Writing Dialogue by Tom Chiarella
Compository Rating: ****
Length: 150 pages, quick read
Price / Availability: $9.95 at Powell’s Books, $10.19 or cheaper used at Amazon
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Usefulness: Very useful for those who want a crash course explanation of the ins and outs of writing dialogue. Not as useful for those who excel at writing dialogue or are looking for an in-depth guide to dialogue or examples of good dialogue.
Level: Ideal for students of writing, trained writers, and intermediate writers. Acceptable for beginner’s who want an introduction to writing dialogue and experts who are in need of a refresher.
Synopsis: A guidebook, written by a writing professor, explaining the ins and outs of writing dialogue for fictional works. Subjects covered include: how to collect dialogue from real world settings, how to edit dialogue, how dialogue relates to character, dialogue in other media, narrative dialogue, as well as the nuts and bolts of how to install dialogue in a written work.
Exercises: Includes 2 – 3 exercises at the end of every chapter related to the chapter’s content.
Overall review: Although I wouldn’t say Writing Dialogue is a must own for any writer, I would insist that anyone who is struggling with dialogue, no matter if it is a one time problem or a continuing hassle, should run out and get a copy of this book. At $9.95 it’s a steal of a deal and at 150 pages makes for a quick emergency read (or re-read) when needed.
I enjoyed reading Chiarella’s thoughts and explanations on the craft of writing dialogue and found them to be well explained and non-obvious. He writes like you’d expect a college professor to write, with loads of wit and intellect. It is one of the few books on writing which I’ve actually found to be a fun read. I thought his explanations of how to gather and edit dialogue were particularly helpful. I also enjoyed his discussion on the differences between television dialogue and fictional dialogue as I think this is something writers in this day and age should be particularly careful of. I didn’t feel that all the exercises were as useful, but generally speaking at least one exercise per chapter was helpful and worth doing.
The book is, like I said, a quick read so anyone looking for a more thorough approach to the topic of dialogue may want to select a different, more thorough text. With only eight chapters, the book reads like more of a handbook or crash course, devoting only a few pages to hefty subjects like dialect, narrative dialogue, and gesture. For those who already have some training with dialogue, this will be perfect in order to get a refresher or a quick overview of the topic of dialogue. Others may find themselves wanting or needing a more thorough explanation of the subjects covered. I personally felt that though many short examples and explanations were shared throughout the book, the book was lacking in examples of good, solid dialogue from other writers. I also was interested in hearing more about the process of gathering dialogue, as I felt this was touched upon rather quickly and is very important to any writer.
