Does Your Dialogue Move Your Story?

I recently took several pages from my work in process to a critique meeting.  They are a great bunch of writers, lots of fun, and intuitive.

I liked the scene, which had lots of dialogue and showed the characters moving and interacting in the sheriff’s office of a western town. It was more of a transitional scene between two scenes with lots of tension and drama.

For the most part everyone liked the writing, but one member said that for him it fell flat and didn’t seem to have the energy my stuff usually has.  He couldn’t put his finger on the problem, but I trusted his instincts.  We talked it out and we realized I had missed one of the key reasons we write dialogue—to move the story forward.

There were bits of information I needed to convey and there was a minor character (the sheriff), who need to be introduced.  Other than that, the scene was nothing more than pleasantries and chit chat—all stuff that didn’t need to be there. Once I deleted the greeting and introduction, coffee cups and seating, there wasn’t much left, nothing that couldn’t be reworked into another scene.

I’d forgotten that every chapter and every scene has to contribute to that story arc. And every chapter and every scene had to also contribute to the character’s arc. In a romance there are primarily two main character arcs and my scene did nothing to build toward my hero or heroine’s growth, either forward or backward.  There was nothing there to engage the reader which is why the scene felt flat to my friend.

Every bit of dialogue we write should be used to show character, mood, tension, conflict and growth.  It needs to contribute to the story through the characters, through back story or pacing.  My scene didn’t make anyone laugh or cry or scream. It didn’t raise any new questions and the only reason anyone would be turning pages would be to skip ahead.

I can usually find mistakes like this in other people’s work, but sometimes I just can’t see the forest for the trees.