Are you more comfortable writing dialogue or narration?

[ThatNewGuy]

When I started writing again, one thing that surprised me was how much more comfortable I am writing dialogue than I am writing descriptive narration. By narration, I mean basically anything that isn't dialogue. It could be scene setting, world building, backstory, interior monologue, etc.

When I'm coming up with a scene, it almost always starts with a conversation between two or more characters. What do they want? How is that in conflict? How does it drive the story forward? All the other stuff in the scene I add to support the dialogue (an oversimplification, but not by much).

What's your experience? Do you gravitate more toward narration or dialogue? Or are you one of those sickos who is equally comfortable in both worlds, able to wield either brush with skill and precision as the situation calls for it, you miserable bastard?

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Problem with dialog here is the one line or paragraph per statement rule that makes pages get long rather quickly. Narration can be a few sentences in a paragraph and can tell quite a bit.

 

[MrPixel]

Dialog dialog dialog. It makes the scenes natural, the characters relatable. Nuances and certain turns of phrases can impart distinct personalities.

I do narration, but in limited doses. Too much gets stilted. I find a lot of world-building can be done in dialog as the characters interact with the setting.

 

[THBGato]

Dialogue I think.

 

[SimonDoom]

Both, equally. I see them working in tandem. I'm probably a little better at narration, and more likely to be second-guessing myself when I write dialogue because I want it to serve the twin purposes of being authentic but also always propelling the story.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

much better at narration than dialogue. IRL I'm super shy and, weirdly, sometimes I suffer a little bit of the same the pit-in-the-stomach social anxiety when I'm writing a conversation between my characters as I do in real life social situations lol. Paradoxically, I am completely comfortable spouting dumb and obnoxious things on this forum.

 

[pink_silk_glove]

Dialogue is more fun to write. Strong dialogue can be a terrific way to tell a scene, but also there are many writers who totally overdo their dialogue. Probably because it's more fun than the rest of the job. So many writers avoid plotting because it's not so fun and even less edit because editing really is the ultimate chore. By the same token they overdo the dialogue because it's so fun. That's okay, because it's a hobby after all.

 

[Carnevil9]

I think dialog is much easier. All you have to do is make it sound natural, which I don't seem to have a problem with. Narration, however, is a totally artificial construct. You have to decide what it should sound like: short and staccato? Long and flowery? Full of metaphors and similes? Just the facts? A thousand stylistic choices have to be made and I always worry that it will sound phony to the reader.

 

[StillStunned]

If you want to do them properly, they're both equally difficult. Every word should serve a purpose. With narration, it's easy to become bogged down in detail. With dialogue, like @pink_silk_glove already mentioned, it's easy to get carried away as you imagine your totally cool characters being cool or sweet or witty or dramatic or whatever.

As for which I personally find easier, it depends on how caught up in the scene I am.

 

[Euphony]

much better at narration than dialogue. IRL I'm super shy and, weirdly, sometimes I suffer a little bit of the same the pit-in-the-stomach social anxiety when I'm writing a conversation between my characters as I do in real life social situations lol. Paradoxically, I am completely comfortable spouting dumb and obnoxious things on this forum.

(same)

 

[Five_Inch_Heels]

Dialog is easy to get lost in without a bunch of Billy said this and Daisy replied with that and Johnny added, but Kimmy countered with something.

With just two people talking you can get by with a few lines of back and forth, but once another person jumps in, it doesn't work.

Even if you think it works, readers can get lost trying to follow who's saying what.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Balance is your best friend. As others have noted(@Five_Inch_Heels), too much dialog can get confusing, especially for more than two people. But too much narration starts to sound like a lecture. It may be just me, but if I get too much narration, I fell like I lose touch with the characters in the story. The old saying, 'Show, don't tell,' is very true. Dialogue is a big part of the show.

 

[StillStunned]

much better at narration than dialogue. IRL I'm super shy and, weirdly, sometimes I suffer a little bit of the same the pit-in-the-stomach social anxiety when I'm writing a conversation between my characters as I do in real life social situations lol. Paradoxically, I am completely comfortable spouting dumb and obnoxious things on this forum.

