

These facts aren’t necessarily directly involved with moving the plot, but they are important for world-building so that the reader truly understands the novel’s setting. It can be done either through narration, a character’s inner monologue, or direct conversation. There are a couple of different ways to introduce exposition. The information could be about a character, an important event from the past, the novel’s setting, or any other element present in the story. Good exposition is when we give the readers these facts throughout the story. In every novel, there are a bunch of basic facts that the reader needs to learn. If it isn’t, you’ll just be adding unnecessary interactions that’ll drag the reader’s attention away from the main point of your plot. If your characters are having a conversation that does not contribute anything to the plot, it’s better to get rid of it.Įverything your characters say must be meaningful. And that purpose is usually to keep the plot moving. Here are five basic functions of dialogue:Īs I mentioned, Dialogue must serve a purpose. What Are Two Basic Functions of Dialogue?ĭialogue has got to serve a purpose. They use many filler words, jump from topic to topic, or fail to articulate and finish sentences. If you pay attention to how people actually talk, you’ll notice a lot of unnecessary things. While dialogue is derived from how we speak, it is not an exact copy and paste. Seamlessly blend narration with conversation.To put it simply, well-written dialogue has got to:
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For that reason, it’s a good job you are researching how to write a story with dialogue! Well-written dialogue is that extra push to make characters really come to life. (Yikes!)ĭialogue is one of the most critical devices in an author’s arsenal. The story has to keep moving along, or the readers will get bored and drop your book. When writing a story, you want to make sure that when your characters speak, it has a purpose. It’s such a normal part of our lives, so, in theory, it should be easy to have your characters naturally interact with each other.īut in reality, it’s fairly tricky. It is understandable because we talk to each other every day, which is essentially dialogue. You’d be surprised at how many writers underestimate the difficulty of mastering dialogue. You’ve figured out your characters, your plot, the plot twists. Let’s say you’re a budding writer and you’ve decided to finally write your first book.
