How to Write a Brilliant Romance: The Easy, Step-By-Step Method of Crafting a Powerful Romance (Go! Write Something Brilliant) (13 page)

Dialogue
in
a
romance
isn’t
just
words.
It’s
also
what
is
not
being
said,
it’s
body
language,
and internal
monologue
and,
most
of
all,
it’s
conflict
.
Especially
in
a
romance.
More
than
anything,
dialogue moves
a
scene,
creates
emotion,
reveals
motivations,
and
produces
change
in
a
character.
But
good dialogue
is
difficult
to
write.
Here’s
a
hint:
It’s
not
conversation!Okay,
I
admit
it:
Dialogue
is
my favorite part
of
a
book.
I
just
love to
hear
people get
into arguments,
dodge
questions,
tell
it
like
it
is,
and
most
of
all,
give
each
other
what
for.
Sometimes— and
this
is
the
schizophrenic
writer
side
of
me—I
will
even
talk
out
loud
as
I’m
writing
dialogue,
just to
get
the
inflections.
(Besides,
I
can
say
anything
to
myself
and
not
get
into
trouble!)But
what
is
the
secret
to
powerful
dialogue?
What’s
the
difference
between
writing
conversations that
zing
and
mind-numbing
dialogue
that
causes
a
book
to
end
face
down
on
the
bureau
collecting dust?I
think
it’s
all
about
adding
a
little
Sizzle—the
element
that
contains
attitude
and
energy
and courage
and
everything
your
character
has
inside
of
him.

Good
dialogue
has
four
functions:

1. Warm the Reader (Reveal characters)
   

Dialogue
reveals
character,
but
only
as
much
as
the
character
wants
to
be
revealed.
It
tells
the
kind of
personality
they
are,
how
they
feel
about
the
people
they’re
conversing
with,
where
they’re
from, their
education,
their
profession.
Your
reader
should
know
who
is
speaking
without
any
dialogue tags.
Dialogue
tags
are
used
to
enhance
the
emotions
of
the
scene.

Keep
in
mind
the
motivations
of
your
characters.
Nobody
lays
it
all
on
the
line,
and
they’ll
be protecting
their
goals
and
their
values
and
even
their
motivations
in
what
they
say
and
how
they respond.
Often
characters
don’t
answer
the
question,
they
pose
another,
or
answer
something
else. But
hidden
inside
their
words
is
some
sort
of
truth.

1. Build the fire (Move the plot forward)
   

Dialogue
moves
the
story
along
by
revealing
information
and
raising
new
questions.
If
you
want
a fast
scene,
insert
a
lot
of
dialogue.
If
you
want
a
slower
scene,
have
fewer
people
to
talk
to.
If
you want
a
revealing
scene,
have
them
say
something
out
of
the
ordinary—even
explosive—and
see what
happens.
It’s
the
nugget
of
truth
that
is
the
purpose
for
the
dialogue.

Which
means
more
Conflict.

3. Create Coals (Build the foundation of the
story)

Until
you
reach
the
happily
ever
after
(HEA),
all
dialogue
should
deepen
the
conflict,
create
inner dissonance
in
the
characters,
and
distance
them
from
plot
goals.
Even
if
it
is
a
sweet,
romantic scene,
dialogue
will
make
them
long
to
be
together,
when
we
know
they
can’t
be.
If
the
hero
and heroine
are
perfect
for
each
other,
but
the
hero
knows
there’s
a
reason
they
can’t
be
together,
then that
will
create
inner
dissonance.

4. To Illuminate (Inform and prepare for an
Epiphany)

Dialogue
is
a
great
device
to
lead
the
character
into
a
deeper
understanding
of
himself,
and eventually
lead
to
his
Epiphany
moment.
Tidbits
of
truth,
dropped
and
revealed
along
the
way,
will be
gathered
together
like
breadcrumbs
to
help
him
understand
himself,
and
lead
him
to
the
A
ha!
moment!

Let’s take a closer
look at
how to
craft dialogue:

Conversation
versus
Dialogue,
what’s
the
difference?
Conversation
is
what
you
and
I
have
every day.
Here
are
some
recent
snippets
from
our
house:

Mom:
Hi,
honey,
how
was
school?

Daughter:
Boring.

Mom:
Did
anything
exciting
happen
today?

Daughter:
No.
What’s
for
supper?

Mom: Hot
dogs.

Daughter:
Seriously?

Mom:
Seriously.

Daughter:
I
have
homework.

Okay,
not
riveting
stuff.
Except
if
you’re
in
Grey’s
Anatomy
. How
about
my
husband’s
recent
conversation
with
his
friend?

DH:
Are
you
recording
the
game?

Friend:
Yeah.
But
it
starts
at
eight
o’clock.
Don’t
forget
the
chips. DH:
I
think
I’ll
come
straight
from
work.
Who
else
did
you
invite?

Friend:
Dan.
Is
that
okay?

DH:
Maybe
he
can
bring
chips
too.

Most
conversation
happens
about
unimportant,
everyday
things.
And
it’s
boring.
Good
dialogue only
seems
like
real
speech.
Dialogue
is
conversation
with
all
the
boring
stuff
deleted—leaving
only the
essential,
the
emotional,
the
most
dramatic
words.

