: Re: Is going 'off-topic' a sign of bad dialogue? I always wondered if going off-topic in a dialogue is a bad or a normal thing. For example, let's say I'm writing a novel where the main theme

@Cugini967

Vote Up Vote Down

In real life, conversations ramble, so it's unsurprising if your dialogues ramble as well. This is not necessarily a bad thing. In realistic literary novels, it would be unsurprising, or even expected, for your dialogues to include long tangents and unrelated content. This is part of that genre's attempt to present situations naturalistically. In other genres readers expect a tighter degree of focus, and so will be less tolerant of long conversations that don't appear to relate to the story.

However, just because a dialogue doesn't directly relate to the theme or plot doesn't mean that it actually accomplishes nothing. Dialogues can be used to set mood, to demonstrate character, or to illustrate the setting. So consider: does your characters' conversation actually contribute nothing to the story, or is it adding something a little more subtle?

(0)

Login to post a comment!