Thread: Dialougue vs Description

Sorry for any mistakes, I'm new around here...

Anyway, so I've recently started a fantasy novel and am on my third chapter, but I'm finding it difficult to get the right balance between dialogue and description. At the moment it seems to be mostly dialogue, and whenever I try and add more description the plot seems to stand still...

So my basic problem is: how do I keep the plot moving without leaving out the description entirely? However, there's also the problem of trying to find various ways of saying "said"...

Any tips/advice/own experiences would be much appreciated!!!

Hi there, in response to this: 'there's also the problem of trying to find various ways of saying "said"...'

If the dialogue is between two people then avoid using speech tags (he said, he shouted etc.) The dialogue should flow naturally between one person and another. If there are more than two people talking this is when your speech tags become more important. In some instances try describing the speech instead of merely tagging it - 'I'll never make it alone.' Jack sounded helpless / Jack said helplessly. Naturally, to do this repeatedly wouldn't be appropriate, only when necessary. Even when a dialogue involves more than two people it may be the case that for a section of it only two people speak, and so speech tags could be avoided again. I avoid them wherever possible.

Regarding the dialogue v description; when I'm describing the surroundings or landscape I try to drip it into the narrative gradually and with subtlety, and I always try to avoid using an information dump, that is the quickest way to stop a story flowing. If you are writing lots of dialogue you could make your characters notice things as they are talking, through sight, smell, touch etc.

My best advice on answering your question; look at examples of work by various authors, see how they make it work.

Hope some of this helps.

Regards

Scott

Originally Posted by Bilston Blue

look at examples of work by various authors, see how they make it work.

That's probably the answer to 90% of the questions asked here.

Originally Posted by Jpuddi

I'm finding it difficult to get the right balance between dialogue and description. At the moment it seems to be mostly dialogue, and whenever I try and add more description the plot seems to stand still...

So my basic problem is: how do I keep the plot moving without leaving out the description entirely? However, there's also the problem of trying to find various ways of saying "said"...

It's as much an issue with personal style as well as literary techniques.

You may find that advice given regarding your request isn't going to be exactly what you're after, mostly because we're not entirely sure of your current efforts. We each have our own writing styles, and can apply these quite well. But it's a little harder to explain how the application of this works in a general sense; it's easier when you've got a specific task.

What I'm boiling this down to, is to suggest that you may be better served supplying an example of your writing, and ask that some of us point out things that work and don't work. I'd certainly try to rewrite your words in my own way. Doing this can give you (and us) some insight into the different ways a message can be portrayed.


Regarding speech, you may notice that most authors generally have only two people talking at once. This allows them to initially distinguish who is talking, and just have them take turns speaking. Readers will be able to keep track fairly well. But try to make sure your characters speak in they own style; so the reader has an intuitive understanding of which one would be talking. Some readers go as far as 'hearing' the words in a voice they've imagined for the character (provided you've given them enough to work with).

It's also fairly simple to include actions, events, and items (scenery, objects, placements, etc) within speech.

"That's an amazing sunset.", "Haven't seen many like it. You want to go outside?.", "Sure, but give me a moment. My leg has gone numb from sitting on it."

Crude example, but you get the idea. This way, you can avoid having to 'dictate' things to your readers. As an added bonus, using speech like this gives your characters more depth. From the example above, we get an idea of two people sitting inside, one in a position that becomes uncomfortable the longer you stay in it, they appreciate the simple things in life, and are willing to take action to enjoy them. If you said:

"Jane sat crossed legged on the rug, gazing out the window as a fiery sunset bloomed across the horizon."

You get the picture, but you don't get to know the characters.

The trick is to combine these techniques in a way that is invisible to the reader; they don't recognise that you're doing it. You don't want your characters to talk about everything they're doing, much the same way as you don't want your book to read like a catalog.

It takes a bit of practice to do well, particularly because there are no hard and fast rules about the right way. Each circumstance and situation (mediated by the author's style) is going to alter how the best result comes about.

As an example, I don't like to describe much of scenery. I'll give minor details here and there, but it's mostly so the reader has a sense of 'place' in the events. My efforts go into making the characters as real as possible. (eg) I want to be able to write "Nothing 't do with me!" and have the readers know which character is talking without having to tell them. But this also applies to how they behave and react to things around them. If something happens that scares the group, with our main character seeing someone flee, I want the audience to know who that person is without telling them.