Why does an author use dialogue

The poet asks questions of an unknown speaker and receives answers in return. The poet is, on the literal surface, asking about the direction of the road, how long the journey will take, and what they may find once they reach the top of the hill.

The unknown speaker replies with logical answers to these questions at a literal level. Readers are left to wonder if the symbolic dialogue in the poem is between the poet and perhaps God. That is why I want you to reform me. How thoughtless of me. I should have remembered that when one is going to lead an entirely new life, one requires regular and wholesome meals.

Since plays are dramatic literary works to be performed, they often rely almost exclusively on dialogue between characters as a means of presenting the narrative. When plays are performed on stage, the audience can see and hear which character is speaking in addition to their physical attitude , vocal tone, inflection, etc.

You know I love you. This poses a challenge to readers in terms of determining what the couple is actually discussing. This is an effective strategy considering the couple is discussing whether the girl should terminate her pregnancy—a subject that would have been taboo to mention outright. Instead, Hemingway constructs dialogue such that the reader must interpret the difference between what the two characters are saying and what they truly mean.

Therefore, to understand the story, readers must pay close attention not to what is being said but who is speaking and the manner in which they speak. The dialogue becomes much more about the nature of the characters than the words they are speaking. This allows the reader to notice subtleties such as the plaintive tone of the girl, her ambiguous feelings, and her need for reassurance. Study the techniques and put them to practice in your work. Can you think of other important roles dialogue plays in a story?

Tell us about it in the comments. Choose one of the prompts and write a passage of dialogue between two characters, making sure the conversation accomplishes at least one of the purposes discussed in the article. On a trans-Atlantic flight, Joan has the window seat and needs to get past Felix to use the bathroom. In the supermarket, Brenda rushes to find all the items for her party, and her teenage daughter is more of a hindrance than a help.

Write for fifteen minutes. When you are finished, post your work in the comments , and be sure to provide feedback for your fellow writers! Join over , readers who are saying YES to practice. Building an Author Website. Instagram Facebook Twitter Pinterest. Why Is Dialogue Important? Dialogue must earn its place. In the woods, two men argue over the best way to start the campfire before the sun goes down.

Joslyn Chase. Any day where she can send readers to the edge of their seats, prickling with suspense and chewing their fingernails to the nub, is a good day for Joslyn. Pick up her latest thriller, Steadman's Blind , an explosive read that will keep you turning pages to the end.

No Rest: 14 Tales of Chilling Suspense , Joslyn's latest collection of short suspense, is available for free at joslynchase. Say Yes to Practice. I'M IN! Dialogues are a very useful tool in any story. Not only do they give voice to the characters, but they are also helpful at many other levels. I have selected this example because its dialogues are dynamic, lively, and very funny indeed:. Teasers are usually rich kids with nothing to do.

Rather childish really. In the example, Ford and Arthur have barely escaped the demolition of the Earth, and the conversation they hold puts us into the scene and pushes the plot to the next episode. Characters can also evolve through dialogue. In fact, in every good dialogue, at least one of the characters should undergo a change of mood.

In the example, Arthur is at first intrigued, questioning Ford about his past. He then suddenly remembers what happened a few minutes ago and returns to a state of shock, moving toward panic. By the end of the conversation, Arthur is somehow resigned. As you can see, the character goes through a lot of different moods which would lose their effect if they were described by a narrator.

It will always be harder to read a whole paragraph where the narrator explains step by step the same things a dialogue can transmit in a few lines.