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The 6 Essential Elements of a Story: A Guide for New Fiction Authors

Every story requires six essential elements in order to be considered complete. In this article, we’ll talk about what these elements are, what they mean and how each play an important role in creating a compelling storyline.

What are the 6 Essential Elements of a Story?

The elements of a story are the building blocks that make up your fictional world. Each element needs to be planned in the correct sequence to make sure your book is well structured, cohesive and engaging for your readers.

These elements are the most important aspects that you need to consider when developing your plot. Without any one of them, you’d be missing a critical puzzle piece supporting what needs to happen for your novel to work.

The following six elements will allow you to create an engaging storyline with well-developed characters and interesting plot twists:

Element 1. Setting

The setting of your story is the time and location where your novel takes place.

It provides the backdrop for the action. This can be a realistic setting or a fictional universe, but either way, you need to have a clear understanding of the world you want your readers to inhabit as they read your novel.

For example, if you’re writing historical fiction, the setting needs to include elements like geography, period culture/society, language, fashion, etc.

The setting of your story will help immerse your readers into the events as they unfold.

Element 2. Characters

Your characters are what drive your storyline forward. You’ll obviously need to delineate who your main characters are but you may also want to develop secondary ones, especially if they can play an important role in advancing your plot.

Characters interact with each other to create conflict, which often leads to a buildup of action as you advance your story towards the climax of your book.

It also helps if their actions evoke some sort of emotion (positive or negative) as this makes them more compelling for your readers.

Element 3. Conflict

The conflict in your story is the most important element of your writing as it is what will make your novel an interesting read. Without it, you’re just writing a descriptive account of people or places without any sense of urgency, which is quite unappealing for fiction readers.

Imagine if someone made a movie similar to James Cameron’s Titanic, but instead about another luxury cruise trip embarking on an uneventful journey across the ocean, arriving in New York City with no conflict or drama of any kind.

Even if a studio spared no expense to perfectly recreate the detail of the period, it would have a very difficult time finding an audience — in other words, no conflict, no appeal.

Element 4. Rising Action

In order to arrive at the climax of your story, you must first build up to it slowly. This rising action is what makes your conflict come to life — your goal here is to build up the tension between your characters to keep your readers glued to the page.

Elements that influence the rising action in your story are mystery, anticipation, suspense, foreshadowing and so on, as you leave a trail of crumbs throughout your book with hints about what may happen later on in the story.

Depending on the genre, you could even use this buildup to take your readers down an unexpected path so that they are blown away when the climax of the story turns out to be the opposite of whey thought would happen (remember The Sixth Sense?)

If done correctly, you’ll be able to keep readers hooked on your every word for hours on end. They won’t even realize when one chapter ends and another begins!

Element 5. Climax

The climax of your story is the time when everything comes to a head. It’s the moment everyone’s been waiting for, where your protagonist overcomes their key obstacle and ultimately becomes a better person because of it.

The climax in your story needs to leave your readers feeling fulfilled. So always make sure your climax makes sense to them — your readers are expecting this to be the case and you don’t want to leave them confused.

For example, even though The Sixth Sense had a completely unexpected and shocking climax, it made perfect sense in the context of the story (in hindsight, of course.)

Also, make sure your climax achieves the level of intensity you’ve been building up to throughout your book — this is another area where you don’t want to disappoint your readers. If you’ve been building anticipation for a blast, don’t climax with a whimper.

Always give your readers what they want — if not more — in terms of energy and sparks flying, and try to surprise them with an outcome they’re not expecting. Consider that when your story reaches its climax, your readers’ emotional investment will climax too!

Element 6. Resolution

Now, it’s time to decompress, to provide an outlet to release the pent up energy that peaked during your story’s climax and bring your narrative to a close.

Your resolution is the element of your story when loose ends are tied and all conflicts resolved, but it’s also an opportunity for you to reinforce elements of theme and character development that have been threaded throughout your novel.

In a way, you’re not only wrapping things up for your characters, but also for your readers.

