Dialogue Pitfalls

Writing Class Notes: Pitfalls To Avoid When Using Dialogue



Pitfalls To Avoid
1. Stilted Language - dialogue that does not sound like natural speech.

2. Filler - Dialogue that does not further the scene and does not deepen your understanding of the characters.

3. Exposition - dialogue that has the character explain the plot or repeat information for the benefit of the audience (reader). My teacher did not totally agree with this, she said it would depend on what is happening in the story.

4. Naming - having one character use another character's name to establish identity. People almost never say other people's names back to them, and if they do, it is a character trait typical of a used car salesman.

5. Overuse of modifiers - using too many dialogue modifiers, such as "shouted", "exclaimed", "cried", "whispered", "stammered","insinuated", and a million others. Modifiers such as these can sometimes be useful, but are often annoying and used as a crutch for poorly designed dialogue.

What do you do to avoid these pitfalls?

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