If you’re struggling to get your novel published, then read on!
The Importance of Dialogue
What makes a novel interesting is the dialogue. Apart from setting the scene, telling the story, and creating suspense, dialogue is the most important element of a novel. It’s through the dialogue that the readers learn about the characters and gain empathy for them. In the same way, the dialogue between the characters reveals their individual personalities and opinions. If you want to make your novel more interesting, then focus on perfecting your dialogue. Remember, good dialogue is never predictable! But don’t worry, with a little bit of planning and practice, you’ll perfect it.
Use Emotions To Your Advantage
Apart from dialogue, the other key element to making a novel interesting is the use of emotions. Although you don’t have to rely on your characters’ emotions alone to keep the intrigue and suspense alive, you can certainly do so. One of the best advice I can give you is to use your characters’ emotions against them. For example, you can have Jack, the main character, feel utterly frustrated by his situation. Through the course of the novel, we learn that his assistant, Sally, is the person he loves the most in the world. He also admires her courage, even when she’s putting her own life at risk (her parents were arrested when she was a child and she’s afraid of being caught and punished for helping him). All of these feelings contribute to making Jack a more interesting character. If you want to make your novel more interesting, then you should examine your characters’ emotions and use them to your advantage. Some examples of this could include:
- Having a romantic interest in your lead character;
- Making your antagonist sympathetic; and
- Showing how perseverance and grit can triumph over adversity.
Make Use Of The Available Realistic Dialogue
If you’re writing in the present day, then your characters will have the tendency to use language that’s realistic. This can be both a benefit and a challenge. To fully take advantage of this, you need to understand how to use dialogue effectively. One of the best tips I can give you is to make sure all of your character’s dialogue is realistic. Even when your characters are speaking in imaginative fantasy or sci-fi settings, their dialogue needs to feel real and applicable to the situation they’re in. For example, if your character is having a conversation in a fantasy world, then their dialogue will most likely reflect that. If you want to make your novel more interesting, then make sure all of your characters’ dialogue feels realistic and easy to follow. This will increase the odds of the dialogue being interesting enough to keep the reader engaged. Good luck out there!