Dialogue as Part of Characterization

[ubiquirk]

A recent comment about the frequent use of suss instead of its synonyms in my HP story ‘Conspiracy Theory’ gives me the perfect opportunity to get swotty about a subject I love. Dialogue

Comments

[veradee]

I enjoyed reading your fic and can't say that I found Hermione saying "suss" jarring in any way.

But like miamadwyn I think that certain characteristics when it comes to a character's vocabulary can be jarring - even if they might be an excellent example of how that character speaks. I'm reminded of Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye (first-person narrator, I know), whose very limited and repetitive vocabulary I found incredibly annoying. It's possible that Salinger did a very good job on how boys from a certain background spoke back then, but it drove me up the wall, and I'm afraid if Salinger had told me that this speech pattern characterises Holden, it wouldn't have helped me at all. It probably comes down to one's preferences. While Holden Caulfield's vocabulary annoyed me, I'm sure other people were convinced by it, and vice versa there will be characters whose vocabulary I find convincing while other readers think it's annoying, repetitive etc.

[ubiquirk]

Ah, as I replied above, I think some of it is also country specific. I've lived in England and had friends who used suss constantly. For me, a British person saying suss a lot is not something that would ever sound odd. If I hadn't lived there, I would probably note it each time it's used because it's not a US word, but that doesn't make it wrong for a British character.

I thought Salinger did an excellent job with Catcher, but again, maybe part of it is I'm American.

I suppose my pet peeve is probably clear above - I get annoyed by stories where the characters sound too much the other way, so far from real people that I can't believe in them.

[veradee]

Well, the more I think about it, the more I come to the conclusion that I prefer characters whose spoken voice rather resembles written speech. I don't mind slang and swear words, but I'm not really a fan of realistic, but ungrammatical half-sentences that are interspersed with "uh" and "hmmm". Listening to that kind of dialogue is fine, but reading it tends to get on my nerves. But it's very interesting to think about it and find out one's own preferences.

[ubiquirk]

Too many uhs and hmmms would be too much - but the occasional one can really show a confused state of mind to the reader quickly without the author 'telling' it.

Nonetheless, I still think that sets of favorite words for characters should be used even if you don't do the other things.

[kribu]

I saw that comment re: suss to the fic, and actually had to go back and look for where it was used, because it hadn't stuck out to me as anything particularly odd or overused.

I agree about dialogue, yes. It's probably easier for (some) readers if the oft-repeated word is something more familiar, but as a general point, it's an excellent one (and one I'll need to keep in mind - I find dialogue incredibly difficult to write, and I don't think being a non-native speaker and never actually having lived in a natively English-speaking environment helps there). It's certainly a fine balance that one needs to find between "real" dialogue and fictional one.

[ubiquirk]

I saw that comment re: suss to the fic, and actually had to go back and look for where it was used, because it hadn't stuck out to me as anything particularly odd or overused.

thanks for the insight

[saschia]

Interesting! This is one of the things I suppose which makes the difference between good writing and great writing. When reading it, I don't realize what makes me feel "I really liked this" or "I liked this but something felt not exactly right".

Which reminds me of what I felt not exactly right in the Battlestar Galactica series, of course except of the religious thing. Everybody said "frak" all the time. From the mechanic to the admiral, from the common civilian to the president. I don't consider using strong words in strong situations inappropriate, I myself swear a lot when angry or in pain, although I try to avoid mentions of body parts and sexual behavior. But to use only one word? There were twelve worlds, for frack's sake!
Did you feel the same, or is it just me?

Re: thanks for the insight

[ubiquirk]

You're right - really good realistic writing should read effortlessly. [Really good stylized writing is another kettle of fish.]

Hmmm - interesting point. I think a lot of the frak thing is because we spent almost all of our time with people in the military - even the civilians who are mixed in tend to be those who interact with the military a lot. I think they get a bit of a similar mindset with that. They do say shit and damn a lot too - but since we use those in our world's English, I think they don't stand out as much.

[ayerf]

Getting the voice right does help... and you do brilliantly with it. Suss in 'Conspiracy Theory' seemed so natural to me that I didn't even notice it!

[ubiquirk]

Getting the voice right does help... and you do brilliantly with it.

Thank you! Dialogue is something I always work on (when maybe it should be setting - laughs!).

[greek_jester]

I'm sorry, but I think I'm going to have to friend you on the basis of this essay. Very well reasoned. *friends*

[ubiquirk]

I'm happy you liked it that much!