Dialogues or blocks of prose?

[BlackKnightX]

Dialogue is good, but this:



Way better.

Oh boy, too much for me.

I might pick something like that to read from time to time, but not always. Too much descriptions just takes away the story momentum.

i'mma be real with you, this is probably my ADHD riddled brain talking; unless this prose is for the purpose of setting the scene or enhancing the atmosphere, I don't need a Shakespearan play-by-play to tell me that something's happening. I'm not drawing the aforementioned quote as the example, but more in a general sense towards webnovels. you can tell me Tsuki-chan took a walk in the park without going in-depth about how each bumblebee carried with them a garden of pollen and floral scents. if it's to set a scene or serve a juxtaposition for a gruesome murder that Tsuki-chan is about to witness, I'm fine with a simple she took a brisk walk around the park.

if you can't tell I'm a big fan of less is more. i enjoy reading about possibilities and hidden connotations more than actual explanations and exposition.

Couldn’t agree more.

Do you know Charles Bukowski? I love his writing style where he gets to the point quickly.

(I was gonna say I like Hemingway‘s style at first, but I think his feels too dry for me.)

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

Yep, dialogues and action lines are what I go for. unlike a movie where the characters can portray their expression visually, you need the action lines to describe it in a novel.

Although the action line is a part of the prose, but when I said prose I mostly meant description and narration.

It's why I ask for both. c:

 

[BlackKnightX]

Obviously no one is crafting this masterpiece for every prose ever (for context, that quote is the end of a horrifying chapter, after the kids just kill another kid in their frenzy dancing ritual), but the point is dialogue rarely reach this height of beauty.

And dude, you won't find anything even close to this in webnovels.

That’s because most readers don’t read web novels for the esthetic of the prose, but rather for the stories.

There are tons of web novels out there. If you focus too much on the beautiful prose and the story is getting nowhere, then the readers will just move on to the others stories.

Though, I understand the point you’re trying to make.

which ever makes me go "oh god oh please just fucking stop" less

Well, good luck on your journey~

It's why I ask for both. c:

The point is ”If you have to choose one.”

In most stories, there are different ratios between dialogues and prose, so that‘s why I asked what do you prefer more. Sure enough, one can’t live without the others, but I was asking about the preference. What do you want to see more in the story~

 

[BenJepheneT]

but the point is dialogue rarely reach this height of beauty.

i'm gonna have to stop you right there.

prose may have the power of description but dialogue with it carries baggage and connotations. they may not be as long as prose but they can be just as significant. this might be discrepancies of tastes between readers but for me, a perfect, succinct line of dialogue is much more satisfying than a closing paragraph. case in point, take Lee Child's recurring Jack Reacher series. the whole series just revolves around the eponymous protagonist going across the states solving mysteries and avenging murders then leaving with no baggage or name or even settling down. he just comes in, does his shit, saves the day, and leaves; that's his entire appeal. every book ends with an epilogue showing Reacher hitchhiking after the climax. he just gets on a bus or a truck and leaves. in the early entries, Child would just write something akin to "he took a bus heading towards Anywhere, USA." in the later parts, however, he's added a bit of dialogue in the end, and to me, just brings more flavour than one block of text would have.

"Where you heading?"

"Where you stopping?"

"Las Vegas, you?"

"Somewhere in between."

one thing dialogue punches out more than prose is because; and I hate being a broken record; it reinforces the show don't tell theory. Jack Reacher is a wild card. he's a drifter that goes places with no goals or destinations in mind. trouble comes his way; he doesn't look out for it. a prose would just tell the readers that he's going somewhere and trouble is likely to follow. dialogue shows us that Reacher isn't finding trouble at all. he's as oriented as a windmill and wants nothing more than to be somewhere else. with the whole baggage that is the entire book sitting before the epilogue, the story didn't need an entire block of text to tell you about it. the reader has already read the book and understood contexts and subtlety. dialogue is there to sell them; to reward the readers for their attention and investment throughout the book.

of course, this is a different case for every book. some books fare better with an expositional end, while others could do better than a snippet of a conversation. in the case of Lord of the Flies, the closing paragraph sells the nightmare that the boys went through and the madness they've descended. i prefer dialogue than prose but in my honest opinion, I'm going for the yin yang approach. both is good. in various situations, one shines better than the other.

and to answer the thread's question, prose and dialogue is like beer and wine. one's cheap and one's expensive, but you wouldn't grab wine with the boys on a Saturday night or clink beer in a candle lit dinner.

