Stacey Barney, senior editor at Penguin/Putnam for
Young Readers gives advice on dialogue:
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#1 rule of dialogue: Ordinary must be
extraordinary.
•
Characterization must come through. Must stay true
to the character.
•
Dialogue is not pushing the plot, it's enhancing it
by drawing out and heightening characterization.
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The only true goal of a good character work is to
develop characterization.
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If you take out the dialogue and the story doesn't
make sense, then you need to rethink your dialogue.
•
Accents--suggest the accent, don't overdo it. Use
it sparingly. Stay true to the language used in a certain region. For
example; ya'll and dropping g's on the end of a word so the reader doesn't
get frustrated.
•
Dialogue tags: Don't overdo 'he said', 'she said'.
Make sure the setting is clear at the beginning of the scene as a point of
reference so the reader knows where the character is. You don't want to rely to
heavily on dialogue tags.
Each bit of dialogue should have a purpose.
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