Writing Tools

A little dialogue in a story can have a big effect.

I learned that lesson yesterday after church at the local bagel shop. Two families joined forces, and I found myself  for a couple of minutes alone at a table with two six-year-old girls. Maggie Jacobson has appeared in this blog before, but her little friend Jessica, whom I met for the first time, has not.

We started to talk about snow. Jessica, a Florida kid, had never seen it before, but Maggie was a well-travelled pro and described to Jessica how snow felt and tasted, and how it was "mostly water." I burst into song: "Sleigh bells ring. Are you listenin''? In the lane, snow is glistenin'...." Maggie recognized this spasm for what it was, a cheap ploy for attention, and mostly ignored it. But Jessica's eyes widened.

Kelly McBride Maggie Jacobson

She turned to Maggie and whispered.

"He's weird," said Jessica.

"That's normal Roy," said Maggie.

I've thought about that exchange ever since: a two-word opening to dialogue, with a three-word response. And yet look how much work that bit of dialogue accomplishes. It establishes Jessica as a critical skeptic, who knows what's normal and what is not, and is not afraid to declare it, but whispers it so as not to hurt the big guy's feelings. And it reveals Maggie as wise, experienced and tolerant, someone who understands my quirks and can place them in a human context.

So this is my question, class. Can you think of occasions when a little bit of dialogue did lots of good work in one of your stories, or in the work of others? Let me know: rclark@poynter.org. I'll pass them along.