 

[KoyukiMegumi]

The point is ”If you have to choose one.”

In most stories, there are different ratios between dialogues and prose, so that‘s why I asked what do you prefer more. Sure enough, one can’t live without the others, but I was asking about the preference. What do you want to see more in the story~

Heheheh... I refuse! I shall never choose! To the death!

*Picks dialogue*

 

[SailusGebel]

and to answer the thread's question, prose and dialogue is like beer and wine. one's cheap and one's expensive, but you wouldn't grab wine with the boys on a Saturday night or clink beer in a candle lit dinner.

Bu-but beer can be expensive too...

 

[SakeVision]

prose, too much dialog written like a text chat makes me roll my eyes

 

[BenJepheneT]

Bu-but beer can be expensive too...

the price of an expensive beer is the same as cheap wine tho

 

[SailusGebel]

the price of an expensive beer is the same as cheap wine tho

I'm not a beer geek, so I can't be sure. If I look at the prices in my country, wine is usually more expensive, but if we aren't talking about vintage stuff, the difference isn't as drastic. The one thing where you are wrong tho is that you can bring beer to a candle-lit dinner.

 

[BlackKnightX]

i'm gonna have to stop you right there.

prose may have the power of description but dialogue with it carries baggage and connotations. they may not be as long as prose but they can be just as significant. this might be discrepancies of tastes between readers but for me, a perfect, succinct line of dialogue is much more satisfying than a closing paragraph. case in point, take Lee Child's recurring Jack Reacher series. the whole series just revolves around the eponymous protagonist going across the states solving mysteries and avenging murders then leaving with no baggage or name or even settling down. he just comes in, does his shit, saves the day, and leaves; that's his entire appeal. every book ends with an epilogue showing Reacher hitchhiking after the climax. he just gets on a bus or a truck and leaves. in the early entries, Child would just write something akin to "he took a bus heading towards Anywhere, USA." in the later parts, however, he's added a bit of dialogue in the end, and to me, just brings more flavour than one block of text would have.

"Where you heading?"

"Where you stopping?"

"Las Vegas, you?"

"Somewhere in between."

one thing dialogue punches out more than prose is because; and I hate being a broken record; it reinforces the show don't tell theory. Jack Reacher is a wild card. he's a drifter that goes places with no goals or destinations in mind. trouble comes his way; he doesn't look out for it. a prose would just tell the readers that he's going somewhere and trouble is likely to follow. dialogue shows us that Reacher isn't finding trouble at all. he's as oriented as a windmill and wants nothing more than to be somewhere else. with the whole baggage that is the entire book sitting before the epilogue, the story didn't need an entire block of text to tell you about it. the reader has already read the book and understood contexts and subtlety. dialogue is there to sell them; to reward the readers for their attention and investment throughout the book.

of course, this is a different case for every book. some books fare better with an expositional end, while others could do better than a snippet of a conversation. in the case of Lord of the Flies, the closing paragraph sells the nightmare that the boys went through and the madness they've descended. i prefer dialogue than prose but in my honest opinion, I'm going for the yin yang approach. both is good. in various situations, one shines better than the other.

and to answer the thread's question, prose and dialogue is like beer and wine. one's cheap and one's expensive, but you wouldn't grab wine with the boys on a Saturday night or clink beer in a candle lit dinner.

Sorry to break it to you pal, but I sometimes clink wine with the boys in a fast food restaurant on a Saturday night~

All jokes aside, I agree with “Show, don’t tell” completely. In this day and age, people tend to watch movies or anime rather than reading books since the story move much faster and keep the audience engage.

Dialogue is the indication that the story’s moving forward and continuing the momentum just like in the movie.

Though, I love dialogue mainly because it‘s just fun to read and see the characters interact with each other.

Have you ever watch all those short clips of a movie’s scenes on YouTube? Scroll down to the comment section and what you’ll find will most likely be comments about the dialogues or an iconic’s line the character said.

