Just realized my take on dialogue-only prompts was totally off

I always thought prompts that just give a line of dialogue were pointless for building a story. A buddy pushed me to try one, and I wrote a whole scene from two people talking in a stuck elevator. Seeing how their words revealed fear and history changed my view. Now I grab those prompts first to sharpen how characters speak.

3 comments

3 Comments

seth_miller1mo ago

Hey, when you said seeing the words reveal fear and history changed your view, I felt that. I used to skip those prompts too until I tried one with two cops arguing over coffee. It forced me to make their voices distinct without any description. Now I see how much you can show just through what people say and don't say. Glad you're on board with this, it really does sharpen your ear for dialogue.

the_brooke1mo ago

Totally! I read once that Hemingway said dialogue is what characters say to hide what they really mean. That really clicked for me, like you can build so much tension just in the gaps between their words. It honestly changed how I read books now too.

luna8191mo ago

Wait, I think that was actually Chandler who said that thing about hiding meaning. Still totally true though.