Ask Jerry
How to Create Strong Dialogue
Asked by Richard Greene on May 12, 2020
I'm a new Guild member. So many historical figures, including missionaries from the past, wrote journals. If that's the only primary resource available into their lives, how can you build compelling dialogue from only that? How much license do you have to create biographical story lines when research is so limited? Thanks!
Richard Greene
Boone, NC
May 12, 2020
Jerry's Answer
I believe you're allowed considerable license, Richard, as long as you stay true to what you do know about the character. I should think a first person journal would reveal a lot about how the person might converse. Readers know intuitively that you're trying to imagine the dialogue.