BALANCING NARRATIVE, DIALOGUE, AND ACTION

            This question has come up in various forms on the Facebook forums, but I’ve never specifically addressed it as a whole.

            I was inspired by a book I just read and one I’m now struggling to get through. Perfect fodder.

            To keep a reader from struggling through your tome, something needs to happen.

ACTION

            I’m not necessarily doling this out based on the order in the title. I’ll start with action.

            Something needs to happen to keep the reader engaged.

            Let me repeat: Something needs to happen to keep the reader engaged.

            A book with nothing but narrative description or dialogue can be a long and insufferable bore if nothing actually happens. All description does nothing but draw the background for the action. Dialogue must accomplish something and not just be a conversation.

            Things need to happen to progress the story.

NARRATIVE

            Okay, the narrative includes the description and action. While describing things is a key to give the reader a picture of the environment, characters, place, the action part keeps the story moving.

            To me, description needs to be simple and effective. You don’t need to draw out the character’s life story in page after page where nothing actually happens. You need to describe things efficiently and effectively, not in excruciating detail.

            The action needs to be blended in with all this so the story moves but doesn’t leave a blank. Too much action is just as bad as not enough.

DIALOGUE

            Dialogue should not just be heads talking. The dialogue must accomplish something to move the story along. A little aside once in a while doesn’t hurt, as in giving the characters personality or banter, but it also has to progress the plot or it’s superfluous.

            I recently read a first page that was all dialogue. Though the talking was okay, there was no sense of place, what the story was about, or who these characters were. It was a perfect example of what not to do.

            I personally like to use dialogue, but have to keep in mind to balance it with the action and description.

            While dialogue and action can be a bit more than description, you shouldn’t neglect describing things. However, do it with a sentence or paragraph, not with a page.

SUMMARY

            Writing and showing/telling a story requires a balance to keep the reader engaged. It should not be what I’m suffering through in the book I’m currently reading. In fact, I got sixty pages and put it down. I’d had enough.

            Think about that when you think of the books you couldn’t put down, or the ones you finished without even realizing time had passed. Those are the killer books out there!

            Happy writing!