If elements such as theme, plot lines, characters or events were left hanging without resolution they would leave your readers without a sense of closure, leading to a lack of satisfaction and fulfillment.

Finally, your resolution can not just be used to bring your story to a close, but also as a springboard to a juicy sequel!

Wrapping Things Up

Fiction stories follow a clear formula that requires elements of setting, characters, conflict, rising action, climax and resolution in order to be complete.

You can’t have a story that’s missing any of these elements without creating gaping holes in your narrative that would utterly frustrate your readers. Your job is to create a story that will keep them interested and engaged page after page, from cover to cover.

Having said that, this is much easier said than done. Not only do these elements need to be present, but they have to be threaded in a well thought-out, clever and engaging way that creates a compelling reading experience.

The goal of good fiction is not just to tell a story, but to tell it in a way that entertains and captivates your audience, makes them root for your protagonist, and allows them to willingly suspend their disbelief as they immerse themselves in the world of fiction you’ve created.

Master these six elements and how they relate to one another and you’ll be laying a solid foundation for a good story.

But don’t rush this process, take your time and think every element through until your novel begins to unfold naturally into a great piece of fiction.

Best wishes!

If you are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Leave me a comment below if you have any questions or a specific need that I can help you address – I operate an author services firm that specializes in helping entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners who want to publish books as a calling card for prospects, to establish their status as an expert or to generate additional leads for their businesses.

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

The 7 Most Effective Book Promotion Ideas For Nonfiction Authors

How to Find The Best Book Marketing Services For Nonfiction

How to Promote Your Nonfiction Book to Rank High on Amazon

Bennett R. Coles is an award-winning author of six books published through Harper Collins (New York) and Titan Publishing Group (London). He is also the publisher at Promontory Press, editor for multiple bestselling authors (including a NY Times bestseller), ghostwriter for CEOs and politicians and the founder of Cascadia Author Services, a boutique full-service firm that specializes in premium author services specifically designed for busy professionals. Our end-to-end services include writer coaching, ghostwriting, editing, proofing, cover design, book layout, eBook production, marketing, printing and distribution.

What is an Epilogue? 5 Tips to Write a Great One

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

An epilogue is an additional chapter to a book, typically found at the end of a novel. This extra chapter may provide additional facts about characters or events not fully developed in the narrative proper.

This usually takes place after the timeline of the story. For example, it could detail what happened to the characters several years later.

If you’re looking for some guidelines on how to write an epilogue for your next novel, this article will teach you 5 tips that will help you check all the required boxes.

Why Use an Epilogue

Epilogues are often used to provide added weight to your main narrative. It’s a path that at its most basic provides a window into the future of your characters to bring a sense of closure for readers.

For example, they could be used to tie up loose ends in your story or you could leave them open ended for readers’ imaginations to fill in the gaps. You could also use them as a tool for added commentary.

Epilogues can also act as a bridge between your story and a sequel; it’s one way to give readers satisfaction for how the story ends while whetting their appetite for more.

And if there are unanswered questions left behind by events in the book or if something significant happened in your story without being explained properly, then the epilogue would be the appropriate place for these answers.

How To Write an Epilogue

The best way to write an epilogue is to make sure it’s an integral part of your novel and not an appendage that doesn’t fit into your plotline.

You can follow the three steps below as a guideline to create your epilogue:

Step 1: Read your finished manuscript cover to cover, then reflect on your story and its conclusion. Is there something that would bring a better sense of closure for your readers?

Step 2: Now pick up where your story left off and continue forward in time, thinking about how things might play out for your main characters in line with the sense of closure mentioned above.

Step 3: Finally, imagine the future lives of any secondary characters you always wanted your readers to know more about and provide added context into their future as well.

When Not to Use an Epilogue

An epilogue should never be used to repeat or summarize what has already been written about, as this would only confuse your readers. It should also never introduce new plotlines that are not part of or related to your story in any way.

Lastly, if your conclusion already does a great job at providing closure for your readers, then you probably don’t need an epilogue. You might be better off leaving your readers thinking about what they just read without adding extra commentary.

