Filter

Another thought on dialogue.

1. Use a filter.
Just like you put a filter in your coffee maker before you make coffee, you need to filter dialogue.

Example of No Filter
Joe: “Hi. How have you been?”
Mary: “Actually, I’ve been sick. Had a flu bug and wound up in the hospital.”
Joe: “I’m sorry to hear that. I work at a local hospital. Which one were you in?”
Mary: “St. Anthony’s. Nice people there. They really took good care of me.”

Example of Filtered
Joe: “Hi. How have you been?”
Mary: “Actually, I’ve had the flu.”
Joe: “Sorry to hear that.”

You may not want to eliminate as much as I did but you see my point. We got the “basics,” she had the flu and he’s sorry to hear that she did. Unless the hospital has something to do with the story, it is only “fluff,” filler that can be filtered out.

Like a filter makes for better coffee, filtered dialogue can make a better manuscript. So filter!

Hoping to filter my coffee AND my manuscripts, Gloria