Jack Whyte at SiWC

Jack began his presentation as follows: "Dialogue with the master. Heh, I don't feel very magisterial at the moment." Good times ensued.

Workshop Description:

Dialogue with a Master. New York Times bestselling author Jack Whyte shares his secrets of believable communication on the page.

On one character talking over several paragraphs: put opening quotes on each paragraph. Don't put ending quotations until they are done speaking.

Don't over-explain.

Show physical body language. It carries the message. You don't need a bunch of said, answered, etc. A twitch of the eyebrow, a nod of the head registers engagement, conviction, confidence.

3-4 people in a conversation. There is a great example in Robert McCammon's The Queen of Bedlam. (Main character walks into a room of strangers. 6 or 7 people sitting around a table. They talk to each other, the main character, there is cross-talk in front of him).

Greetings - Have someone do a general greeting. You can say it happened without using dialogue.

THOU SHALT NOT COMMIT BOREDOM ON THY READER

You provide the blueprint - need to have worked out every idea in your head. Ex. If the character crosses the room, you had better give the reader warning this is happening. They can't just flash from point to point.

If there are several smells in a room, 1 will be a primary smell and the rest will be secondary, etc... 1 will overwhelm the other.

Accents - same language, same words, different way of holding mouth. Overtones are nuance.

Early, establish time introducing a character. Paint a picture of them. Put in standard english with the occasional vowel difference. You can use sentence structure as a tell.

Britain - dialogue changes from town to town.

It is not the way you speak, it is the words you use. Ex. trunk vs boot.

Maybe write an author's note or a simple glossary.

Historical writing - be aware of modernity. Ex. Measuring distance, time (moments, not minutes). Be constantly on guard!

Inside dialogue, use contractions. Outside of dialogue, DON'T.

If it is boring or doesn't move story forward, cut it. Throw it out.

What the story is doesn't matter. Your responsibility is to make it as absolutely limpidly clear as possible.

Dialogue is for character sharing, not information. Hear voice. That is when events begin taking place. Parts of character become etched into place. Good parts, flaws.

You don't have to say how many cavities the character has. Give a brief description and imagination does the rest.

Recommended Reading:

The Queen of Bedlam

Robert McCammon

The Religion

Tim Willocks (Harrowing siege and battle scenes)

John Irving and Pat Conroy

Great dialogue. Deal with strange family situations.

Dickens

You may learn more about Jack Whyte and his books on his website.