5 Tips to Write Great Epilogues

5-tips

If you do choose to go the epilogue route for your novel, here are five tips that’ll help make sure it satisfies what your readers will expect from you:

Tip 1. The epilogue should provide closure for your readers

Use your epilogue to give your readers what they need to feel a sense of closure with your story. Use it to provide closure with your main character plotlines as well as any secondary characters that were prominent throughout the book.

Tip 2. The epilogue should tie up loose ends

The goal of your epilogue is to tie up loose ends and answer any questions that might have been left unanswered, so make sure you don’t use it to introduce any new information that’s beyond the scope of your original story.

Tip 3. They can be used to introduce an alternative ending

An alternative ending is an option that can work well with certain types of stories, where you are addressing what might happen if events were different or speculating about what may have happened next.

Having said that, remember that your audience is always looking for closure, so don’t provide an alternative ending that leaves them hanging. They will not appreciate being left wondering what’ll happen next when they finish reading your new ending.

Tip 4. Epilogues are usually short

The goal of your epilogue is to sum up what happened to your characters after the story ends, not to become a mini sequel to your main story.

While it’s possible to write a long epilogue spanning many pages, for instance if you want your readers to have a more detailed understanding of how things turned out years down the road, make sure to never use it to upstage the actual ending of your book.

Tip 5. Epilogues are not necessary for every story

If your book’s conclusion is strong and brings clear closure in relation to all your characters’ journeys, then in all likelihood your epilogue won’t add much value to your book.

Also, depending on your circumstances, you may consider using an epilogue-less ending to leave your readers wondering about what happens next, as a sort of cliffhanger for your next novel.

In Summary

At the end of the day, whether you think you need an epilogue in your book or not, what matters most is that you feel confident in the way your story ends. If you feel that you already have a strong conclusion, then you won’t likely need to add anything to it.

But if your story ends after a very intense climax and you feel you need a little extra “something” to diffuse the tension and calm the waters, or if you feel certain characters require a happier ending for closure purposes, having an epilogue might be a good option.

Best wishes!

Ben

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

The 7 Most Effective Book Promotion Ideas For Nonfiction Authors

How to Find The Best Book Marketing Services For Nonfiction

How to Promote Your Nonfiction Book to Rank High on Amazon

The Power of the First Person Point of View

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

The First person point of view can be a powerful way to tell your story. First person writing can be intimate, immediate and deeply engaging.

In this article you’ll learn what the first person point of view is, when you should use it and how to do it well.

What Is The First Person Point of View?

Using the first person point of view means writing your story from the perspective of “I” or “we.” This point of view is useful when you want to get inside a character’s head — typically your main protagonist — and reveal what they think, feel, believe and how they react emotionally.

Writing your story from the first person point of view also lets readers better understand your characters’ state of mind as well as their thought process — something that cannot be easily achieved with the use of third person narration or dialogue.

Why Choose It Over the Third Person Point of View

The first person point of view has several advantages over third-person. First person is better suited for stories in which the protagonist’s emotional state dominates the plot. The third person is better suited when your plot line centers around events or places.

Also, the use of first person narration can help your readers establish a stronger bond with your characters, allowing them to live vicariously through them.

These are key advantages when you want to create an emotionally driven story that goes deep into your character’s psyche instead of focusing on external circumstances.

While dialogue and descriptive writing are more suited for painting a picture or capturing the dynamic between characters in a given situation, a first person narrative gives your readers insights into what your main character thinks and feels about the situation from their point of view.

The Importance of Using the Right Point of View in Your Story

The point of view of your story should align with the genre you are writing. For example, the first person POV is not always best for genres that involve a lot of action or that hinge on the interaction between different characters, because it limits the amount of information you can share with your audience.

Also, the first person point of view can sometimes become monotonous and difficult to read if used for dramatic scenes, if you use it to depict intimate relationships (it may become too isolating), or when you need your audience to see the bigger picture in your story.

In these cases, a narrative from multiple points of view may be more appropriate to convey your plot.

