rbm

I'm in my 6th Chapter and am in the process of "introducing" each character. I am intending for these characters to cross paths within the next few chapters. Although I feel it's important to lay down descriptions of each person and place they are in, I am wondering if I should try to get dialog going ASAP.
It seems that alot of novels get the dialog thing going quickly. Am I shooting my self in the foot by "setting up" the book this way?

desired_destiny

My first sentence in the story I am currently writing is dialogue. Sometimes too much description is bad. The reader needs to let his/her imagination roam.

Instead of introducing the characters with description, the reader can easilly find out about the character's personality by what he/she says.
If you feel the need to add a little description, you could do something like this: “Why do you care, anyway?” No longer did he look at her as alluring. Instead, he looked at her as poverty stricken and lonely, sort of like himself.

Usually in the beginning of novels there is little dialogue. But you are in the 6th chapter. I would suggest adding some.
You aren't shooting yourself in the foot. Everyone has a different writing style.

This is just my opinion: If it's first person, there isn't a need for much dialogue. If it's in third person, dialogue would be helpful.

I'm not sure if I was of much help, being a beginning writer and not knowing much.

rbm

Thank you for your advice. Like yourself, I am a beginning writer - just loved "telling" stories until I thought I could parlay this into something else. Thanks again!

LensmanZ313

Dialog's tricky.

So far, I've been using first-person narrative for my story. Real easy to setup scenes that way. Third-person is a little harder . . . but it can be done.

Look how far writing has come. Read novels from the early 1800s or even the pulps. Lovecraft is a good example.

You're not alone. It's tricky--and scary. But, you'll do fine.

Have any examples?

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Muffin Man

It took me awhile to get the hang of dialogue, and I'm still working at it. The biggest tip anyone ever gave me (a writer that I'm a big fan of) was 'Stop watching your characters, and start directing them.' So true. As writers, it's so easy to just watch. If you don't create obstacles to force dialogue, it'll never happen. Good luck!

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demonic_harmonic

My opening line is dialog. It can sometimes be alot more interesting to open a book this way than to go on and on with details of what is happening and what the scene looks like. I think you actually have to be a pretty good writer to get real interest going without dialog fairly soon in the story. Then again, there is also a line between attention grabbing dialog, needed dialog for information and character enhancement, and then just unneeded dialog that rambles on and on. This is one of the major problems I think Stephen King has. He'll have a great story going, then make on of the characters talk for pages on something meaningless and boring. So introduce it when you feel comfortable, and make sure it's not excessive.

Cipher2

I don't think you are shooting yourself in the foot by getting the dialog going quickly. I can't see why you would be.

demonic_harmonic

just a question- if you are introducing the characters in the sixth chapter, what are you doing for the first five?

Ikarus

I think he/she's introducing each character a chapter at a time, so for the first five chapters he/she has introduced 5 characters?

rbm

I have introduced three characters in the first 5 chapters. Actually I just wrote chapters 6 and 7 (still only 3 characters so far..)
The characters are in situations where they aren't really interacting with anyone right now.
I'm just giving alot of background and describing where they are at in their life right now.
The reason for my question is that I see dialog fairly early on in alot of fiction. I even popped open "Lord of the Rings" last night and noticed how Tolkien got the dialog happening within the first few pages.

Talia_Brie

In my opinion if you're in chapter 6 and haven't had any substantive dialogue, then you're in trouble. You should go back and re-write those chapters and have the characters interact with other people more.

The book will just become dense with description otherwise, and difficult to read. You hsould be able to find a way to deliver the character background you're after and still provide some dialogue. You'll also find it is an efficient way to present a character by having them interact with other people.

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demonic_harmonic

Quite a few publishers will, if interested in your work, as for your first three chapters. You have to hook them in those chapters, or they will throw you into the pile of thousands of other discarded works. This may not seem fair, but it pretty much forces you to get into the swing of things fairly early into your story. I would definitly rewrite some of this. Or, post it for all of us, and we can further see how we can help you out.

kathel

I think the important thing to introduce right away is some kind of action, which may or may not manifest itself as dialogue.

If your first six chapters are about a bunch of people preparing individually to commit a major bank heist (for instance), you could probably keep it interesting without dialogue since important things are happening that just don't happen to involve speech.

But if they're about a bunch of people sitting on their individual front porch swings, looking at the sunsets in their parts of the world and thinking about themselves (for instance), you probably want to give them someone to talk to.

Short version: if the story starts on page one, it doesn't matter whether anyone's talking. If the story starts in chapter seven, you're in trouble. Hope that helps.

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