Everyone's Guide to Wattpad

Dialogue and Flow

Dialogue and Flow are two elements in writing. Yes, we've talked about dialogue before, but there are some additions that have to be made. This will be more "elemental" than "factual."

What Else Should I Know About Dialogue?

First off, we know that dialogue is when a character is speaking in a story, commonly followed by quotation marks. We also know we must keep a balance. Not too much and not too little. Remember this stuff? Well, there's far more to dialogue than keeping a balance.

Look at this example for a moment: Sally says, "I love selling sea shells by the sea shore."

Don't mock my creativity. Focus on the dialogue and what comes BEFORE or AFTER the dialogue. What words did I use? I used the SUBJECT and the VERB. A very simple verb and a character that says it. What am I saying?

Make the dialogue pop out. The word "says" is an overused, bland word, but it is the most effective at making the dialogue pop out. Most people skim simple verbs such as "says" or "asks," which helps the reader continue reading without making them stop to think about what was just said. In other words, don't make every word seem important. The unimportant words should be made unimportant, and the important words need to show.

MY NUMBER ONE POINT ON DIALOGUE: CONVERSATION NEEDS TO BUILD TENSION AND FURTHER THE PLOT. Conversation that is completely irrelevant to the main storyline is a total storykiller. That's not to say that it can't be applied in small doses here and there to bring a sense of liveliness to the story, but it should overall be avoided. 

Arguments or disagreements are a wonderful was to form tension through dialogue. What happens when one character says NO? Fireworks are bound to happen, and it can make your story very intriguing. 

Before we end the short lesson on dialogue, we need to reason your character's words. Just like Thoughts, Emotions, and Reactions, you need to come up with something reasonable. If one character says, "I love you," the proper response is not, "I like potatoes!"

Again, put yourself in your character's shoes and think of what they would say. Right, let's move onto Flow.

Flow

What is flow? It's rather simple. Flow is how smooth your story runs together.

This is an element that has no words, but determines every word instead. I can't show you much on this element, because this is something only you can determine. I won't give up here, though.

Your words need to flow like water. Each paragraph needs to transition into the next. Your words should be simple. Don't use metaphors. Don't be choppy.

Sounds simple, doesn't it? Not to scare you, but it's actually harder than it sounds, depending on who you are.

How important is this element? Well, let's just say that if your words aren't water, silk, and honey, your readers are having a hard time reading your story because it is choppy. Smooth it out a little. Use smaller words if you have to. SLOW DOWN your story.

What did I just say?

SLOW DOWN your story. Yes, you can control your flow by slowing down your story. Describe the landscape little. Pass some time. Let your readers know the landscape before jumping into a brand new one. By doing this, your readers will get to know the setting and ease into the story.

There's this concept called "authorial time," which is the fictional timeline your story paces at. As an example, there's an old movie called "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," and it tells the story of a high school senior who skipped a day of school and did a bunch of absolutely insane activities. The entire movie takes course in a single fictional day, and as such, the movie was chaotic (and slightly unbelievable) in how much he could accomplish in a single day.

It's entirely possible to speed up or slow down an entire scene by "zooming in" on that moment. Perhaps the climax of your story is a first kiss and you want to slow down and savor the moment. Go into lavish detail about everything happening. The air, the person, the lips, and recite every single thought that the narrator might be having. Hold nothing back. For what is factually a mere moment, make it feel like eternity. 

Flow can also be controlled by your vocabulary and word choice. Using really long and complicated words will actually force your reader to slow down to comprehend what the narrator is trying to say. 

Flow is like the spice on a pumpkin pie. You may not have it, but your story will be a lot better with it. It is the difference between Wattpad's black hole and front page stories.

-OrangeGuy