Another example of a genre where the first person point of view can enhance your story is suspense. Suspense stories rely on concealing important information from the reader until the protagonist discovers it through their own experiences, and this can be easily accomplished by narrating suspenseful chapters from a first-person’s perspective.

By using this writing technique, your readers will first become emotionally involved with your protagonist and therefore discover significant plot twists through your character’s eyes.

How To Write in the First Person

In order to create an engaging first person narrative, make sure that your protagonist is interesting and has qualities that are relatable to your audience.

Also, you should make sure that your writing reflects the way your character “thinks” and not the way they “speak.” While this may seem obvious, many writers get caught up on writing dialogue and forget to make this important distinction in the flow of their narrative.

Finally, in the first person point of view there’s just one character who’s telling their side of the story so your reader only hears from them.

If you feel the need to have your readers hear the point of view of two or more characters in the first person, then dedicate a chapter to each instead of mixing them in the same narrative, which will be very confusing for your reader.

Examples of Famous Books Written in the First Person

As a reference, here are some examples of epic books that have made use of the first person point of view in a memorable way:

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronté
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

5 Tips For Writing a Book Using the First-Person Narrative Voice

Tip 1: Use the correct pronouns

This goes without saying, but make sure that your writing is focused on the use of “I” (or “we”) while minimizing the use of “he, “she,” or “they.”

Although it’s perfectly fine for your main protagonist to refer to other people in their narrative, the idea is to focus your writing on their own state of mind, feelings and emotions as much as possible, so that your readers can develop a strong bond with them.

Tip 2: Be descriptive but focus on “being” instead of “things”

When conveying the thoughts, feelings and experiences of your main character through the use of the first person POV, use descriptive words that create a vivid internal world that your readers can personally relate to.

Try not to over describe places, objects or circumstances externally because doing so will switch the focus away from your protagonist, diluting the connection with your reader.

Tip 3: Try to minimize dialogue

While it may be tempting to intermingle dialogue with your first-person narrative, this should be done sparingly because it’ll take away from your reader’s bond with your protagonist.

Tip 4: Avoid trite language

When writing in the first person, avoid making generalizations or using cliches, like “I killed two birds with one stone…” — instead use language that conveys the same idea but that sounds more authentic and relatable.

Tip 5: Learn from the pros

Finally, make a point of learning from the pros by reading popular books written in the first person before attempting this style yourself, so you can “hear” what it sounds like before you put pen to paper.

Conclusion

In closing, the first person point of view can be a very powerful narrative tool when used correctly and for the right genres.

It’ll work best when your writing is meant to be intimate and personal, allowing your readers to accompany your main protagonist on their emotional journey throughout your story.

Best wishes!

Ben

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

The 7 Most Effective Book Promotion Ideas For Nonfiction Authors

How to Find The Best Book Marketing Services For Nonfiction

How to Promote Your Nonfiction Book to Rank High on Amazon

Business Writing Essentials: Types, Principles and Effective Skills

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

Business writing is a skill that many professionals use on a daily basis. When it’s done right, business writing can be an invaluable tool for building your team, communicating with the public, generating sales leads and growing your existing customer base.

Some businesses don’t take the time to invest in good business writing skills, because they believe that their people are too busy, or that business writing isn’t required in their industry.

In this article I’ll explain why good business writing is not only essential but taking the time to master it is an excellent investment in your company.

This article will start by defining what business writing is (because there are some misconceptions out there), then discuss the four types of business writing, describe the four principles of good business writing, list some effective writing skills and highlight some common mistakes in business writing.

What is business writing and why does it matter?

Business writing is any form of written communication you send to an external or internal audience that relates to business. It includes: emails, memos, proposals, reports, blog posts, social media, quotes, invoices and more.

When it’s done well, business writing can be a powerful way for a business to express itself and relay information in a compelling manner. But when it’s done poorly, it can reduce efficiency, negatively impact the company’s reputation and even reduce sales.

