Talk to me

I just finished reading two “guy” books: T.L. Hines’ Waking Lazarus and Will Staeger’s Painkiller. Both had whodunit plots and flawed male leads with special powers that saved the world—big, continent-sized worlds and small, personal worlds. But the thing that intrigued me most in these good reads was the dialogue—sometimes witty, sometimes poignant, but always necessary dialogue.

Nothing will make me throw down a book faster than bad dialogue. Now, I don’t claim to be the genre’s best dialogue writer, but I am a student of conversation. I began creatively in sketch comedy and screenwriting—which are all about dialogue—and morphed into the complicated world of fiction. In my one-rat survey (with moi as the “rat”) I discovered that the best dialogue hailed from non-Christian writers, usually male and quite often British. The worst, absolute stinky, clichéd worst, came from American female Christians.

I determined to avoid the stinky pile. So I picked up Tom Chiarella’s book, Writing Dialogue: How to create memorable voices and fictional conversations that crackle with wit, tension and nuance. This is a brilliant how-to book, funny and dead-on about the art of dialogue writing. It’s as if Chiarella stepped into my head, assembled my jumbled preferences, and transcribed the why and how I can peg great dialogue…as well as why I throw down the bad. Check it out by clicking on its cover in the right-hand column under "Books I Suggest."

Now, about those two great reads...

T.L. Hines is a Christian novelist via advertising with a brilliant hook, good plotting and characterization, and a measured use of dialogue. Whole pages go by with no quotation marks—no overt dialogue. He saves conversation for when it really matters…when it moves the plot forward, defines the character, makes a big reveal. His dialogue is never, never, inane. I read Waking Lazarus in two sittings.

Will Staeger’s Painkiller is anything but Christian. His characters live by the humanist approach—situational ethics, look out for yourself first, do what feels right. His CIA plot is violent and his prose is peppered with profanity, but man…can this guy write witty. In long, action-filled and cleverly-written passages, I found myself flipping ahead, begging for more dialogue. No surprise he hails from Hollywood film development.

Have you discovered a writer who’s particularly great at dialogue? If so, tell me about it…post a comment here and we’ll chat.

Comments

[Shaye]

I don't think I've ever really given dialogue that much consideration, but I have to tell you that ever since I read this post I've found myself paying attention to it when I'm reading.

I can't offer any names right now, but I'll get back to you...

[Mary]

In doing content editing, I've come across a new author that is excellent with dialogue. As I edit, it's like a running movie in my head. He definately shows, not tells. Look for Scott Higginbotham to break through the Christian fiction genre soon.