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DIY MFA IN WRITING

Lesson Six: The Soul of the Story: Crafting Purposeful Dialogue and Subtext

Program: The Writer's Apprenticeship: A Two-Year, Self-Paced MFA
Position: Year 1, Semester 1, Week 6
Estimated Time: 3-4 hours
Prerequisites: Lessons 1 through 5

1. Learning Objectives

By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

  1. Analyze dialogue to determine its three primary functions: revealing character, advancing plot, and creating tension.
  2. Differentiate between realistic speech and purposeful, naturalistic dialogue.
  3. Define subtext and identify how it's created when a character's spoken words conflict with their inner desires or the scene's context.
  4. Write a 1,000-word dialogue-driven scene where the central conflict is conveyed primarily through subtext.

2. Lecture

Dialogue is Action

Novice writers often make a critical mistake: they believe dialogue is for conveying information. They write scenes where characters tell each other things they already know, all for the benefit of the reader. This is called exposition, and it is the fastest way to write dialogue that is flat, boring, and dead on the page.

Here is the single most important rule you will learn about this topic: Dialogue is not conversation; dialogue is action. Every line spoken by a character must be a tactic they are employing to get something they want. They may want to dominate an opponent, seek reassurance, extract a secret, delay a confrontation, or charm a lover. Their words are the weapons, tools, and shields they use in the pursuit of their goal. When you view dialogue as a form of strategic action—a dance of competing desires—it inherently becomes more dramatic, revealing, and propulsive.

Part I: The Three Functions of Dialogue

Every significant line of dialogue must serve at least one of three functions, and the best dialogue often serves all three at once.

  • To Reveal Character: How a character speaks is a direct reflection of who they are. Their vocabulary (or lack thereof), their sentence structure, their rhythms of speech, and the tactics they employ all reveal their personality, education, and emotional state. A character who uses complex, academic language is different from one who speaks in short, blunt commands.
  • To Advance the Plot: Dialogue must move the story forward. It can do this by revealing a crucial piece of information, forcing a character to make a decision, or escalating a conflict. A line of dialogue should change the dynamic of the scene. After it is spoken, the situation should be different than it was before.
  • To Create Tension (Subtext): This is the most advanced function. The tension in a scene rarely comes from what is said, but from what is not being said. This gap between the surface conversation and the underlying truth is called subtext.

Part II: The Art of Implication - Subtext

Characters, like real people, rarely say exactly what they mean, especially when they are under emotional pressure or pursuing a hidden agenda. The real story happens between the lines.

Consider a simple line: "It's getting late."

  • Surface Meaning: A statement of fact about the time.
  • Subtext (depending on context):
    • Said by a nervous host to a guest who has overstayed their welcome: "Please leave now."
    • Said by one bank robber to another as the police sirens grow louder: "We have to get out of here, now."
    • Said by a lover to another after a perfect evening: "I don't want this night to end."

The subtext is the true meaning, the character's real action. Your job as a writer is to construct scenes where the surface dialogue becomes a vessel for this hidden, more powerful current of meaning. The classic example is Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants," where a couple discusses the landscape, the weather, and their drinks, while the subtext of their conversation is a life-altering decision about an abortion.

Part III: Crafting Naturalistic Dialogue

Your dialogue must sound believable, but it must not be a verbatim transcript of real speech. Real speech is messy; it is full of filler words ("um," "ah," "like"), repetitions, and mundane pleasantries that kill narrative momentum. Your goal is not realism, but naturalism. Naturalistic dialogue captures the flavor of real speech while strategically cutting the superfluous parts.

  • Use Contractions: People say "I'm," "don't," and "it's." Using contractions is one of the fastest ways to make dialogue feel less stilted.
  • Use Sentence Fragments: Not every line needs to be a grammatically perfect sentence. Sometimes, a single word is the most powerful response. "Liar." "Never."
  • Attribute Sparingly: The reader needs to know who is speaking, but overusing dialogue tags can be clunky. The words "said" and "asked" are the industry standard because they are functionally invisible to the reader. Avoid ostentatious synonyms like "he pontificated."
  • Show, Don't Tell (in Tags): Do not use adverbs in your dialogue tags to explain how a line was spoken (e.g., "he said angrily"). The anger should be evident in the words themselves or in a corresponding action.
    Telling: "Get out," he said angrily.
    Showing: "Get out." He swept the papers from his desk with a crash.

In masterful dialogue, the words are only one part of the communication. The pauses, gestures, and actions that surround the words often carry more weight than the words themselves.

