tag in those beats should work.
But if an uncommon dialogue tag feels like a stretch, or forced, it probably isn’t the right tag to use. And if you’re putting in extra work to find the “right” dialogue tag, it probably isn’t a good fit either. Try reading the lines of dialogue + tags to see how they sound. You’ll know if the tags don’t sound right.
That’s all for the discussion on writing dialogue for now. Feel free to offer your thoughts on dialogue, or any topics you’d like to see me cover in future posts, in the comments.
Best,
Leah
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