The
last
thing
you
want
to
do
is
to
write
boring
dialogue.
You
want
it
to
add
fire
for
the
reader, make
her
turn
pages,
make
her
want
another
confrontation.
How
do
you
make
your
dialogue
not
boring?
Add
tension!
It’s
the
heart
of
successful
dialogue.
Conflict
doesn’t
have
to
be
overt.
Conflict can
even
occur
in
polite
conversation
but
be
in
the
activity
behind
the
dialogue.
I’m
going
to
show you
how
to
do
this
in
just
a
moment.

Most
early
writers
put
conversation
into
their
first
drafts.
Why?
Because
they
want
the
reader
to
get to
know
the
characters,
they
want
to
set
the
scene,
and
they
think
it’s
too
early
for
conflict.
Wrong.
Every
scene,
every
dialogue
can
include
conflict
or,
like
I
mentioned
earlier,
Sizzle.

It
makes
for
a
handy
acronym,
too. Every
conversation
should
have:

S
--
ubtexting

I
–
nternal
monologue
(includes
tone
of
voice)
--
Attitude

Z –
ingers
–
words
that
get
right
to
the point.

Z
-
eal
–
or
the
passion
of
each
character

L
–
anguage,
as
in
body
language
–
Mannerisms

E
–
xternal
activity
that
matters

All
these
components
work
together,
but
I’m
going
to
start
with
Zeal
,
or
the
purpose
for
being
in the
scene.
Some
may
refer
to
it
as
the
character’s
goals.

Zeal:
Three
kinds
of
character
goals

Plot
goals
–
Every
scene
is
going
to
have
plot
goals.
And
of
course,
you’ll
have
broken down
your
novel
into
chapters,
each
with
a
goal,
and
from
there,
scenes,
also
with
a
goal. And
in
each
scene
the
players
in
the
scenes
will
also
have
goals,
and
these
goals
will come across in the scene. Before you write any
dialogue.

Ask: What must my character accomplish in this
chapter?

Emotional
goals
–
Your
character
will
also
have
emotional
goals,
motivations,
and desires
to
protect
himself,
or
not.
You
know,
in
order
to
woo
your
reader,
you’ll
be slowly
peeling
back
the
layers
of
your
character
to
reveal
his
emotions.
Since
you
don’t want
to
reveal
too
much,
you
need
to
know
only
what
he
can
give
away
for
this
scene.

Ask: What feelings is he going to show? What doesn’t my character want others to know about
him?

Spiritual
goals
–
Finally,
and
especially
for
an
inspirational
book,
we
have
spiritual goals.
Even
non-inspirational
books
have
that
internal
“spiritual”
thread,
beyond emotions
to
the
deeper
questions
your
character
will
ask
and
the
answers
he/she
will find.
Maybe
your
characters
don’t
even
know
what
they
are,
but
you
as
the
author
do, and
a
conversation
will
reveal
those
spiritual
vacancies.
This
is
part
of
the
Illumination purpose
of
dialogue.
Isn’t
it
true
that
things
come
back
later
to
haunt
us?
Or
others
drop some
tidbit
of
truth
that
we
remember
later.
You
will
use
this
when
crafting
your character’s change and
Epiphany.

Ask: What phrases or words could your hero or heroine use that you could pull in later as a memory
tool?

I
am
going
to
use
one
of
my
romantic
suspense
books
as
an
example.
This
is
one
of
my
favorite scenes
from
Escape
to
Morning
.
In
this
story,
Search
and
Rescue
(SAR)
K-9
handler
Dani
Lundeen
is searching
for
a
missing
girl.
Undercover
Homeland
Security
agent
Will
Masterson
is
also
searching for
her—but
for
different
reasons.
She
is
carrying
important
information
vital
to
national
security. He’s
been
posing
as
a
newspaper
reporter,
until
he
decides
to
strike
out
on
his
own
and
runs
into Dani.
Because
he
also
believes
there
are
terrorists
after
him
and
his
quarry,
he’s
garbed
and
armed when
Dani
finds
him.

Plot
goals:
In
this
scene,
Will
is
trying
to
find
his
quarry—and
fast,
because
he
believes
time
is
running out.
Dani
is
also
trying
to
find
the
girl,
but
not
as
aggressively,
because
she
isn’t
as
sure
the
girl
is lost.
When
Will
sees
Dani,
he
is
torn.
He
wants
to
protect
her,
but
he
also
wants
to
keep
his
cover and
accomplish
his
goals.

Emotional
goals
:
Will
wants
to
protect
Dani
because
he
likes
her.
He
also
is
afraid
that
once
she
finds out
that
he’s
been
lying
to
her,
that
she’ll
reject
him,
so
he
wants
to
avoid
Dani
discovering
the
truth about
him
for
as
long
as
possible.

Spiritual
goals
:
Will
is
aware
that
he
isn’t
yet
the
man
he
hopes
to
be.
He’s
trying,
and
he
knows
that God has
to be in the picture for that to happen, so he needs
his
help.

Note:
These
are
Will’s
goals,
but
Dani
also
has
goals.
Even
though
we’re
in
Will’s
POV,
her
goals will
show
through.
She’s
baffled
by
his
attire
and
she
suspects
there
is
more
to
his
story.
Also,
she
is independent
and
doesn’t
want
Will—who
she
believes
to
be
a
reporter—interfering
with
her
search.

As
I
write
this,
I’m
going
to
focus
first
on
the
words.
A
lot
of
time,
because
I
see
the
activity,
I
write the
action
at
the
same
time,
but
then
I
go
through
and
read
just
the
words
to
make
sure
they
speak for
themselves.