How early (or late) does dialogue appear in your work?

STING · Aug 6, 2015

I know there isn’t any hard and fast rule on where dialogue must first appear in a novel.

But, out of curiosity, I took a look today at the NYT Best Sellers list (Hardcover fiction) on Amazon. (Four of the 20 books on this list don’t have the Look Inside feature.) Of the 16 books, two begin with dialogue, three have it within the first 100 words and two, after the first 700-800 words. And nine have dialogue only after many, many pages—it’s just an observation and not any kind of comment.

I know this isn’t a Gallup poll, and the sample is random and small. But do you think this suggests that a majority of authors choose not to let the characters talk till they familiarise readers with characters and context in some great detail?
How early or late does dialogue first appear in your book? Mine comes after the first 500 words.

.

BethS · Aug 6, 2015

In my WIP, the first line of dialogue comes after the 289th word.

I just finished reading The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss, and that has no dialogue in it. None. It's one character alone for the entire story. And it was riveting.

Katharine Tree · Aug 6, 2015

I prefer to lead with dialogue. The story in which it enters latest, it happens within 500 words.

vrabinec · Aug 6, 2015

My WIP that's getting edited has dialogue starting with the 982nd word. The WIP I'm currently writing has dialogue starting with the 27th word.

Just depends on when the first words need to be spoken IMO, but I know a lot of indie authors making good money on YA type books who have dialogue in the first two paragraphs of every book they write. They claim it gets the teenage readers immersed into the POV character's head quicker and captures their attention better because they tend to be chatty by nature. Not sure I agree, but it seems to work for them since they make a living at it.

Bufty · Aug 6, 2015

Dialogue is an integral part of life. When it appears in a novel is entirely dependent upon how the story gets under way and develops. For me - the earlier the better.

CJMockingbird · Aug 6, 2015

I try not to start off the entire book with dialogue, but I often start off chapters with it. I usually get to dialogue within the first page or so, but that's just how I am. It's my strength, I'm going to play to it. Although, in my short erotica work, I tend to go on for 4 pages with no dialogue, just setting up my characters thoughts/feelings before anything happens. I suppose it just depends!

JBVam · Aug 6, 2015

Mine appears at the very beginning of the first chapter. My books are character driven so alot comes about through dialouge.

Marlys · Aug 6, 2015

Looks like dialogue usually appears on the second page in my stuff. I can think of one WIP, though, that has it in the first paragraph.

neandermagnon · Aug 6, 2015

The first dialogue is within the first 200 words. The first dialogue that the MC is involved in is more like 500-600 words in (didn't count, just guessed). The earlier dialogue is overheard

blacbird · Aug 6, 2015

Generally pretty quick, though seldom at the very beginning. It is heavily dependent on the individual story. But I'm not a fan of a lot of background exposition at the beginning of a story. Things need to happen, and having characters interact via dialogue is a way to get a story moving off square one.

caw

anastasiareeves · Aug 6, 2015

I like to open with dialogue but have been told not to do that.

Jack McManus · Aug 6, 2015

@ Sting:

When you say dialogue, are you limiting the term to spoken words between two or more characters? That would skew the results depending on the novel, wouldn't it? I think of dialogue in terms of both external and internal.

I suppose a book written in omniscient POV need not have any dialogue whatsoever. How many of your sample books used omni?

Corsairs · Aug 6, 2015

If we're talking spoken dialogue, that would be word 259. If we're talking internalized thought given "voice," that would be word 35.

I don't think there's any surefire right or wrong way to go with it. Some people say never to lead off with dialogue, but I think that's fine—presuming your dialogue is interesting. Every story is a snowflake, so it's difficult to cast blanket rules over them.

ElaineA · Aug 6, 2015

Mine is the 165th word. I tend to use dialogue to do a lot of the heavy-lifting in my writing. Whether that's good or bad, I don't know.

owlion · Aug 6, 2015

Mine starts after about 200 or so words, but really it's just whatever feels right for your story. For some, no dialogue is fine, whereas for others dialogue really carries the story. I don't think there's a general rule about it, so just do whatever you think is best.

chompers · Aug 6, 2015

Mine are usually within the first page or two. I don't like to lead with dialogue (I think they're harder to pull off as a hook), but I do have one story that opens with dialogue, but it was a good way to set up the story quickly. It wasn't even attributed, but it didn't need to be. Line: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust."

OceanMadness · Aug 6, 2015

689 words before my first line of dialogue. My character is wandering alone in the woods until that point, so dialogue doesn't make sense any earlier in the narrative.

I find it interesting mine seems to come late relative to others, because my work in general is very dialogue-heavy.

