How to Convey Subtext in Dialogue - Part 2
"I think you've mistaken me for someone else. I'm not that man." Subtext is the art of saying the unsaid and thinking the unthinkable. There are several techniques that authors use to convey this. Among others: 1. Secret dialogue. 2. Actions speak louder than words. 3. Catch phrase or repetition. In this post, I'll discuss the first, possibly most common technique, secret dialogue. Secret Dialogue In the Fever series , by Karen Marie Moning , feisty heroine Mac and sexy antihero Jericho Barrons have to work together to defeat the Unseelie before they take over the world, starting with Dublin. Unfortunately, they don't trust each other--and they don't communicate very well. At least not openly. They have whole "non-conversations" however, through silent understandings, exchanged through glances and conveyed to the reader through italics. This one is from Faefever , the third book: We looked at each other and for a moment those ...