3. Reading Assignment

Reading Questions:

  1. In "Hills Like White Elephants," find a line of dialogue where the surface meaning is completely at odds with the subtext. What is the character really saying?
  2. What "action" is the American man taking with his words? What "action" is the girl taking? What is the core conflict of their competing goals?
  3. In the script you chose, find a moment of silence or a pause. What is being communicated in that silence?
  4. According to the secondary reading, what is the purpose of a "beat" in dialogue? How can you use action beats (small physical gestures) to break up dialogue and reveal a character's true feelings?

Reading Journal Prompt:

In 300 words, analyze the power dynamic in "Hills Like White Elephants." Who has more power in the conversation, and how is this power demonstrated through their dialogue tactics?

4. Writing Assignment

  • Warm-up Exercise (10 minutes): Write a short exchange between two people stuck in an elevator. The only words they are allowed to say are "hello," "okay," "nice," and "well." Convey a full story of rising panic and eventual relief using only those four words, pauses, and action beats.
  • Primary Exercise (1,000 words): Write a single scene between two characters.
    • Context: The characters have a deep, shared history and a powerful, unresolved conflict between them (e.g., a past betrayal, an unrequited love, a family secret).
    • Surface Conversation: The dialogue of the scene must be about something completely mundane and trivial (e.g., assembling a piece of furniture, deciding what to order for dinner, discussing the weather).
    • Constraint: The characters are forbidden from ever mentioning the real issue between them. The entire conflict must be communicated through subtext—the double meanings in their words, the loaded pauses, and the small actions they take while speaking. The reader should feel the immense tension, even if the words themselves are calm.
  • Revision Task: Read your dialogue aloud. Does it sound like something a real person would say? Cut any lines that feel like pure exposition. Find three places to replace a dialogue tag ("he said") with a revealing action beat.
  • Reflection Component (200 words): What is the central conflict simmering beneath your dialogue? Identify one specific line from your scene and explain its double meaning—what the character says versus what the character means.

5. AI Integration Component

  • AI Brainstorming Prompt (Subtext Generator):
    "I am writing a scene where a character wants to accuse another character of stealing from them, but is too afraid to do so directly. The surface conversation is about a missing coffee mug. Generate 5 lines of dialogue for the accuser where they are ostensibly talking about the mug, but the subtext is clearly about the stolen money."
  • AI Editing Exercise (Dialogue Polish):
    "Please analyze the following dialogue. Identify any lines that sound unnatural, stilted, or overly formal. Suggest more naturalistic alternatives using contractions and simpler phrasing. Also, identify any dialogue tags that could be replaced by a stronger action beat."
  • AI Critique & Ethical Considerations: An AI can be very effective at making dialogue sound more "natural" by applying rules about contractions and syntax. However, it is a poor judge of subtext. The emotional and strategic layers of a conversation are uniquely human. Use the AI to polish the surface of your dialogue, but the hidden meaning must come from your own understanding of the characters' goals and fears.

6. Community Component

  • Peer Exchange: Share your 1,000-word scene with your accountability partner. Ask them to read it and then answer two questions: 1) "What is this scene really about?" and 2) "What is the core conflict between these two characters?" If they can accurately identify the subtext, your scene is a success.

7. Self-Assessment Tools

  • Progress Checklist:
  • Skills Rubric:
    • Dialogue as Action: (Developing / Proficient / Advanced) - Does every line of my dialogue serve a clear purpose for the character speaking it?
    • Subtext Mastery: (Developing / Proficient / Advanced) - How effectively did I convey the scene's true conflict without ever stating it directly?
  • Portfolio Guidelines: Save this scene in your Semester 1 Portfolio. It is a key demonstration of your ability to handle nuance and tension.

8. Extension Activities (Optional)

  • For Advanced Students: Take the scene you just wrote and rewrite it from the other character's point of view. How do their interpretations of the subtext differ? What new layers of meaning are revealed?
  • For Struggling Students: Transcribe one page of dialogue from a favorite TV show or movie. Then, next to each line, write down what the character really means or what they are trying to do with that line. This exercise helps train you to see the action beneath the words.
  • Cross-Genre Exploration: How does dialogue function differently in a stage play versus a novel? How does the lack of descriptive tags in a script force the dialogue itself to carry more weight?

9. Key Takeaways & Next Steps

  • Essential Concepts:
    • Dialogue's primary purpose is action, not exposition.
    • Subtext is the gap between what is said and what is meant, and it is where the real tension of a scene lies.
    • Aim for naturalistic dialogue, not a perfect transcript of real speech.
  • Practical Applications: The ability to write compelling, subtext-rich dialogue is essential for any form of narrative writing. It is the fastest way to reveal character and create conflict.
  • Preview: In Lesson 7, we will begin our focus on the larger architecture of story, learning how to assemble our scenes into a powerful, propulsive narrative using the principles of The Three-Act Structure.