The Writing Forge28 Mar 2022

1.1: Balancing Dialogue and Description

Today we introduce and learn a little about the show hosts, Bonnie and Miranda, then dive into talking about balancing dialogue and description in your writing.

Tips and Tricks

Plan for multiple drafts of scenes, chapters, and full manuscripts.
Don’t be afraid to lean into your strength first. If you’re good at dialogue, “sketch” out the dialogue. If you’re good at exposition, then first write the exposition. Afterwards return to the piece and fill in the gaps.
There are times where it is okay to be heavy on description (exposition, scene setting, mood setting) or be heavy on dialogue (arguments, quick witty exchanges, situations where characters really are just sitting down and talking). Heavy sections are tolerated differently across different genres.
If you’re struggling with either dialogue or description, find ways to make them do double duty. Have exposition bring tension to an otherwise boring exchange. Have dialogue give insight to a character’s mindset or feelings.
Once you have a draft, grab two different-colored highlighters and highlight exposition in one color and dialogue in another. You’ll be able to visually see the balance of a scene and adjust as needed.

This week’s question:

What are some books that balance dialogue and description well? What are some books that maybe fell a little short? Let us know on our socials.

The Writing Forge is a podcast brought to you by Northern Colorado Writers you can find us here:

www.northerncoloradowriters.com/podcast

Facebook: @northerncoloradowriters

Instagram: @ncw_writers

Twitter: @northcolowriter

Links mentioned:

National Novel Writing Month:

https://nanowrimo.org/about-nano

Writing Excuses:

https://writingexcuses.com/

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