Think of business writing as a form of marketing, not for any specific product or service but for the company itself. Whenever a business creates a good marketing campaign, a lot of thought goes into defining the sense of “brand” to be portrayed – is the company fun and trendy (appropriate to a clothing line) or is it knowledgeable and trustworthy (like a financial advisor)?

The marketing campaign will likely be focused on a specific product or service, but around it will be the brand of the company – the feel of the business.

What some business people forget, though, is that every communication needs to reflect this brand – not just the marketing. When a business issues its annual report, that report’s tone should match the corporate brand created in the marketing.

When a business has to issue a public statement, the writing should reflect that brand. Even internal documents like memos and, yes, email, should always try to be “on brand” – because you never know who might read it.

Okay, you might be saying right now, even emails have to be on brand? I would argue yes, for two reasons. First, emails can always be forwarded to clients or the media – anything said in them will potentially be read by outsiders.

Second, by training your team to apply good business writing principles to their everyday communications, they’ll be well-practiced for when they have to write “important” documents like proposals or reports. Getting folks into good business writing habits in their daily work strengthens your corporate communication level overall.

Good business writing at all levels sets the tone for your company. If you invest the time into training your team on how to create effective business documents, both internal and external customers will have greater trust in what you say.

They’ll recognize (perhaps subconsciously) the consistency of your company’s writing and this will build their comfort level with your business.

Good business writing gets its point across efficiently and effectively, and this will further solidify your corporate reputation as readers see how invested you are in making sure your message is clear.

On the other hand, simple things like bad grammar, poor sentence structure, inappropriate language (not necessarily offensive language but simply language that doesn’t match your company’s brand) will degrade the public’s trust in your business.

If this company can’t even take the time to write well, your potential customers may conclude, how can I trust them to deliver what they promise?

The four types of business writing

Even though business writing can appear in many formats, from annual general reports to emails, there are only four basic types of business writing, defined by the purpose behind them. The four types of business writing are:

Instructional

This is writing intended to teach something specific. Most commonly seen in help guides, technical manuals and textbooks, it has a reputation for being dry. But instructional business writing doesn’t have to be boring.

It can be fun, engaging and a pleasure to read – so long as it is clear. Bad instructional writing is most often considered dry and boring because it isn’t written in a way that’s easy to follow.

Good instructional writing, though, can be very specific and very detailed, but if it’s written in an engaging style, with the clear and logical building of steps, it can be a pleasure to read and – most importantly – make it easy for the reader to learn what you need them to learn.

Informational

This type of business writing is similar to Instructional in that its purpose is to teach the reader something. But Informational writing tends to be on broader subjects with a more general focus.

Whereas Instructional writing might focus on how to conduct basic checks of your hybrid car’s engine, Informational writing will talk about, say, the industry’s overall shift toward hybrid cars in general and why this is important.

Informational writing is important if your business exists in a complex industry. You’ll need to inform your reader of certain facts and trends in order to build the case for why your business is important and why potential clients should consider your products or services.

Persuasive

Persuasive business writing takes the concept of Informational business writing and goes one step further. Persuasive writing doesn’t just present information: it presents a hypothesis, or an argument, or a position, and then works to convince the reader to agree.

Persuasive writing is taking sides and building a case to convince others to join that side. It doesn’t have to be confrontational – and is often best when it isn’t – but it does have to get off the fence and clearly state which side of the debate it’s on.

Sometimes persuasive writing will grapple with big topics, such as the future of the car industry as it wrestles with gasoline versus electric cars. But often persuasive business writing is much more focused – explaining why a potential customer should choose your business instead of your competitor.

Transactional

This sort of business writing is very common and it includes most of the day-to-day writing a business will undertake. It’s usually very short and to the point, providing information and often requesting information in return. Examples include internal emails, invoices and the general exchange of information between team members or departments.

It’s in transactional business writing that the most care needs to be taken, however, because it’s too easy to forget the principles of effective business writing and cut corners.

Whereas Instructional, Informative and Persuasive business writing projects will likely be recognized as such and therefore will have thought and preparation put into them, Transactional business writing is the thing we do every day and we might not remember to apply good principles.

