Guest Blogger
Keith Dixon
Avoiding Call and Response in Dialogue.
Keith has written two series of crime novels – one featuring Sam Dyke, a private detective working in the north of England and another featuring Paul Storey, an ex-police marksman now living in Coventry and occasionally getting involved in bad stuff. He’s currently embarked on a third series set in a fictional southern England resort.
Keith’s Writing Tip
- Guidance to writers of fiction often includes the instruction: “When writing dialogue, avoid call and response.”
What this means is that you should avoid having a character ask a question and another answer it directly, like this:
“Did you finish that report I asked you for?”
“Yes, I typed it up last night,” Joe said.
“What conclusions did you come to?”
“That the victim probably knew his attacker and let him into the house.”
This is all well and good, and gives the reader information they might need. But it’s dull!
My tip is to remember that everyone in a scene has their own motivation and goal – another instruction writers are often given – and so answering a direct question with a straightforward answer might not satisfy their need to express themselves fully. So before writing the ‘obvious’ response, the factual reply, take a beat to consider the situation from the other person’s perspective and empathise with them …
“Did you finish that report I asked you for?”
“You never told me why it was so urgent. What’s the rush?”
“When I want to tell you why I do things, I’ll consider it … before deciding not to. All right?”
“I think you take me for granted.”
“I’m your boss, I’m allowed.”
“So it seems,” Joe said. “If you’re interested, I think the victim knew his attacker and let him in.”
The failure to answer a direct question leads to a brief exploration of the second character’s own feelings about being used by the first. This could have been intimated at through the narrator editorialising, but is more effective and direct when seen in the dialogue.
So before you write that next line, pause, and empathise with the character!
(c) Keith Dixon 2022
In a long and unstructured career, Keith has taught English and American Literature, been an advertising copywriter, a business psychologist and an online learning creator. He’s currently living in France where he writes crime novels and wonders whether he should give up trying to play the guitar.
You can find out more about Keith and his writing by visiting his website or his Facebook page or by following him on Twitter (@keithyd6) and Instagram (@theidlewriter).
