Academy · Dialogue
How do I balance dialogue with action and interiority?
How do I keep dialogue scenes from turning into talking heads?
Beginner
Talking heads happen when you forget the scene has a place. Give the speakers something to do (washing dishes, walking a trail, packing a suitcase) and the dialogue gets a body. The action does not have to relate to the conversation; it just has to be specific and on the page. Then mix in short bursts of interiority (a thought the POV character does not say) so the reader stays anchored to one viewpoint. A useful rule of thumb: roughly half the scene is dialogue lines, a quarter is beat or action, a quarter is interiority. Sliding from that mix is fine; ignoring two of the three is what creates the talking-heads problem.
Standard
The three currencies of a scene (dialogue, action, interiority) work as a tradeoff. Heavy dialogue keeps the scene fast and external; heavy interiority keeps it slow and inward; heavy action keeps it kinetic but mute. Most working scenes blend all three with one dominant. Notice which currency you default to and consciously bring the other two up when you draft. Pendraic's scene-mode-mix sliders let you set the target ratio per scene so the drafter aims for the mix you want instead of defaulting to talking heads.
What to try
- Open scene mode mix in the project edit dialog
- Set a target dialogue percentage and let the drafter aim for it