Oblique Dialogue

Writing dialogue can be a lot of fun but it can also be tricky. Dialogue is not the same as conversation. It is not question/answer format.

Dialogue should lead to questions. It should entice the reader to turn the page. It should move the plot forward.

I've never heard dialogue called oblique before chapter eleven in Stein on Writing. According to Stein, this type of dialogue is indirect.

His example of oblique dialogue:

SHE: Hi, how are you?
HE: Oh, I didn't see you.

The man doesn't answer the question. He circles around it and says something else. That's oblique.

Have you ever heard of oblique dialogue? Or maybe you've heard it called indirect? For an exercise, here's some dialogue. Can you turn it into something oblique?

HE: Heard you had a party last night.
SHE: Yep.

Comments

Tamika: said…
This was my first book on craft! Love it. The examples infused in each chapter really help the information stick.
November 23, 2009 at 6:22 AM
Eileen Astels Watson said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
November 23, 2009 at 6:24 AM
Eileen Astels Watson said…
I read this too. So, yes, I do try and incorporate it.

I meant to add to that:
She: Not going there today.

That I took oblique as anything that doesn't end the topic short really, something that drives on further conversation, whether it be a new topic or a different spin to take. Still, maybe this doesn't work.
November 23, 2009 at 6:26 AM
Larie Carlice Proverbs 27:19 said…
Had never heard of it before, but the concept makes great sense!

She: What have you gotten yourself into lately?

smooches,
Larie
November 23, 2009 at 6:44 AM
Jessica Nelson said…
Tamika, I agree. I love that he lists examples from various works so I can really see what he means.

Hey Eileen, love your sentence! LOL I can just here the attitude. He's digging for info and she cuts him offe. Heh. Nice example!

Hi Larie! So she turned it around on him. LOL Great way to change it up.
November 23, 2009 at 6:47 AM
Jennifer Shirk said…
Oooh, I never read this book. Sounds good because I LOVE LOVE LOVE to write dialogue. :)

How about...

HE: Heard you had a party last night.
SHE: Oh? And what else did you hear?
November 23, 2009 at 6:50 AM
Sherrinda Ketchersid said…
I've never heard of this before! Do you think it is more avoidance or more of the digging deeper?

She: Oh, excuse me a moment. My bum is vibrating and I probably should see who's calling.

lol...how's that for avoidance?

She: I heard you had your own party with a certain red head.

So is that continuing the story a bit further?

Very interesting today, Jessica!
November 23, 2009 at 6:54 AM
Jessica Nelson said…
Hahaa! I love both your examples. Too funny! I think in a sense this kind of writing could be avoidance. Kind of a circular thing. I'm not sure. I just thought it was pretty smart.
Thanks for playing, Sherrinda!
November 23, 2009 at 7:01 AM
Jody Hedlund said…
I haven't heard it called oblique--thanks for sharing that! I think I use this technique from time to time in interactions between my hero and heroine.
November 23, 2009 at 7:45 AM
Linda Kage said…
Hey, I've heard something like this before...about never directly answering a question, or even answering a question with another question when writing dialogue. I had no idea it was called oblique though. Thank you for sharing.

Learn something new every day!
November 23, 2009 at 9:04 AM
Unknown said…
Awesome post!

HE: Heard you had a party last night.
SHE: Oh I'm sorry. Did I forget to invite you?
November 23, 2009 at 9:15 AM
Arlee Bird said…
HE: Heard you had a party last night.
SHE: I guess I'm going to go see "Twilight" next week end.
November 23, 2009 at 10:18 AM
Jessie Oliveros said…
I've used this type of dialogue in my writing. Is Stein saying it is a good thing or a bad thing...or a good thing in moderation?
November 23, 2009 at 10:22 AM
Sarah Forgrave said…
I've never heard this term, but Stein on Writing is on my bookshelf in the to-be-read pile.

The term oblique makes me think more of muscles instead of dialogue. :-) In fact, that leads to a good response to your exercise.

