“Make sure dialogue is moving the plot forward (by providing new information or raising the stakes), or developing your character (by revealing their personality or their backstory naturally).”
I’ve seen the first half of this advice about twice as much as the second half. Elmore Leonard has the best dialogue in crime fiction and very little moves the plot, but all of it gives you a better idea of who the characters are.
All rules are meant to be broken, especially in creative writing. But it helps so much to know what these rules and industry standards are before you actually break them.
I write middle grade adventure novels. No clue what the recommended ratio is there.
“Make sure dialogue is moving the plot forward (by providing new information or raising the stakes), or developing your character (by revealing their personality or their backstory naturally).”
I’ve seen the first half of this advice about twice as much as the second half. Elmore Leonard has the best dialogue in crime fiction and very little moves the plot, but all of it gives you a better idea of who the characters are.
Very useful!
All rules are meant to be broken, especially in creative writing. But it helps so much to know what these rules and industry standards are before you actually break them.
You actually covered this topic quite conveniently as this has been on my mind recently when writing my own fantasy books.
This has been very informative has put my mind as easy with my writing process.
I will keep this all in my mind and good luck on writing your book! Thank you so much for sharing this information!
Nice! It helps to actually see this and know that there is some type of expectation.