#114: 3 Common Dialogue Mistakes (And How To Fix Them)

Fiction Writing Made Easy

Savannah Gilbo

Education, Fiction, Writing Tips, Arts, Bestseller, Writing, How To, Author, Writing Community, Books, Novel, How To Write Fiction, Writing Fiction, Writer, How To Write A Book

4.9 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2023

⏱️ 19 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“Dialogue is a form of action. We can utilize what's happening around the dialogue to assist what's being said.” - Savannah Gilbo

Today, I'm thrilled to talk about the intricate art of dialogue with you once more. We're going to explore three common pitfalls that often lurk in dialogue and learning how to navigate these challenges can truly elevate your storytelling. Here’s a preview of what’s included:

[02:34] Savannah explains the meaning of attributions and what to do when you doubt if something being said is clear to the reader.

[06:55] Reading a snippet from “Mockingjay” by Suzanne Collins and why it is a great example of keeping attributions simple.

[11:27] Why asking rhetorical questions undermines the emotional potential of your scenes.

[14:15] The value of not including too much backstory or too much information in your dialogue.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, Savannah here. Before we get into today's episode, I wanted to share our next book
0:04.8	club pick with you because I'm super excited to dig into this book and see how and why it works.
0:09.9	Our next meeting is coming up on November 16th at 4 p.m. Pacific, 7 p.m. Eastern, and we're going
0:15.7	to be digging into the fourth wing by Rebecca Yaros. Abigail and I are so excited to deconstruct
0:21.2	this book and these meetings are always so much fun. They're interactive, so in addition to our
0:26.2	presentation on why we think this story works and why we think it resonates with readers,
0:30.8	there are also polls and lots of opportunities to chat with other writers and ask us questions
0:36.2	and, you know, just participate in a group discussion about a really awesome book. As always,
0:41.2	our aim is to analyze a novel and translate our learnings into actionable tips, tools, and strategies
0:46.8	that you can take and implement in your own writing right away. So if you want to join us or if you
0:51.7	want to learn more about how the book club works, go to savannagilba.com forward slash book dash
0:57.2	club. One more time that savannagilba.com forward slash book dash club hope to see you there. Almost
1:03.4	always the tone of the scene and the words the character uses should tell the reader how those
1:08.8	words are being spoken. So instead of grabbing at the source, I'd rather see you default to working
1:15.0	harder at making the words and the action in any given scene more vivid. However, there are
1:21.2	caveats to this as well, okay? So sometimes it is better to use an adverb to indicate how something
1:28.0	is said. Sometimes that really is the most economical way to convey something.
1:35.6	Welcome to the Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast. My name is savannagilba and I'm here to
1:40.5	help you write a story that works. I want to prove to you that writing a novel doesn't have to be
1:46.0	overwhelming. So each week, I'll bring you a brand new episode with simple, actionable, and
1:50.4	step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away. So whether you're
1:54.9	brand new to writing or more of a seasoned author looking to improve your craft, this podcast is for
	...

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