Bringing Voices to Life: Writing Dialogue in Memoir and Family History

Growing up, one of my favourite stationery tools was multi-coloured pens. I loved writing in different colours, but as a child, I would try pushing every coloured tab down at the same time. I could never manage to write in four colours at once, despite my best efforts.

When it comes to writing a book, it’s also impossible for authors to use multiple literary techniques at an exact moment in a passage. This is why having multiple techniques at one’s disposal, or colours in one’s pen, is crucial to injecting variety in a manuscript to capture a reader’s attention. One such approach is dialogue, which can help spotlight a conversation and learn more about those involved.

What is Dialogue?

Dialogue refers to the language that gets attributed to a character as a way of developing that character’s relationships or moving the story forward.

In life story writing, it can be difficult to remember the exact words spoken in an interaction, which is why it’s important for the sentiment or objective of a speaker’s dialogue to come through. Of course, it’s ethically responsible for authors to ensure the dialogue is an appropriate reflection of the encounter that took place. That said, the ultimate goal of using dialogue is to express the author’s (or another character’s) experiences in a way that will help readers see the world through their eyes.

Thankfully, we can use dialogue in a few different ways to help achieve that goal.

Dialogue in Memoirs

Readers are captivated by memoirs because they want to learn about the circumstances that have informed an author’s perspectives and beliefs. Dialogue helps us experience those events in “real time,” just as the author would have encountered the scenario.

For example, let’s look at a passage from Hymers Wilson’s book Shadow Companion, a memoir exploring his experiences with racism:

One day when I was no more than about six years old, my dad, mum, my sister Paula, and I were about to board a red London Transport double decker bus… The conductor looked at me and said cheerily, “Hello, sunshine.” Quick as a flash, my father retorted, “His name is Hymers, not sunshine.”

Through this dialogue, readers can better understand the significance of this event in Hymers’ life by seeing the value his father placed on his son’s name.

Dialogue can also contrast direct with indirect phrasing, where one speaker uses quotation marks and another speaker’s dialogue is summarized for readers without specific quotes. For an example of this, we can turn to Victoria Harrison’s memoir, Let’s Do It:

A couple of months later, while visiting my daughter Christina in Ralf’s grocery store, in Vallejo, California, she turned to me and said, “Did you know that you drag your left foot when you walk?” I abruptly told her that I would talk about it when we got back to her place.

Victoria’s broad response suggests that she was simply trying to get out a vague answer that would suffice in the moment, which further allows Christina’s voice to ring in our ears while sympathizing with Victoria’s reaction.

Dialogue in Family History

Many readers turn to family history books for a compelling lineage of individuals and families who built an enduring legacy. The specific “characters,” as well as the relationship between them, help us further appreciate the author’s background that led to their present circumstances.

As a final example, let’s look at Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Nancy Penrose, which explores the history of her maternal Brown family as they were on board a vessel crossing the Atlantic Ocean from Scotland to Canada:

Often, the Browns only managed to get one meal prepared in a day; they had to spend too much time waiting in line while they braced their feet when the ship rolled and heaved. An inspector on the ship was noted as saying, “If the steerage passengers act like cattle at meals, it is undoubtedly because they are treated as such.”

Having a third party comment on the horrid conditions of the vessel further validates the Browns’ experiences and speaks to their grit and resilience.

At NextGen, our team of insightful, skilled editors can help authors refine their dialogue and writing style to effectively tell their story. Connect with a NextGen professional today to see what editing combination will help give your story the best boost possible.