I have read in various places that a huge percentage of novels should be made up of dialogue, but don't really know how to get it in there right. I don't want them to go off track and start bleating random thoughts or descriptions of the setting. But I want my story to be very dialogue based, supplying the reader with the information they need, without the characters acting in a way that they wouldn't in real life. Any help? Thanks!
Mary,
'It seems as though you can't just tell your readers your villain is cruel to animals and hates children. You have to show him kicking a dog or yelling at a baby'.
That is exactly my point. You are unlikely to be published if you do not, 'Show Don't tell'.
The combined amount of dialogue, and stream of thought is crucial to a contemporary novel. Narration is less-dramatic.
If you still have doubts, I suggest you compare passages of text in the works of successful contemporary, or award winning authors. Study any emotionally-charged or dramatic scene to see how they do it.
I hope that helps..
I don't really think you can make a rule about the amount of dialogue in a novel. Look at some of the famous writers of the past who use hardly any dialogue. OK, I assume you aren't trying to write in the style of Dickens of Jane Austen.
I'm not even sure of the "show don't tell" mantra. It seems as though you can't just tell your readers your villain is cruel to animals and hates children. You have to show him kicking a dog or yelling at a baby.
Ruth Padell, 'Show don't tell'. You are not writing an essay. Do not narrate when you can dramatise the event with dialogue or a stream of thought. It is important that characters define themselves by their actions. By what they say and do, and also by what other character say and think about them. Have the reader develop a like or dislike in characters.
Ask yourself what are the functions of each of the characters in your novel. Rounded characters have to have a purpose. What are the differences that set them apart. Some examples. A character could be a lovable rogue or a heinous villain. They could be trustworthy, untrustworthy, passionate, uncaring, shallow, weak, strong, cunning, deceitful, uneducated, niave or very wise. I find that as you add layers to characters they develop a life of their own. Then the dialogue and streams of thought become clearer.
Each chapter should have a dramatic event, which ends in suspense. It is then resolved in a subsequent chapter. Think of the drama in each chapter, gradually rising to a peak like a crest of a wave. You end with a cliffhanger, with the reader eager to read on.
Regarding dialogue or streams of thought. Ask yourself,
What is the chapter you are writing about?
In what dramatic situation do your character/characters find themselves?
If the character is alone, what is his/her stream of thought?
Does the dramatic event involve a conversation between two or more characters?
I hope that helps.
Good Luck.