New to the board, need opinions.

[SWFL_Wordslinger]

Hi, just thought I'd say hi. I've been reading, and writing at literotica for a little while, but never ventured to the boards until today.

Anyway, I'm working on a new story and I'm in a quandary: Should I include dialogue or not?

Seems simple right? Not so much though.

The general plot is guy's wife is cheating, he spies on her and takes revenge. The story will be going into the erotic horror category I think. That's what I'm shooting for.

So far I have about 5 pages written in word and it's going along rather well with no dialogue. I like the feel it has without it and would rather have none whatsoever. Most of the story is based around the man, being alone and there is no need for dialogue besides his thoughts.

But, back to the dialogue question. Central to the plot is a supposed business trip that the man will be on. Right now, where this is introduced there is a short dialogue with his wife. That is the only bit I have so far, and I can easily re-write that without the dialogue.

But when I get to the climax of the story, I'm not so sure I can get by without dialogue. There will be some begging, probably some torture. Not sure what else as I haven't gotten to that point yet. I just don't want to get there and realize that I need to go back and re-write.

So I guess my question is, would people read a story with NO dialogue? Should there be some? Or am I going at this the wrong way? Sorry for the short novel here lol.

 

[Austin8]

Morning, SWFL, There is a old writing adage that says *show it don't tell it* The easiest way for me to show it and keep the story moving along and stay in first person is with the use of dialog, but yours maybe different. I tend to look for the blank white spaces in stories too, and if I can't find them I usually stop reading. Hope this helps, Happy earth day

 

[slyc_willie]

The main advantage of dialogue is to put the reader in the moment, to involve them in the story. Plus, you can say a lot more with fewer words in dialogue than you can by describing the action. Not using dialogue will have a tendency to distance the reader, to make them feel like observers and not participants. And with erotic horror, that can either be a boon or bust.

All of my stories include healthy portions of dialogue. Using it effectively allows you to give the reader cues and clues as to what the story is about, as well as to show the reactions of characters in a far more effective way than through simple description.

That's not to say that a story cannot be effectively told without dialogue, but it does make things more difficult. Both for you, and the reader.

Welcome to the AH.

 

[BOSTONFICTIONWRITER]

Hi, just thought I'd say hi. I've been reading, and writing at literotica for a little while, but never ventured to the boards until today.

Anyway, I'm working on a new story and I'm in a quandary: Should I include dialogue or not?

Seems simple right? Not so much though.

The general plot is guy's wife is cheating, he spies on her and takes revenge. The story will be going into the erotic horror category I think. That's what I'm shooting for.

So far I have about 5 pages written in word and it's going along rather well with no dialogue. I like the feel it has without it and would rather have none whatsoever. Most of the story is based around the man, being alone and there is no need for dialogue besides his thoughts.

But, back to the dialogue question. Central to the plot is a supposed business trip that the man will be on. Right now, where this is introduced there is a short dialogue with his wife. That is the only bit I have so far, and I can easily re-write that without the dialogue.

But when I get to the climax of the story, I'm not so sure I can get by without dialogue. There will be some begging, probably some torture. Not sure what else as I haven't gotten to that point yet. I just don't want to get there and realize that I need to go back and re-write.

So I guess my question is, would people read a story with NO dialogue? Should there be some? Or am I going at this the wrong way? Sorry for the short novel here lol.

"I don't know how you can develop characters without the use of dialogue," he said stopping to sip his coffee to write this.

"Dialogue allows you to pace your story, but mixing it up with narative. Unless you are writing a medical journal, no matter how interesting you think it is, readers will soon tire of reading paragraph after paragraph of long sentences, no matter how good a writer you think you are."

Happy with what he had written he reread it before posting it and that was when he decided to fill in an example.

"I had a creative writing teacher, once, Robert Parker, who extensively used dialogue in his Spencer For Hire novels. His book was white with empty spaces, yet what you read into his dialogue was the magic of his writing," he said taking another sip of his coffee before continuing.

"He showed the imagery by use of dialogue instead of telling the reading with long, rambling, and oftentimes unnecessary narative. There are lots of things that dialogue is helpful in doing, especially point of view."

Finally, done with what he needed to write, he finished with his welcoming words of caution.

"Welcome to AH. Be careful, they bite here. There are lots of good people among the back stabbers. Sometimes, because of so many multiple identities, it is impossible who is a friend and who is a foe."

See? Now, isn't that more interesting to read than if I filled the page with narative?

Good luck.

 

[Dragonlipz]

Welcome to AH and Literotica.....Your question: To dialogue or not is a good one. I find that dialogue does help move the story along and gives it more depth. Dialogue can also aid in the plot development and define a mood much easier than prose....but hell, I'm not a good writer, not close, this is practice.
You might want to write it both ways and see which version better satisfies your vision. That's really what it's all about, right?
Ciao

 

[Stella_Omega]

I wrote one story without dialogue-- but I did tell that people had spoken, and the gist of what they said. It was tricky to do, and I'm pretty proud of it-- a much more light-hearted plot than yours.

I think it can be done in horror as well, and very effectively.

 

[jomar]

I wrote one story without dialogue-- but I did tell that people had spoken, and the gist of what they said. It was tricky to do, and I'm pretty proud of it-- a much more light-hearted plot than yours.

I think it can be done in horror as well, and very effectively.

That's how I did my little gothic thing, but it was more like the narrator telling the reader the story. I have another story that has maybe four lines of conversation. Can be tricky.

 

[jomar]

I wrote one story without dialogue-- but I did tell that people had spoken, and the gist of what they said. It was tricky to do, and I'm pretty proud of it-- a much more light-hearted plot than yours.

I think it can be done in horror as well, and very effectively.