 

[BenJepheneT]

I'm not a beer geek, so I can't be sure. If I look at the prices in my country, wine is usually more expensive, but if we aren't talking about vintage stuff, the difference isn't as drastic. The one thing where you are wrong tho is that you can bring beer to a candle-lit dinner.

that'll just ruin the taste of a beer. beer is for dirty lawn chairs and talking about winning a fist fight with a bear. you bring a can of beer into a fancy restaurant? boom, beer tastes like shit.

I love dialogue mainly because it‘s just fun to read and see the characters interact with each other.

Have you ever watch all those short clips of a movie’s scenes on YouTube? Scroll down to the comment section and what you’ll find will most likely be comments about the dialogues or an iconic’s line the character said.

that's how I usually write my story. my idea is that I separate my story's narrative into two halves. i establish the stakes and the context while sprinkling a healthy dose of subtleties throughout. then I continue them with nothing but dialogue. at that point I don't need to tell the audience whats going on with prose; they already do. all I need to do is show them how the character deals with that shit.

 

[BlackKnightX]

Bu-but beer can be expensive too...

Yep, with lotta bubbles~

 

[SailusGebel]

that'll just ruin the taste of a beer. beer is for dirty lawn chairs and talking about winning a fist fight with a bear. you bring a can of beer into a fancy restaurant? boom, beer tastes like shit.

I'm not sure if this is some kind of a joke or maybe a post-irony?

 

[BenJepheneT]

I'm not sure if this is some kind of a joke or maybe a post-irony?

you decide

 

[BlackKnightX]

prose, too much dialog written like a text chat makes me roll my eyes

Dialogue written like a text chat?

Maybe the problem lies in the format? like:

1) “Hey there!” A said.
“Hey, what’s up!” B replied.

2) A: Hey there!
B: Hey, what’s up!

The later is fine too, but takes some times to get used to.

Or maybe you mean like a pure dialogue with no description whatsoever?

1) “Test test.”
”what are you doing?”
”I test…”

2)
“Test test,“ he said.
”what are you doing?” she asked as she tilted her head.
”I test…”

Or maybe you meant the entire page of the characters sitting down and talking to each other without anything happening?

 

[Vnator]

Yup, my go-to is dialogue as well, but sometimes when things would get really long, a paragraph of prose is good to get out the details that wouldn't easily come about in organic conversation so I can skip ahead to the better bits of the story.

 

[BlackKnightX]

that'll just ruin the taste of a beer. beer is for dirty lawn chairs and talking about winning a fist fight with a bear. you bring a can of beer into a fancy restaurant? boom, beer tastes like shit.


that's how I usually write my story. my idea is that I separate my story's narrative into two halves. i establish the stakes and the context while sprinkling a healthy dose of subtleties throughout. then I continue them with nothing but dialogue. at that point I don't need to tell the audience whats going on with prose; they already do. all I need to do is show them how the character deals with that shit.

Put it simply, you set up a scene first and then let the ball rolling, right?

I'm not sure if this is some kind of a joke or maybe a post-irony?

Yep, good beer will always taste good no matter where you drink it. Although, I prefer wine since all the beers I’ve drunk before weren’t that expensive and always tasted like shit.

 

[BenJepheneT]

Put it simply, you set up a scene first and then let the ball rolling, right?

ye, but the downside is that to set up the scene I need to do some REAL heavy lifting, and most of it is in the audience's part.

it's like pushing your bike up a steep hill before descending with a fast and long WEEEEEEEEEEEEE

most people don't sit around for that

 

[BlackKnightX]

Yup, my go-to is dialogue as well, but sometimes when things would get really long, a paragraph of prose is good to get out the details that wouldn't easily come about in organic conversation so I can skip ahead to the better bits of the story.

Yep, I like doing that to speed things up. If the characters go to the town gate, I’ll just straight up tell the reader that they go to the town’s gate instead of describing everything along the way(if nothing important happens along the way, that is.)

 

[SailusGebel]

Yep, good beer will always taste good no matter where you drink it. Although, I prefer wine since all the beers I’ve drunk before weren’t that expensive and always tasted like shit.

That's an obvious thing. As for beer tasting like shit, I don't even like beer that much. In fact, I dislike most beer styles as they are too bitter for me.