For the last two or three stories I have written, people have told me I have too much action/description, but not enough dialogue. The current story I am working on has too MUCH dialogue and not enough action. I am wondering if anyone has any tips to help get the right balance of things?
Until recently, my stories consisted of pages of dialogue. I think it has a lot to do with the events which you are writing about. A question I ask myself a lot while I'm writing is: does this need to be said? Would a reader actually want to read this or am I writing it for my benefit? Either way I would probably still write it, but it would be sorted into a different folder if it isn't necessary. I think the right balance depends a lot on the events your telling, and tweaking it so pages of dialogue isn't necessary. If you want to go more in depth about it, post some of the plot up or PM me.
I don't have a problem with creating and removing dialogue, I usually only write dialogue that needs to be said, then later, if I feel the need to, I add a couple lines in where I think they would sound okay.
What I would do in these situations is write the story without the dialogue, and at the end of it, see if it really is necessary. then I add it in. It's like watching a TV with the mute button on and wondering whether or not you should turn on subtitles. I don't know if that will work for you, but it's a try =)
See I do the complete opposite of Eclipse. I write it the way I want the first time because I also tend to overuse dialogue, and then I go back over it and insert more description where it needs to be inserted and remove any lines of dialogue that aren't strictly necessary. I'm just better at writing conversations than descriptions and I know that's one of my weaknesses as a writer so I just go back over it in order to correct it. ~Lynn
let the characters be themselves. If your character is wordy, let them talk. Some bits of a story can be told without any dialougue,, but a story without it can be very dull. Its the only thing I hate about HP Lovecraft. His stories are so cool and have beautiful rpose, but there's almost no dialogue and it is terribly dry at times.
I usually just use descriptions and such, and obviously back story, i use dialogue when necessary, but you do not want to drag it out too much. I try to maintain a certain balance of making it interesting but not muddying it up. I would just write all the dialogue in that you want, then add in descriptions, scenery, feelings, maybe some back story and all that.
An old teacher of mine once told me that a book is just a movie in your head your telling to others. Try playing that scene you want to write a few times first, first time just watch it, second time pay attention to what they're saying- write down the dialogue then watch it once more and pay attention to the action of each character, the setting and fill it in. That's what I do anyways =)
Some stories need very little dialogue, while others need a lot. It may have been that you didn't have enough, or it may have been their personal preference. While you should listen to everyone's opinions and comments, it is important to learn when a comment does reflect an actual weakness in the writing and when you have simply done something that doesn't match what the reader likes.
It depends on a the type of story I guess. My book has TONS of dialogue, but my book is basically just about people. There's no big action or crazy plot, it's just people, hanging out, thinking, falling in love, living. So I guess it just depends on the point you are trying to make with your story. That said, dialogue or not, you still need to have a character people care about otherwise they won't connect to the story, imo.
The only tip I have: re-read it. All. Piece by piece, not necessarily in order, over and over again. If it sounds wrong, like there's too much of this and too little of that, compensate and restart the process. If it sounds right, smile proudly and leave it like it is. Remember; you can't please *everyone*, so just please yourself and you'll be happy about it.
