Madelyn Wong: The Words We Don't Say
- Madelyn Wong
- 20 hours ago
- 3 min read
When we think of dialogue, the first thing that comes to mind is most likely a form of
verbal communication. Two or more people talking to one another, engaging in conversation. In other words, external dialogue. However, there is another type of dialogue that is often overlooked. Like introverted listeners getting overshadowed by extroverted speakers in our daily lives, internal dialogue is often lost to its loud counterpart: external dialogue.
The truth is that you need both internal and external dialogue to create a good story. It is
crucial to balance the two, especially in prose pieces where it is essential to cut the density of certain long paragraphs or boring conversations. The two types of dialogue simply do not work well without each other. Take internal thinking, for instance. In many fictional prose pieces, the writer will utilize a character’s internal monologue, often, but not always, told from the first-person perspective. This will take you through the character’s thought process and provide some context for their actions. However, paragraphs of one individual’s thoughts can get a bit dull and might lead to a lengthy, dense section that bores the reader. Here, it is ideal to include either action or spoken dialogue to cut the “richness” of the piece, like acidity in a heavy, buttery dish. On the other hand, spoken conversations between two or more characters in a story can feel bland without a touch of internal dialogue woven in between. If two characters are having a conversation and it goes from, “she said” to “he said” every other sentence, the reader may feel disinterested. One way to prevent boredom in external dialogue is to use internal dialogue to show the reader’s thoughts as they are interacting with other characters- the words they might not want to say aloud. While external dialogue isn’t necessarily easier to perfect, it is more straightforward than internal dialogue. Interactive communications between characters can be based on a writer’s real- life conversations with others, and by now we should know how to use quotation marks and dialogue tags. Internal dialogue, though, can be a bit trickier to nail because you have to be able to balance it with external dialogue. Below are a few tips to help you do just that:
1. Pretend you are the character- put yourself in their shoes! Internal thoughts are
more realistic when they’re natural. Many people will recommend paying
attention to your own conversations with those around you and listening in on
others’ conversations in order to create external dialogue that flows better. There
is a similar tip for internal dialogue. One way to create natural internal thoughts is
by keeping a journal- seeing how your own thought process works can help you
write another’s.
2. Incorporate internal thinking into external conversations as well, working on
balancing the two main types of dialogue so as not to make spoken conversations
dry and internal monologues too dense. For example, the character whom your
main character is conversing with might say something a little out of pocket. How
would your main character react in their point of view? If they wouldn’t say
something aloud, maybe they would reflect on it in their head.
3. Keep the narrator’s inner monologue honest yet relevant- concise. Long, dense
paragraphs of a character’s entire indecisive thought process can bore the reader,
even if you do tend to ramble in your own head. Cut these paragraphs with action
or external dialogue.
4. Focus on your character’s unique voice. What makes their inner thoughts
entertaining to read? Are they witty and sarcastic, lighthearted and funny, or
maybe just depressed? This especially applies to those who write through multiple
characters’ perspectives: what differentiates one chapter from another?
5. Create their stance. How does your character view the world? Are they an
optimist, pessimist, or realist? The way we perceive the world around us
definitely affects our thought process. Our attitudes influence our thoughts and
actions, whether we love life or not. Once you truly immerse yourself in your
character’s thoughts and feelings, internal dialogue will flow much smoother.