This might seem like unnecessary extra work – until a major client receives an email with spelling mistakes, bad grammar or a casual comment (perhaps meant as a joke) that doesn’t fit with your corporate brand. Precisely because Transactional business writing takes up so much of our writing time, it’s important to take the time and write it well.

Principles of effective business writing

When it comes to any type of business writing, there are four key principles that always apply.

– Keep it brief. The shorter your business document is, the more likely people will actually read all of what you’ve written.

– Focus on your audience. Speak in their language and approach the topic from their perspective. If your writing doesn’t quickly resonate with your audience, they’ll lose interest and move on to their next priority.

– Organize your thoughts first. Any document, no matter how short, is trying to communicate something important. Before you write it, take a moment to create a logical flow of ideas and ensure that they move clearly from one to the next. Confusing your readers is the surest way to fail in communication.

– Use the active voice verb tense. An example of this is “I went to the beach” whereas the passive would be “I was taken to the beach” – it’s a subtlety that may not seem like much, but it makes a big difference in business writing. Active voice uses less words, it’s more clear, and it gives the sense that the writer is in control.

Skills for effective business writing

If you want to be an effective business writer, there are some basic skills that you should master. They include:

Authenticity

Some areas of business – particularly sales and marketing – have a bad reputation with the general public making the truth… malleable. This may not be true for your business, but recognize that the perception is out there, making authenticity that much higher a priority in your business writing.

In business, trust is a valuable asset, and trust is built through consistent honesty and reliability. When you’re writing about or on behalf of your business, always be honest with your audience. With Instructional writing, this means giving an accurate description of what you’re teaching.

In Informational and Persuasive, it means acknowledging uncomfortable or inconvenient facts and then addressing them. In Transactional business writing, it means conveying the full story and not hiding anything or covering things up.

Precision

Everyone is busy, and when reading a business document no-one wants to have their time wasted. When you write a business document, be very clear at the start what you’re going to be talking about – and then stay on that topic throughout.

Many situations are complex, but you shouldn’t try and address every aspect of a situation in a single document – choose your topic and examine it with precision and clarity.

You may need to refer to other topics in order to provide context, but either summarize those other topics and how they relate to yours, or provide links to other documents where your reader can go if they so desire.

Conciseness

Don’t take a paragraph to say what can be expressed in a single sentence.

10 tips for improving your skills in each type of business writing

Create a summary of the document – this might be included at the start of the final document, or it might just be a useful guide for you as the writer
Use short sentences that are easy to read
Avoid using difficult words or complex phrases
Use headings and subheadings to help guide your reader
Avoid long blocks of uninterrupted text – extra subheadings can break up those acres of text into smaller, more manageable chunks
Write in the active voice rather than passive
Keep your writing simple, direct and on-topic
Keep your tone consistent throughout – if the document is fun and friendly, don’t suddenly turn serious and somber, or vice versa
Consider using visuals if appropriate – bulleted lists, graphs, tables and even photos can effectively convey information or create the right feeling
Proofread, proofread, proofread. Even minor mistakes can reflect poorly on your professional image and reputation

10 common mistakes to avoid when you’re drafting a business document

Not providing a summary of the document
Missing out key details – often because they’re inconvenient or poorly understood
Getting too wordy and not getting to the point quickly enough
Not using bullet points or numbering for lists
Sending an early version of your work before it’s ready for circulation
Ignoring (or misunderstanding) punctuation rules
Being unclear about what the document is about
Repeating sentences in order to stress a point
Poor sentence structure
Not providing a conclusion, either as a summary or a call to action

Best wishes!

If you enjoyed this article and are in the process of writing a nonfiction book, be sure to check out my free nonfiction success guide, drawn from years of experience editing books for bestselling authors (including a New York Times bestseller) and ghostwriting for CEOs and politicians. Simply click here to get instant access.