That's how I did my little gothic thing, but it was more like the narrator telling the reader the story. I have another story that has maybe four lines of conversation.

Can be tricky, but I say write it how you want and learn from the result.

 

[Austin8]

That's how I did my little gothic thing, but it was more like the narrator telling the reader the story. I have another story that has maybe four lines of conversation.

Can be tricky, but I say write it how you want and learn from the result.

Absolutely, write it and learn from it. Besides who am I?

 

[sr71plt]

It's possible to write a good story without dialogue--and a challenging exercise as well. That said, it's harder to do so successfully. If it's coming out without forcing it, that's a good sign that it will work.

 

[michchick98]

I can honestly say I've only ever read one story here on Lit that had no dialogue. I don't remember the name of the author, but I think the story was called The Kiss. It either had no dialogue or very little, but either way, it was well written and I liked the story. I think it was actually one of the first I read on Literotica back when I first came here in '06.

I agree with all the people who have chimed in already. Dialogue is crucial to story telling, but a story can be told without it. I, myself prefer to have the characters interacting and speaking to each other. It helps with the narration of the story as far as I'm concerned, especially if I'm stuck on a plot point. Sometimes having the characters discuss the issue will help the story move forward in a way I couldn't get it to without the dialogue.

Ultimately, it's your decision, of course. Welcome to the AH.

 

[Stella_Omega]

Sometimes having the characters discuss the issue will help the story move forward in a way I couldn't get it to without the dialogue...

On a side track, I have one coauthor who will write interminable conversations, where a character magically knows all about some issue or another, and explain it to the other characters. She's accomplished some amazing problem-solving that way, and Ive come to use the same technique myself...

We delete the interminable conversations, once they've reached their objective.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

Terry Pratchett writes most of his novels as dialogue. He rarely describes anything anymore and he is both highly skilled as a writer and well-rewarded for it. I know that I am supposed to be teaching "show not tell" but often I find that much of the pages I write will be dialog. I must admit that I feel that there is no 'right way', only what works at the time, for that story.

 

[Safe_Bet]

I think you should put your story in Loving Wives (and make sure that the wife screws the guy over and that he is a wimp) Once you do all of those things, not having dialog won't make any difference because you will get nothing but rave reviews from the readership of that catagory.


*Snerk*

 

[_Lynn_]

I think you should put your story in Loving Wives (and make sure that the wife screws the guy over and that he is a wimp) Once you do all of those things, not having dialog won't make any difference because you will get nothing but rave reviews from the readership of that catagory.


*Snerk*

*Dr Pepper spew*

 

[damppanties]

Morning, SWFL, There is a old writing adage that says *show it don't tell it* The easiest way for me to show it and keep the story moving along and stay in first person is with the use of dialog, but yours maybe different. I tend to look for the blank white spaces in stories too, and if I can't find them I usually stop reading. Hope this helps, Happy earth day

Terry Pratchett writes most of his novels as dialogue. He rarely describes anything anymore and he is both highly skilled as a writer and well-rewarded for it. I know that I am supposed to be teaching "show not tell" but often I find that much of the pages I write will be dialog. I must admit that I feel that there is no 'right way', only what works at the time, for that story.

What does "show, don't tell" have to do with dialogue?

 

[kendo1]

I had a beard once. I shaved it off.

Welcome to the beard.

 

[NoJo]

What is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?

Of COURSE you should have dialogue, it's the way people communicate with each other.

"Show, don't tell" is an instruction to the you the author (not to your characters) , telling you not to write things like "he got angry with her", but to show it -- e.g. make him say "Where the FUCK do you think you're going"

 

[Guest]

I think you should put your story in Loving Wives (and make sure that the wife screws the guy over and that he is a wimp) Once you do all of those things, not having dialog won't make any difference because you will get nothing but rave reviews from the readership of that catagory.


*Snerk*

Now, now.

Don't send a first time Lit writer out into that category without giving them the details! Shame!

Word - Do what you feel works best for the story, what you are most comfortable writing.

And certainly avoid Loving Wives, since the readers are fucking insane.

Not - insanely fucking.

Fucking insane.

Welcome!

 

[Stella_Omega]

What is the use of a book, thought Alice, without pictures or conversations?

Of COURSE you should have dialogue, it's the way people communicate with each other.

"Show, don't tell" is an instruction to the you the author (not to your characters) , telling you not to write things like "he got angry with her", but to show it -- e.g. make him say "Where the FUCK do you think you're going"

You can show and tell, thusly;

He asked her where the FUCK she thought she was going. But her hunched shoulders never faltered, and he lost sight of them in the crowd.

 

[NoJo]

You can show and tell, thusly;

He asked her where the FUCK she thought she was going. But her hunched shoulders never faltered, and he lost sight of them in the crowd.

He saw them a few minutes later, they'd gone to the bar to get a drink while she stood there shoulderless in her backless dress like a fool, a FUCKING fool

 

[Austin8]

1 Inside the girls saw rows of hooded figures staring at them. Tell
2 Jenny's heart sank as she saw the rows of hooded figures turn towards her. Show

 

[NoJo]

1 Inside the girls saw rows of hooded figures staring at them. Tell
2 Jenny's heart sank as she saw the rows of hooded figures turn towards her. Show

er, you're slightly arsy-turvy there, if anything

 

[damppanties]

He saw them a few minutes later, they'd gone to the bar to get a drink while she stood there shoulderless in her backless dress like a fool, a FUCKING fool

Someone had stuck a knife into them and all her life's blood had drained out. All except the part still running through her body, I mean.

 

[NoJo]

Show Dont Tell

avoid obvious hacks like having characters do the exposition work, ("So, here we are on the first day of our road trip")

don't make their dialogue be too "on the money" (Here we are in New York, which is one crazy town!) -- show the craziness