Calder · Aug 6, 2015

Dialogue is the "other way" of developing / revealing characters and can often be more subtle than description or narration. In the RW we get to know people mainly through what they say. The art lies in writing natural and credible dialogue. If dialogue is well written, a reader can sense the feelings and character of the person speaking from the words themselves, without having to be told by the author how the person is speaking, or what he, or she, is feeling at that moment.

andiwrite · Aug 6, 2015

Within one or two lines for both of my books. I like dialogue!

Isilya · Aug 6, 2015

Let's see...
SF WiP - 32nd word
UF WiP - 106th word
F WiP - 314th word
Short 1 - 1520th word of 5000
Short 2 - 994th word of 3200

I seem to have dialogue by the second page with the exception of my shorter works. In short stories I apparently like to start with my protagonists alone. I hadn't realized that pattern till now.

Latina Bunny · Aug 6, 2015

I write out of order so far, and I still don't know where my beginning would be at the moment, lol. :tongue

But, I tend to love dialogue, and I tend to write almost script-like in a sparse manner, so there is quite a bit of dialogue (and "actions"). My main character is an outspoken and chatty character, to the point of annoying her rivals and shocking some adults and peers with her rudeness, so she would purposely not shut up when she's around some of them...

So, yeah, pretty early on, it seems.

STING · Aug 6, 2015

BethS said:
In my WIP, the first line of dialogue comes after the 289th word.

I just finished reading The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss, and that has no dialogue in it. None. It's one character alone for the entire story. And it was riveting.

Thanks for the response. And thanks for mentioning the Rothfuss book. I have put it down on my reading list. I wonder how Bufty would react to the book.

Bufty said:
Dialogue is an integral part of life. When it appears in a novel is entirely dependent upon how the story gets under way and develops. For me - the earlier the better.

Roxxsmom · Aug 6, 2015

Your informal survey shows that there's no hard and fast rules about when dialog can start. Whatever serves the story.

In my own first novel, the first line of dialog appears at the beginning of paragraph 2. In the novel I'm working on now, the first line of dialog is at the end of paragraph 2. In the novel I've temporarily set aside, it comes in the middle of the first paragraph. But I could easily see myself writing a novel where it waits longer, if the pov character is doing something interesting on their own at first.

Looking at some fantasy novels on my reader:

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks: first line appears 3.5 pages in.
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie: 4th paragraph
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison: Second line

"The Slow Regard of Silent Things" is a short story, isn't it? So it's not really a fair example.

However, I can think of some novels with little to no dialog for long chunks of the thing. The Martian by Andy Weir. Also, The first part of the second Earth's Children book by Jean Auel. Ayla's on her own in a cave for chapter upon chapter. The author does break the narrative up by showing her future boyfriend and his brother on their journey, however, and they have a lot of chit chat.

STING · Aug 6, 2015

anastasiareeves said:
I like to open with dialogue but have been told not to do that.

Corsairs said:
... Some people say never to lead off with dialogue, but I think that's fine—presuming your dialogue is interesting.

chompers said:
Mine are usually within the first page or two. I don't like to lead with dialogue (I think they're harder to pull off as a hook)...

Yes. Leading a novel with dialogue is difficult to pull off as Nathan Bransford says it here.

smoothopr8r said:
When you say dialogue, are you limiting the term to spoken words between two or more characters? That would skew the results depending on the novel, wouldn't it? I think of dialogue in terms of both external and internal.

I suppose a book written in omniscient POV need not have any dialogue whatsoever. How many of your sample books used omni?

I meant spoken words in quotes. I didn't take the omni count. But by your logic (as I understand it), even a first person book doesn't need dialogue.

Roxxsmom · Aug 6, 2015

Providing the dialog is interesting and there's a context for it, you can have it in the first line. Many successful novels do. The reason writers are sometimes warned about it is because it's common for newbies to start with a line of naked dialog where the reader has no idea who is speaking, where they are, or why they (the reader) should care. It can feel like a cheap ploy to get the reader hooked in, one that actually has the opposite effect.

Some people think that starting a novel with unattributed dialog gets the reader's attention or is a good hook, but unless it's done well, the opposite is often the case.

How early (or late) does dialogue appear in your work?

Still figuring it out

Þæt wæs god cyning

Dipwad

Where have the last ten years gone?

Resist. Love. Go outside.

Nolite timere, consilium callidum habeo!

That weird chick everyone ignores.

smoothopr8r

Saying it twice for truth

All about that action, boss.

Absorbing inspiration from the moon

Rogues, thieves, and knaves abound

Lover of Contemporary/Fantasy Romance (she/her)

Still figuring it out

Beastly Fido

Still figuring it out

Beastly Fido