--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is the trick for writing dialogue?…" description: "\"“ What is the trick for writing dialogue? That you are not running a wiretap for the FBI. I used to have a boyfriend who was an assistant District Atto..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ann-patchett-670_advice_what-is-the-trick-for-writing-dialogue-t_2874835.jpg" --- # What is the trick for writing dialogue? That you are not… ![“What is the trick for writing dialogue? That you are not running a wiretap for the FBI. I used to have a boyfriend who was an assistant District Attorney in narcotics in New York and he used to have to read wiretaps. And he would bring them home, three feet high, two women who were watching…” quote by Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ann-patchett-670_advice_what-is-the-trick-for-writing-dialogue-t_2874835.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ann-patchett-670_advice_what-is-the-trick-for-writing-dialogue-t_2874835.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/50c/ann-patchett-670_advice_what-is-the-trick-for-writing-dialogue-t_2874835.jpg) > ““ What is the trick for writing dialogue? That you are not running a wiretap for the FBI. I used to have a boyfriend who was an assistant District Attorney in narcotics in New York and he used to have to read wiretaps. And he would bring them home, three feet high, two women who were watching television in their separate apartments, saying, “I need Pampers! Do you have Pampers? Did you see what he just did on that show?” Four thousand pages. They were girlfriends of suspects and it was a real cautionary tale in how you don’t want people to go on and on. And dialogue is nothing at all like how people talk. Dialogue, hopefully, if you’re doing it well, is a couple of well-chosen kernels that stand in for conversation, that represent conversation. Conversation is very boring. Even interesting conversations.”” [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Effective dialogue should be concise, focusing on essential ideas rather than mimicking real conversation, which can be tedious. **In simple terms:** Write concise, purposeful dialogue. Key Takeaway Choose key ideas, avoid endless chatter. Themes writing dialogue craft communication clarity Mood thoughtful instructional analytical Type educational practical creative When to use this quote - screenwriting - novel writing - podcast scripts - interviews - teaching Key Concepts Narrative technique conciseness authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you decide what to cut? - What makes dialogue feel alive? A Different Perspective Real speech is often messy; dialogue must serve story. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Conversations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conversations/) [Interview](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interview/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) [Writing dialogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-dialogue/) ## Related quotes > [“But the talk of dialogue involves the work of knowing, acknowledging the other, of shaping speech toward him, for her. It is neither done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-wangerin-jr/but-the-talk-of-dialogue-involves-the-work-of-knowing-acknowledging/) [Walter Wangerin Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-wangerin-jr/) > [It's not enough simply to record the way people actually talk. The dialogue must be concentrated, shaped, dramatically moving, in a way that real-life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-gerard/it-s-not-enough-simply-to-record-the-way-people-actually-talk-the/) [Philip Gerard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-gerard/) > [Write a smart joke and people want to talk about it and keep the dialogue going. Also, if you can make someone laugh, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizz-winstead/write-a-smart-joke-and-people-want-to-talk-about-it-and-keep-the/) [Lizz Winstead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizz-winstead/) > [At some point you do not need to talk to have a conversation. The conversation exists whether you have it or not. It continues…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bachelder/at-some-point-you-do-not-need-to-talk-to-have-a-conversation-the/) Chris Bachelder > [If I'm saying something with an intelligent background, then at least it is creating conversation. Whether that conversation is people agreeing or disagreeing, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-mendoza/if-i-m-saying-something-with-an-intelligent-background-then-at-least/) [Jessica Mendoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-mendoza/) > [“Dialogue is not conversation. It is conversation's greatest hits.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-bloom/dialogue-is-not-conversation-it-is-conversation-s-greatest-hits/) [Amy Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-bloom/) > [A political conversation is a conversation in which people with different views come to agreements about how they're going to inhabit this society together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/a-political-conversation-is-a-conversation-in-which-people-with/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [“Oh, right. Of course. Well hey, if you happen to run into a vagina, ask it to invite you in for a little conversation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brittainy-c-cherry/oh-right-of-course-well-hey-if-you-happen-to-run-into-a-vagina-ask-it/) [Brittainy C. Cherry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brittainy-c-cherry/) > [“This divergence of experience was not a stumbling block to conversation; indeed, it was what made the conversation interesting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-david-lukas/this-divergence-of-experience-was-not-a-stumbling-block-to/) [Michael David Lukas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-david-lukas/) > [Some people are monogamous from the get-go while other date as many people as possible until you have "that conversation." Have the conversation at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/some-people-are-monogamous-from-the-get-go-while-other-date-as-many/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) > [One of the best things I get to do is meet people that have been to the shows and listened to the music. