Wednesday Lumen: The Pressure Beneath Words
Key techniques to practice
1. Compression: keep dialogue sharp, economical, and loaded with implication rather than explanation.
2. Subtext: allow meaning to surface indirectly through silence, contradiction, and what characters avoid saying.
3. Escalation: structure the conversation so tension rises, either through subtle shifts or direct confrontation.
Writing prompt (500 words)
Write a scene set in a confined space where two characters must interact. One wants something the other resists giving. The scene must unfold entirely through dialogue with minimal stage direction. Both characters should reveal more about themselves through how they phrase things, what they omit, and how they react to the other’s evasions. The conversation should begin with civility or restraint, move toward sharper exchanges, and end with one character either conceding something reluctantly or leaving the matter unresolved but heightened. Keep each line brief and purposeful.
Evaluation criteria
Successful responses use taut, efficient dialogue that avoids exposition dumps or speeches. Characters’ personalities, power dynamics, and emotional stakes are conveyed through rhythm, diction, interruptions, and silence rather than direct description. Conflict escalates rather than circling without movement. A weak response would lean on filler dialogue (“How are you?” “I’m fine”), use excessive tags and stage directions, or explain emotions instead of letting them surface in speech. A strong response might show a character revealing insecurity through clipped, defensive lines, while another presses with calm, cutting persistence.
Follow-up questions for workshop/revision
Where does the dialogue sag into repetition without raising the stakes?
Which lines state emotions or facts too baldly rather than letting readers infer them?
How does the pacing of exchanges sharpen or blunt the conflict?
What does each character want, and is that desire consistently driving their words?
Recommended reading
Raymond Chandler’s novel The Big Sleep includes tightly wound exchanges between characters where every line carries tension, double meaning, and escalation. Chandler demonstrates how dialogue alone can shape character and push conflict forward.
AI Disclosure Statement:
This writing prompt was created in collaboration with ChatGPT, an AI model by OpenAI, to support creative practice. ChatGPT assisted with idea generation and drafting; the final text was edited by the author. The illustration was created using Google Gemini.
Leave a comment