Ben

Here are some related posts I highly recommend:

The 7 Most Effective Book Promotion Ideas For Nonfiction Authors

How to Find The Best Book Marketing Services For Nonfiction

How to Promote Your Nonfiction Book to Rank High on Amazon

Dialogue Writing: Strategies to Keep it Tight and Avoid Unnecessary Words

by Bennett R. Coles Leave a Comment

Dialogue writing is an art. In this blog post I’ll discuss the basics of dialogue, how to keep it tight, how to communicate by what the characters don’t say, how to reveal a wealth of information with a few spoken lines, and more.

What is dialogue writing?

Dialogue writing is the expression of speech between two or more characters in a book. The dialogue is written in regular prose and occurs within the text, although it’s clearly defined by quotation marks and usually separated from the general narrative by its own paragraphs.

Dialogue is a powerful tool that can help readers understand the story better. In our real lives we gain insights into the minds of others by listening to their spoken words, and in the same way we can learn more about fictional characters by what they choose to reveal (or not) in their speech.

Basics of Dialogue

In English, dialogue is very easy to spot on the page because it’s always contained within quotation marks. Additionally, every time a new person starts talking, a new paragraph begins.

As a writer you have the choice of whether to start the paragraph with the dialogue itself or with any accompanying narrative attached to the dialogue, but as a general rule the dialogue should come first.

Here’s an example of how to present dialogue:

“I’ve got that report, John,” Sally said as she entered the office. “You might want to look at it right away.”

“Is it bad news?” John asked.

Sally hesitated, then handed him the folder. “I think you better just look.”

“Thanks.” He opened the folder and flicked through the papers.

You can see how each line of dialogue gets its own paragraph, with quotation marks clearly separating the spoken words from the narrative description of the action.

In three of the four instances the dialogue comes first in the paragraph, but in paragraph three the narrative comes first: Sally’s action logically must precede her words, but the two are closely linked. This third paragraph could have been split into two, like this:

Sally hesitated, then handed him the folder.

“I think you better just look.”

But doing so brings extra focus on her words. If they’re a pivotal moment in the scene, separate them out. But if they’re just a companion statement to her action, keep them together.

Using dialogue to “show, don’t tell”

We’re taught the rule of “show, don’t tell” when creating fiction, and dialogue is one of the major tools used to accomplish this. Instead of writing a full narrative that describes the emotions of a character, a quick snippet of dialogue can convey meaning while still leaving enough unsaid to create suspense or add intrigue.

For example, if your character is upset, you could simply write it this way:

John was upset by what he saw.

This gets the point across efficiently, but it doesn’t draw the reader into the drama. Consider this example:

John slammed the report down on his desk.

“I can’t believe it!”

Now we have both a dramatic action to illustrate John’s feelings, and a line of dialogue to strike the point home.

How to identify unnecessary words in your dialogue

Dialogue should sound like natural speech. In fact, it’s not a bad idea, when you’re reviewing a scene you’ve written, to do exactly that – if you have trouble saying your dialogue in a natural way, it probably needs work.

A common error in dialogue writing is having too many words. Excess words will make dialogue sound contrived, and even dull, and it can make it difficult to understand. Sometimes a character might speak in a convoluted way because of who they are (or what they’re trying to accomplish) but it’s hard for a reader to follow a long stream of wordy dialogue.

If your character is specifically trying to obfuscate, consider just presenting the first sentence and then switching to narrative, like this:

“Well, we need to consider the implications of the recent paradigm shift in the strategic vision of the corporate leadership and how that affects not only our day-to-day operations but the multiple knock-on effects of our various subsidiaries…”

Sally knew she was blathering, but she had to buy time for Hong to get here and show John what they’d discovered. So she reached way back to her MBA days and kept on spewing corporate buzzwords.

In real speech we do tend to go off-topic, switch ideas mid-sentence and talk too long. But in fiction, the speech needs to be tight. Every line of dialogue serves a purpose – be it to reveal or set up critical information, to develop character or to advance the plot.

It shouldn’t include anything that isn’t important to the story. Good dialogue will propel a scene forward, but bad dialogue will actually slow it down. The key is to ensure that everything your characters say moves the scene forward in some way.

