Dealing with Dialogue
“How are you?” Jane asked.
“I’m fine,” said Sandy.
“Do you have any plans for the weekend?” Jane asked.
“No, I do not,” Sandy replied.
If your red pen is itching to do something about that terrible, terrible dialogue, you might be a line editor at heart.
How to Line Edit Dialogue
It’s common for novelists to include a lot of unnecessary information in dialogue, like this chunk of small talk. Unless Sandy’s lack of plans for the weekend matters to the plot, this greeting isn’t needed. In fact, it could be edited to:
Jane and Sandy greeted each other.
Then the author could move into the heart of the dialogue, which I dearly hope exists.
If Sandy’s lack of plans for the weekend does matter to the plot, that information could be shared without boring the reader into a stupor. Perhaps something like:
Jane greeted Sandy and asked if she had any plans for the weekend.
“No, I do not,” Sandy said.
Now, while readers are still sensate, the heart of the dialogue could be revealed:
“Wanna rob a bank with me?”
Or whatever it might be.
I’m running a snack-sized, instructor-led class on line editing dialogue. Join me if you’d like to learn more about the ins-and-outs of this skill.
