Give Me a Beat: Rhythm in Dialogue

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Just like rhythm in the narrative can hook or bore your reader, the flow of your dialogue can also cause a reader to stay or skim. Too many tags can sound choppy, too few can get confusing. How you say it plays a big role in how much your readers want to hear, so look at how your dialogue -- and what comes after it -- hits your reader's ears.

Go With the Flow

One of the "rules" of writing you hear a lot of is to use as few dialogue tags as possible. But it's not the tags themselves that cause trouble, it's how they flow with the rest of the sentence. Not using any he said type tags can actually hurt the rhythm of a sentence, as we struggle to avoid a word that readers don't even notice anymore. At least, not unless it's drawing undue attention to itself.

Let's check in with Bob and the gang for some examples:

Overusing Said 

Said may be invisible, but only when used properly. It isn't a free pass to put it into every line of dialogue or you end up with...

"I think we lost them," Bob said.

"Are you sure? Because I heard groaning," Jane said.

"That's just you whimpering without realizing it," Sally said.

Cringing yet? Only three lines, but already that he said tag is reaching out and slapping us. It also kills the rhythm of these sentences, acting a like a full stop at the end. You get a stuttery, stop-and-go feel here that's no fun to read. Try instead...

Bob dropped the curtains back into place. "I think we lost them."

"Are you sure?" Jane asked. "Because I'm pretty sure I heard groaning."

"That's just you whimpering without realizing it." Sally spoke low, but he caught it anyway. At least Jane was still too freaked out to have noticed.

Bob's dialogue: I shifted the tag to the beginning to help break up the flow. It's a good spot to show some stage direction, and lets him speak without having to use a said phrase. Tagging before a dialogue line can help maintain the rhythm of a paragraph or scene if what came before it requires a little lead in.

Jane's dialogue: I tucked an equally invisible tag in there -- asked. While you don't want to tag every question with asked, it's a good word to help break up the repetitious said when you have multiple speakers and can't rely on the natural back and forth of the dialogue to show who's speaking. The middle tag also works like a bridge between the two other speakers. I then added a few more words so Jane's second phrase wasn't the same size as her first, further altering the rhythm.

Sally's dialogue: Her line is tagged more by Bob's internalization, avoiding both a said tag and stage direction on her part. It helps keep the scene in Bob's POV, and prevents a flat rhythm. It also gives me opportunity to expand that thought a little so I can vary the rhythm even more by adding the last line.

Not Using Enough Said Tags

On the flip side, is not enough tags. If you go out of your way to avoid all said tags, you end up with...

"I think we lost them." Bob sighed and ran a hand across his sweaty brow.

"Are you sure?" Jane pulled aside the curtains and peeked out. "Because I heard groaning."

"That's just you whimpering without realizing it." Sally dumped her duffel on the faded hotel bedspread.

Just as bad, isn't it? Do you get the feel of a scene unfolding or just a list of people talking and moving? It's almost like flat stage direction, as if what's said has nothing to do with what's done. Try...

Bob sighed. "I think we lost them."

"Are you sure?" Jane pulled aside the curtains, a dumb move even for her. "Because I'm pretty sure I heard groaning."

A snort. Sally of course.

"That's just you whimpering without realizing it."

Bob's dialogue: Again, I think the tag in front works well here because he introduces the scene and it's his POV. I trimmed out some of the stage direction because we just didn't need it, especially if I have Jane moving next line. Too many people moving at once can be hard to keep track of, and it draws too much attention.

Jane's dialogue: Again, Jane works tagged in the middle, but I slipped in some more internalization from Bob to help break it up. It makes sense in this scene to let her move, even more so if she's acting in a way that might cause trouble. So this goes from just being a tag, to being something that might make the reader worry.

Sally's dialogue: Sally doesn't get an actual tag here, because using Bob's internalization to show what's going on makes it clear she's the one who speaks next.

The Talk and Move

Another rhythm killer is talking and moving. From a logistical standpoint it seems fine, because that's how you'd seen the scene play out, but it often ends up hitting the ears funny because there's no real flow.

"I think we need a better plan." Bob sighed and dropped into a chair. "Something that doesn't require us leaving behind half our supplies." He ran a hand through his hair. "I'm open to suggestions if anyone has one." He stared at Sally and Jane. "Anyone?"

Breaking the dialogue into smaller bits never lets what's being said build any tension. It's just pieces of information one right after the other, with no sense of which one is important. Try...

Bob sighed and dropped into a chair. "I think we need a better plan Something that doesn't require us leaving behind half our supplies. I'm open to suggestions if anyone has one."

He stared at Sally and Jane. They stared back, but said nothing.

"Anyone?"

 Bob's dialogue: A little shifting around and the flow is better. The tag at the front establishes Bob as the speaker. Combining a few lines of dialogue puts the pause in a more natural place in the conversation. It also moves the scene forward because Bob is asking for their input, which gives me a perfect opportunity to shift back to them for their response -- which is nothing. That allows me to use a one word question implying that Bob doesn't have any better ideas, and they're probably in a lot of trouble. One more opportunity to raise tension and end on a short punchy line before I go into what will probably be a longer internalization paragraph. Because doesn't this just feel like Bob is about to think about his options and what to do next? Going from long to short lines is a good lead in for that.

Dialogue is fast-paced by nature, so what we put around it will either slow it down or keep it moving. If we think about how the rest of the text flows into the dialogue, we can not only better control the rhythm, but control the pacing and the tension as well.

Find out more about dialogue, characters, internalization, and point of view in my book, Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems.

Go step-by-step through revising character and character-related issues, such as two-dimensional characters, inconsistent points of view, too-much backstory, stale dialogue, didactic internalization, and lack of voice. Learn how to analyze your draft, spot any problems or weak areas, and fix those problems.

With clear and easy-to-understand examples, Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems offers five self-guided workshops that target the common issues that make readers stop reading. It will help you:

• Flesh out weak characters and build strong character arcs
• Find the right amount of backstory to enhance, not bog down, your story
• Determine the best point(s) of view and how to use them to your advantage
• Eliminate empty dialogue and rambling internalization
• Develop character voices and craft unique, individual characters 

Fixing Your Character & Point-of-View Problems starts every workshop with an analysis to pinpoint problem areas and offers multiple revision options in each area. You choose the options that best fit your writing process. It's an easy-to-follow guide to crafting compelling characters, solid points of view, and strong character voices readers will love.

Available in paperback and ebook formats.

Janice Hardy is the award-winning author of the teen fantasy trilogy The Healing Wars, including The Shifter, Blue Fire, and Darkfall from Balzer+Bray/Harper Collins. The Shifter, was chosen for the 2014 list of "Ten Books All Young Georgians Should Read" from the Georgia Center for the Book.

She also writes the Grace Harper urban fantasy series for adults under the name, J.T. Hardy.

When she's not writing novels, she's teaching other writers how to improve their craft. She's the founder of Fiction University and has written multiple books on writing.

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