Terminal Conversations

Writing is very much about paths and connections. Point A leads to Point B and so on to the end. In conversations, one statement leads to a question which has another statement, and so on down the line. This is not a bad thing on its own, but eventually, all conversations have to end, and sometimes sooner is better than later.

Suppose a man walks into a courtroom and the bailiff asks him to remove his hat. Now, the man could tell the bailiff that he's sorry and that he didn't realize he had to take his hat off, then ask if it was a rule or a custom and how it came about. He could do all of those things, or he could just say ok and take his hat off.

The deciding factor is the importance of the story. Is the story about the man walking into court or is it about the trial that goes on there? A story about a person can usually benefit from dialogue that exemplifies the character's thoughts and mannerisms. A story that cares more about a whole scene or an action doesn't need to see the mundane details of a given character as much as it needs to show the whole scene.

There is always more that can be said. Every statement can have a question asked about it, which then demands another statement, or it can be followed by another statement, which also can make for an endless back and forth. As an author, you should be able to know which conversations should be expanded and which should be cut short. As a hint, the key is whether or not a conversation is useful. Usefulness can be tricky because it is such a broad term, but if a conversation can be considered useful, it should probably be kept. If it is necessary, then it must be kept.