Tips for keeping your dialogues tight and engaging

Dialogue is one of your best tools as an author, but it has to be sharp. Here are 5 tips that can help you keep your dialogue tight and engaging:

1- Keep speeches short; a few sentences max.

2- Encourage a lot of back and forth chatter between characters – this makes the dialogue more dynamic.

3- Don’t cover subjects that are unnecessary for what’s happening in the scene (For example, a character should talk about what they’re going to do, not what they’re not going to do.)

4- If three or more people are speaking in a scene, be very clear about who the speaker is each time.

5- Remember that every line of dialogue serves a purpose to the story (info, character, plot). If it doesn’t, remove it.

Tips for integrating dialogue into the narrative

Dialogue is a great tool, but it works best when supported by an equally snappy narrative. Sometimes it’s okay to reduce part of a scene to nothing but dialogue – but only if the speech itself is the dramatic focus of the scene. Otherwise, use this technique sparingly.

Most of the time, dialogue and narrative work together in a dynamic dance of voice and description that draws the reader into the scene. Here are 5 tips to integrate dialogue effectively into your scenes:

1- Don’t go more than two or three paragraphs of dialogue without inserting some narrative.

2- If narrative and dialogue are going to be paired in the same paragraph, keep the narrative to a single sentence.

3- If you need a longer narrative section inside a dialogue scene, don’t go more than two narrative paragraphs without inserting some dialogue.

4- Reveal character dynamics and emotions through subtle cues in the narrative that accompanies the dialogue: small movements, facial expressions, body language, etc.

5- Avoid writing a character’s inner monologues or thoughts wherever possible. Let them say the words out loud to another character, or interchange their thoughts with spoken dialogue.

Examples of how to keep it short and sweet

The following very short passage shows some of the ways in which dialogue can be used when describing emotions and character dynamics without overdoing it or using too many words.

“Okay, enough,” John sighed, raising his hand to silence Sally’s endless speech.

“Sorry.”

“We’ve known each other too long for that garbage…” He looked up, sudden realization in his eyes. “Why are you stalling me?”

Sally suppressed a smile. There was no fooling him.

“Hong’s on her way.”

There aren’t many words spoken in this exchange, but a lot of information is presented.

First, note that John keeps his cool, giving insight into his character.

Second, neither John nor Sally feel the need to overtly state how they’re feeling. Part of this is just efficient writing that lets the reader fill in the blanks, but it could also suggest a deep understanding between them that comes from a long relationship.

Third, the suggestion of their long relationship is confirmed with John’s next statement.

Fourth, his realization and her reaction suggests that they’re both sharp and intelligent people.

Fifth, the declaration of Hong’s imminent arrival builds tension and moves the story forward.

Why you should avoid using adverbs when writing dialogue

When we were in school we were taught about adverbs, and how they can add color to our writing. This is true, and adverbs have their place in English, but they should be used sparingly in dialogue.

As we see and hear our characters in our minds, we can be tempted to add adverbs to try and bring out the emotions and actions around the words. But good dialogue doesn’t need this augmentation, and adverbs mostly slow down the action.

Here’s an example:

“Look,” John said, “just give me the straight goods.”

This is effective on its own. The word “look” is already sharp, and the efficiency of the sentence matches the efficiency of his intent.

But there are plenty of adverbs that we might be tempted to employ as additional emphasis, such as:

“Look,” John said angrily…

“Look,” John said quickly…

“Look,” John said quietly…

“Look,” John said resignedly…

“Look,” John said finally…

Every one of these usages is grammatically correct, and adds nuance to the sentence. But are any of them necessary? If your scene is written well, whichever one of these adverbs is accurate will have already been implied by the context around it.

Adding adverbs like this can be effective occasionally – but it’s the rarity of their usage that makes them effective. 90% of the time adverbs aren’t necessary to get across what you’re trying to convey. Only use them in dialogue if they’re a surprise – that is, if the character reacts against what the reader was expecting – or to hammer home a particularly important moment.

Best wishes!

Ben

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