SHE: I'm going to lift weights tomorrow. Wanna join me?
November 23, 2009 at 10:45 AM
Angie Muresan said…
Thanks for this, I haven't heard of it either. But I like it. Aren't most conversations in life oblique?

She: I should introduce you to my new boyfriend.

OR

She: Oh there he is. Gotta go.
November 23, 2009 at 10:55 AM
Erica Vetsch said…
Dialogue is something I'm working on. I don't feel as if it is a real strength of mine. Incoporating more oblique dialogue would sure spice it up.

Thanks, girl!
November 23, 2009 at 11:04 AM
Tana said…
My characters never cease to amaze me in their differing styles of speech. I really let them take the reins =)
November 23, 2009 at 11:35 AM
Patti said…
Never heard of the book, sounds like one I need to add to my ever growing collection.
November 23, 2009 at 11:41 AM
Nancy said…
How about - she: "Your ears must be very good."

I love to do dialogue. I always thought I should have tried plays. There's lots to say there.
November 23, 2009 at 12:08 PM
Kathy said…
How about:

She: Have you done something different with your hair?
November 23, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Jessica Nelson said…
You guys are awesome! I had some family stuff come up so I might miss some of your posts. Will try to catch up later! Thank you for your comments, and for playing along! :-)
November 23, 2009 at 1:08 PM
Janna Leadbetter said…
What surprises me about stuff, even when I'm familiar with its existence, is that it all has specific terms! And I've learned so many terms from you. :) Thanks, Jessica.
November 23, 2009 at 2:55 PM
Kristen Torres-Toro said…
Oblique dialogue is a lot of fun! I don't do it as much as I'd like to, but I do enjoy it.

He: your cat is blue.


Not really--I just wanted to write that! Ha!
November 23, 2009 at 3:22 PM
Mary E Campbell said…
Dialogue is not my strength - I appreciate any advice I can get.
November 23, 2009 at 4:54 PM
Deb Shucka said…
The term is new to me, but not the conversational technique. It's fun reading all the new dialogue here. :-)
November 23, 2009 at 5:28 PM
anita said…
I need to read this book!! I've heard it called indirect, but I LOVE the word oblique. :-)

Okay, so here's my attempt at making your example oblique...

HE: Heard you had a party last night.
SHE: Did you know you have spinach in your teeth?

Snort! Fun post, Jessie. ;-P
November 23, 2009 at 6:16 PM
Tabitha Bird said…
HE: heard you had a party last night.
SHE: depends what you mean by party...

fun post :)
November 23, 2009 at 6:51 PM
Susan J. Reinhardt said…
Hi Jess -

While I recognize the dialogue, I didn't know what it was called. Thanks for teaching me a new term.

HE: heard you had a party last night.

SHE: So, how's your job going?

Did I get the idea?

Blessings,
Susan :)
November 23, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Kara said…
In my world it's called "lawyer talk" never answer a direct question or answer a question with a question, lol.
Love the exercise:
She said: Really? I tend to not believe everything I hear, how about you?
November 23, 2009 at 8:32 PM
Katie Ganshert said…
Yes, I've heard of this. It's a great way to make our writing less predictable.

Good stuff!
November 23, 2009 at 9:17 PM
colbymarshall said…
Never heard of this before- thanks for the example! Like your blog layout, btw!
November 23, 2009 at 11:29 PM
Debra E. Marvin said…
He: Heard you had a party last night.
She: Heard you and Jessica broke up.
November 24, 2009 at 8:00 AM
Jeanette Levellie said…
Jessie: I'd never heard of this before, but I and my hus do it ALL the time.

Me: Heard you had a party last night.
He: I let the cat in, so you didn't have to. Or...

Me: What time do we need to leave Thursday?
He: Hmm, I need to put gas in the car and check the air in the tires...
November 24, 2009 at 9:09 AM
Terri Tiffany said…
I'm like Janna-- I know that it is done but never heard a term for it!
November 24, 2009 at 9:41 AM
Jessica Nelson said…
LOL Jeanette! I think that's just tuning eachother out. *snickering*

Very funny Debra!! Heh.

