Tried writing a scene with no dialogue vs all dialogue, the all dialogue one flopped hard

I wrote two versions of a tense argument scene, one had like 70% talking and the other was mostly description and body language. The no-dialogue version got way better feedback from my writing group, they said the quiet pauses did more work than any of the yelling. Anyone else find that cutting talk makes scenes hit harder?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinnbailey10d ago

My last draft cut 40% of the dialogue and suddenly people actually felt the tension.

janaw1110d ago

@quinnbailey cutting 40% sounds excessive, are your scenes really that talky?

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