Literary Devices help readers interpret, analyze and appreciate a literary work. These devices can be broken into two parts: Literary Techniques, such as metaphor, hyperbole and alliteration; and Literary Elements, such as plot, setting and theme. W...
A man walks into a bar and orders a drink. As he sits there mulling over his day, he hears a small voice call out, "Hey buddy, that shirt looks great on you."
The man looks around for the source, but the barstools are empty. He returns to his drink, and a few minutes later he hears a deeper voice.
"You seem like a really cool guy."
He looks from side to side but there is still nobody nearby. He convinces himself he's imagining things, blaming it on the exhausting day he had, when he hears a third voice.
"Your parents must be very proud of you."
The man slams down his drink and looks around wildly but finds himself alone. Frustrated, he calls out to the bartender, "Hey, barkeep. What are these voices I keep hearing?"
The bartender replies, "Oh, those are the peanuts. They're complimentary."
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DIALOGUE
Why do we need dialogue in our stories?
Dialogue should be purposeful, believable and compelling. It should always have some reason for existing. If it isn't achieving anything, then it's only taking up important real estate in your story. There's more to dialogue than just giving your characters words to say.
Fiction needs dialogue to engage readers and infuse stories with drama, and good dialogue has the power to breathe life into your characters. You may even inspire readers to flaunt your characters' quotes as a meme or a tattoo. Hey, it could happen.
What does dialogue accomplish?
💬 Develops characters: A character's speech patterns and what they talk about can provide a lot of information. We can learn about the place they live, their upbringing, their personality, their mood, their motivations, and so on. The trick for many writers is to make sure each character's way of speaking is unique enough to distinguish one from another.
💬 Drives the plot forward: Conversations between characters can provide moments of conflict that may affect decisions they make later on. Through dialogue, characters are able to share all types of information that is important to the plot.