Thanks Colby. :-)
November 24, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Kathryn Magendie said…
I used to be terrified of dialogue, and now people say that's one of my strong points. Practice practice - but mainly, I cut cut cut cut dialogue - I try to make it as short and snappy as possible, and if it is a bit longer, I break it up...

:-)
November 24, 2009 at 2:02 PM
kah said…
SHE: "Since when did you start shaving your head?"

I dunno. I've been writing all day. That was my best stab at it. lol.
November 24, 2009 at 4:11 PM
Patti Lacy said…
Great comments. Seems like obliquity creeps in when I delete huge chunks and still hang on to those "cutisms" that I should've cut in the first place.

Great blog!

Patti Lacy
www.pattilacy.com/blog
November 24, 2009 at 5:11 PM
Karen Hossink said…
Now I know what to call it! Thank you Jessica - for giving me a name for many of my interactions with my son. The ones where I ask where he's going, what he and his friends are going to do, if he has homework, what he learned in school that day...Yeah, those episodes in which he circles around my question and says something else.
All this time we've been having oblique dialog, and I didn't even know it.
You're brilliant! *grin*
November 24, 2009 at 8:06 PM
Jessica Nelson said…
LOL Karen!!! YOu're too funny. :-)

Thank you for stopping by, Patti!

Good for you, Karen. I need to be writing...
November 25, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Jessica Nelson said…
Kathryn, I agree. Short and snappy is great. Sometimes there's a place for longer dialogue...but mostly I try to break mine up too. :-)
November 25, 2009 at 12:17 PM
Pen Pen said…
Whoa! I haven't heard of that either! ...maybe I should read the Stein book! Those books on writing are probably some of the most helpful things I read in my life! :)

Okay-I'm gonna try to make it oblique! Don't fail me if...fail. :)

HE: Heard you had a party last night.
SHE: You talked to Micah, didn't you?
November 30, 2009 at 4:27 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We All Got to Learn to Do It Sometime

*grossness alert* We all have to learn to deal with doo-doo eventually. Consider me a newbie mom, but it never occurred to me that my son should be wiping himself until about a month before kindergarten. And then the flashbulb went on and I scrambled to teach him. One problem. He didn't want to. He's fastidious and doesn't like to make mistakes, so the thought of taking care of this daily chore literally reduced him to screaming and crying on the toilet. Basically, he didn't trust himself. He was afraid. Scared to get his hands dirty. Afraid he'd miss something. This is probably weird, but it made me think of us as writers. There comes a point where we have to "grow up" and trust ourselves. We can't always rely on a crit group, agent, or editor to wipe up our mess. I think this should be a part of maturation for every writer, that we can look at our work and be confident in our ability to clean it up. Not saying we'll make it perfect or that we won...
Read more

Work First, Play Later

I'm back! I had a wonderful time with my family. Thank you all for asking. :-) In 2009 my schedule evolved into a blog first/write later kind of thing. It happened that way because my husband began using the computer in the afternoons and evenings for his project, but now that I have a router, my schedule's changing. It's time to work first, play later. That means I do my chores/errands in the morning, write at naptime, and visit your wonderful blogs in the afternoons and evenings. So if I don't show up in the morning, don't be alarmed (if you even notice, lol). I'm just changing things up. I'm too exhausted in the evening to write, that's why. During the day I have way more energy to write but at night there's a fifty percent chance I won't do it because I'm so tired. When's the best time for you to write? I also need to shout out my awesome crit partner, Linda Glaz! Some of you may have met her at ACFW. She's a wonderful, faithful, ...
Read more

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Oh Vanity of vanities.... In preparation for the conference I'm going to put my body through some painful things. Eyebrow pluckings, teeth whitening and mustache removal. Anyone else interested in adding to my confession of vanity? Have you ever gone through a painful experience in order to look good? What's the craziest thing you've ever done to yourself?
Read more