Lesson Eight

Lesson 8: Use Dialogue

This is the eighth lesson in the How To Show And Not Tell In Short Stories course.

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In the previous lesson we identified ‘telling’ words. In this lesson we’ll look at dialogue as a ‘showing’ tool.

“Dialogue is not just quotation. It is grimaces, pauses, adjustments of blouse buttons, doodles on a napkin, and crossings of legs.” ~Jerome Stern

We must remember that dialogue includes the words that are spoken aloud, the thoughts of the viewpoint character, body language and expressions, and attributions. It’s a very powerful tool.

Dialogue ‘shows’ character and it should also advance the story. I’ve been talking about your writing doing double-duty a lot in these lessons. Dialogue does that and then some. When your characters speak, you immediately start ‘showing’, which is want you want. Your characters come alive. Your story moves forward.

Example 1

Tell: It was a cold day.
Show: “I hate this weather,” she wrapped her cardigan tighter around her.

Example 2

Tell: It was a long way to walk.
Show: “How much farther?”
“A couple more hours, at least.”
She sinks to the ground. “I’m calling my dad.”

Example 3

Tell: Her mom always chose her work over them.
Show: “Mom, when are you coming home?” Her daughter mumbles into the phone.
“It’ll be a couple more weeks, honey.”
“But that’s what you said last month and the month before that.”
“We’re almost done here, sweetie. It’s my job.” She presses backspace twice. She really needs to concentrate.
“Dad was right.”
The phone line goes dead.
“Jen, what that’s supposed to mean?” She slams the lid of the computer down.

Exercises

Here are prompts for two scenes. Use dialogue to ‘show’ how these scenes play out.

1. Her husband wasn’t a nice man.
2. They had run out of time.

Remember, dialogue is a great tool for ‘showing’. Make your characters speak.

Recommended Read: 

What’s Next?

In our next lesson we will look at when you need to tell.

Please click here for Lesson Nine

NOTE: If you want a downloadable, printable PDF of this course, you can buy one for a small fee from our store. The workbook is an advert-free, easy-to-download version of the online course.