TheokinsJ
Troubadour
Dialogue is something I struggle with more than anything in writing, and it's not that I can't write good dialogue, it's just I don't plan what the characters say, and usually it ends up becoming a 'maid and butler' conversation. For those of you who don't know, 'maid and butler' conversations involve characters talking about what they already know, and things that don't need to be said.
Example;
maid: "Hello sir, did you hear that the master has gone away on business to New York?"
butler: "Yes I did know that, have you seen the mistress is getting awfully fond of the gardener?"
maid: "Yes I have, she is growing too friendly with him, the master gets back in a few weeks you know"
and it goes on and on...
So basically that's a really vague example, whereby both characters talk about things they already know and it feels really fake. I'm trying to overcome this by giving their dialogue meaning, but I find it really difficult to try and direct where a conversation is heading, because mainly my conversations are just a character asking another character questions like "what happened?" and "what news from the North?" and all that stuff, and them replying with equally vague and uninteresting responses. Anyone else have trouble with their dialogue? Any suggestions on how to avoid the repetition and fake conversations and giving them direction?
Example;
maid: "Hello sir, did you hear that the master has gone away on business to New York?"
butler: "Yes I did know that, have you seen the mistress is getting awfully fond of the gardener?"
maid: "Yes I have, she is growing too friendly with him, the master gets back in a few weeks you know"
and it goes on and on...
So basically that's a really vague example, whereby both characters talk about things they already know and it feels really fake. I'm trying to overcome this by giving their dialogue meaning, but I find it really difficult to try and direct where a conversation is heading, because mainly my conversations are just a character asking another character questions like "what happened?" and "what news from the North?" and all that stuff, and them replying with equally vague and uninteresting responses. Anyone else have trouble with their dialogue? Any suggestions on how to avoid the repetition and fake conversations and giving them direction?