Are you an alt of mine or something?

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

much better at narration than dialogue. IRL I'm super shy and, weirdly, sometimes I suffer a little bit of the same the pit-in-the-stomach social anxiety when I'm writing a conversation between my characters as I do in real life social situations lol. Paradoxically, I am completely comfortable spouting dumb and obnoxious things on this forum.

You are not unique in that respect.

 

[StillStunned]

You are not unique in that respect.

But when you say it like that, it sounds like a bad thing.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

But when you say it like that, it sounds like a bad thing.

Not at all. In the right context, dumb and obnoxious are the best parts of this forum.

EDIT: Besides, it gives me leeway to operate and not feel like so much of an outsider.

 

[Jackie.Hikaru]

maybe we are all just alter egos of each other. Call it a collective conscious. Of creative horniness. Together, we can accomplish anything!

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

maybe we are all just alter egos of each other. Call it a collective conscious. Of creative horniness. Together, we can accomplish anything!

Like a hive mentality? Who get to be queen??? I mean I'm a queen, but I mean THE queen.

 

[StillStunned]

I'm not sure who's the queen, but I'm happy to be a drone. I'll drone on for hours and hours.

 

[MillieDynamite]

I have to do both, so I don't think comfort has anything to do with it, at least not for me. It just is part of the job of writing.

 

[ThatNewGuy]

Narration, however, is a totally artificial construct. ... [snip] ... A thousand stylistic choices have to be made and I always worry that it will sound phony to the reader.

This gets to the crux of it for me. We all try to write in a way that avoids breaking the illusion for the reader. I find I have to work much harder with narration before I'm satisfied that it doesn't sound phony, as you put it. I don't have to work nearly as hard before I'm satisfied that my dialogue passes muster. Of course, that could be because I have a tin ear! Maybe some readers are thinking, "Holy cow, does this guy really think people talk like that?"

Paradoxically, I am completely comfortable spouting dumb and obnoxious things on this forum.

See, I'm shy even when it comes to posting on the forums. It's only after a great deal of hemming and hawing that I choose to spout something dumb and obnoxious. : )

By the same token they overdo the dialogue because it's so fun. That's okay, because it's a hobby after all.

What would prompt you to consider dialogue overdone? I can think of a couple ways I might define it, but I'm curious what you had in mind.

I find a lot of world-building can be done in dialog as the characters interact with the setting.

Absolutely agree. That's one of the most enjoyable ways to do world-building, I think.

But too much narration starts to sound like a lecture. It may be just me, but if I get too much narration, I fell like I lose touch with the characters in the story.

Agreed. I feel the same way. But do you find the opposite is true? Have you ever been reading a scene with a long conversation and thought, "Wow, these two have been talking forever! I wish they'd shut up."

it's easy to get carried away as you imagine your totally cool characters being cool or sweet or witty or dramatic or whatever.

Well said. That's something I struggle with in editing. I'll catch myself going on a bit too long with a conversation because there's a retort that is just so damn clever and witty that I couldn't possibly deprive the reader of it. It usually takes some time/distance before I can accept a line of dialogue as self-indulgent and cut it.

 

[TheWritingGroup]

I don't know about what I'm more comfortable with, but I constantly have to fight to avoid writing stories that are all dialogue. "Pranked" was partly a story with a long action sequence, just to train myself to stop with the constant conversations.

-Annie

 

[Kasumi_Lee]

I actually find narration much easier to write than dialogue, but I have no idea why.

 

[Cagivagurl]

Dialogue is my favourite.
Narration is the fill... The road map. Dialogue is the fun stuff...

Cagivagurl

 

[SimonDoom]

"Dialogue is best."

He didn't know what she was talking about. But then, he seldom did.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Actually, he didn't. He rolled down the window and felt the warm, night-time desert air and didn't mind too much when she punched him in the arm trying to get his attention.