Dialogue - how much is too much?

by Clare Williams
30th November 2016

Hi everyone. Me again! While working through the list of recommended reads so helpfully provided by some of you, I've decided to start a new ms too (when inspiration strikes and all that!). It's in the first person but I've noticed there's a lot of dialogue in it. Does anyone have any thoughts on dialogue and how much is too much. It reads ok to me, for now.

Thanks in advance :)

Replies

Is much than less

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Edgar
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Edgar Hutama
02/12/2016

Thankyou Lorraine and Jimmy :)

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Clare
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Clare Williams
02/12/2016

As always, I disagree with some of the "rules" that others have stipulated.

How do you indicate to your reader that Character X is a boring windbag if you don't make X' speeches boring and long?

How make Character Y obviously shy/nervous/hesitant without including "er", "um", "you know", etc.

The craft is to include boring windbag speech without making the BOOK boring.

Diary Of A Nobody (George and Weedon Grossmith) has a stunningly boring character as its NARRATOR. And yet it's a masterpiece of humorous fiction.

IMHO, dialogue SHOULD be English (French, Spanish, etc.) as it's spoke. Within reason.

Well, um, that's just, you know, my opinion.

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Jimmy
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Jimmy Hollis i Dickson
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