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/one-of-the-best-things-i-get-to-do-is-meet-people-that-have-been-to/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [If there's anything I'm keen to get better at in my writing, then it's the writing of prose as opposed to the writing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/if-there-s-anything-i-m-keen-to-get-better-at-in-my-writing-then-it-s/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [There's a point I can get to where I start writing character and then through the dialogue, after all of this preparation, the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-kaufman/there-s-a-point-i-can-get-to-where-i-start-writing-character-and-then/) [Charlie Kaufman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-kaufman/) > [For all forms, writing dialogue is almost like writing music. I pay close attention to rhythms and tones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sefi-atta/for-all-forms-writing-dialogue-is-almost-like-writing-music-i-pay/) [Sefi Atta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sefi-atta/) > [Readers take in dialogue one thought at a time. A frequent mistake of beginners is to combine thoughts, which may be suitable for other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sol-stein/readers-take-in-dialogue-one-thought-at-a-time-a-frequent-mistake-of/) [Sol Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sol-stein/) ## More by Ann Patchett > [She sang as if she was saving the life of every person in the room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-sang-as-if-she-was-saving-the-life-of-every-person-in-the-room/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I had problems, I kept them to myself. I didn't make a scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-had-problems-i-kept-them-to-myself-i-didn-t-make-a-scene/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [I can't write the book I want to write, but I can and will write the book I am capable of writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-can-t-write-the-book-i-want-to-write-but-i-can-and-will-write-the/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Without worry to protect me, every thought that came into my mind received real attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/without-worry-to-protect-me-every-thought-that-came-into-my-mind/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I wrote the last sentence of The Patron Saint of Liars in early April and stumbled out of my apartment and into the beautiful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-wrote-the-last-sentence-of-the-patron-saint-of-liars-in-early-april/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“In the future, he will try to say her name enough, but he never can.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/in-the-future-he-will-try-to-say-her-name-enough-but-he-never-can/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [My novels are very much the same, as I think many people's novels are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/my-novels-are-very-much-the-same-as-i-think-many-people-s-novels-are/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“He was in love, and never had he felt such kindness towards another person.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/he-was-in-love-and-never-had-he-felt-such-kindness-towards-another/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Gen was sleeping the sleep of the heavily drugged.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/gen-was-sleeping-the-sleep-of-the-heavily-drugged/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [If I was a waitress, I was too tired at the end of the day when I came home to try to write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/if-i-was-a-waitress-i-was-too-tired-at-the-end-of-the-day-when-i-came/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“She didn't know how to hate her mother yet, but every time she left her father crying in the airport she came that much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/she-didn-t-know-how-to-hate-her-mother-yet-but-every-time-she-left/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“When you think of love you think as an American. You must think like a Russian. It is a more expansive view.' 'Americans havea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/when-you-think-of-love-you-think-as-an-american-you-must-think-like-a/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“...Nebraska was white, a page as still as fallen snow. It was not crosshatched with roads, overrun with the hard lines of interstate systems.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/nebraska-was-white-a-page-as-still-as-fallen-snow-it-was-not/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“Clearly he needed a father, but some other father, any other father, would have been preferable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/clearly-he-needed-a-father-but-some-other-father-any-other-father/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) > [“I don't have any talent for vacations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-patchett/i-don-t-have-any-talent-for-vacations/) [Ann Patchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) [Explore all 413 Ann Patchett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-patchett/) ## More Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) Mak\_786 > [I ask for tips, for advice. 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And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. 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And he would bring them home, three feet high, two women who were watching television in their separate apartments, saying, “I need Pampers! Do you have Pampers? Did you see what he just did on that show?” Four thousand pages. They were girlfriends of suspects and it was a real cautionary tale in how you don’t want people to go on and on. And dialogue is nothing at all like how people talk. Dialogue, hopefully, if you’re doing it well, is a couple of well-chosen kernels that stand in for conversation, that represent conversation. Conversation is very boring. 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