"Say what?"

“All the information you need can be given in dialogue.” — Elmore Leonard

Anytime dialogue carries the story it’s pure joy. Sometimes it’s straight up, other times it’s slippery with manipulation. I love when there is something more, like when a character is thinking one thing and saying another, adding dimension.

The characters themselves can be foul-mouthed or politically incorrect. They can gush in hyperbole, plot behind feigned humility, or talk when they should be listening.

“You can’t blame a writer for what the characters say.” ― Truman Capote

Also, a character’s words can be true, somewhat unreliable or totally lacking credibility. The point of view is the characters to do with what they will. However they try to reveal or conceal the real, my job is to let them have the floor and not step all over the scene. 

Good dialogue has a distinct rhythm from character to character. It’s the best way I know to show and not tell. The moment they speak to one another, there’s action and a connection to the surrounding scene.

“A reader's emotions can be sparked with few words. That's the power of dialogue.” — Sol Stein

Dialogue can also establish mood, crank up the tension, and move plots and subplots. 

Body language can also speak for the characters.  

I read the dialogue scenes out loud to hear the characters words. It’s a way to ensure that their voices ring true. Also, I’m listening for anything that sounds narrative or isn’t essential. 

Dialogue tags other than he said/she said, and occasionally ‘asked’ don’t work for me. I use ‘said’ or ‘asked’ only when I need to make it clear who’s talking. The alternative tags sound weird to me — like bellowed, barked, gasped, queried, wailed, whined, mewled, guffawed, and so on. And even worse than that would be adding an adverb to such a tag. 

So, the reader should get a clear picture through the characters’ words. And sometimes carefully placed backstory, handled with a light touch, can deepen that understanding of a character. I’m careful to include just the parts of backstory that are absolutely key. Too much of it drags the pace, or worse, can put the reader to sleep.

“The most important things to remember about backstory are that (a) everyone has a history and (b) most of it isn’t very interesting.” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

In real life I’ve always been intrigued by the way people speak to each other. The patterns and rhythms of their words along with their body language hint at who they are. Once in a while, I overhear a real-life pearl said in conversation, and if it’s befitting, I offer it up to one of my characters, breathing life into them and making them even more real.

For me, dialogue’s the best tool in the box, and it’s my favorite part to write. 

“The characters are telling you the story. I'm not telling you the story, they're going to do it. If I do it right, you will get the whole story.” — George V. Higgins