Comments on: Don’t Just Sit There. Do Something with Dialogue Beats!

By: Carol Baldwin

Carol Baldwin — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 23:32:40 +0000

great post. Thanks, Michelle.

By: Jenny Hansen

Jenny Hansen — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 13:04:51 +0000

Michelle! Thank you for posting with us here at WITS. I really love how actionable this post is. I'm already itching to open (and buff up) three different scenes.

By: Julia

Julia — Tue, 29 Sep 2026 03:27:28 +0000

This is so helpful, and the comments are, too. Thanks, Michelle, thanks all.
ps I have my pov character (in conversation) doing stuff from watching autumn leaves fall and drawing in the dirt with the toe of his sneaker, to grabbing a first aid kit in the middle of a meal, to consulting a map by torchlight on a deserted road. But I will go through every conversation again, after this post.

By: Michelle Barker

Michelle Barker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 21:03:43 +0000

In reply to Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt. Yes, beats are an excellent pacing tool, as well as allowing us to dispense with dialogue tags. I love interior beats; I also love using beats to make the setting dynamic—the soup on the stove that gets ignored until something is burning.

By: Michelle Barker

Michelle Barker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:59:28 +0000

In reply to Tinthia Clemant. Ha, I once had a character who responded to nearly everything with an upset stomach. At some point my editor flagged it and I was shocked when I went back and looked at how often I'd done it.

By: Michelle Barker

Michelle Barker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:58:05 +0000

In reply to Matthew. [sigh] There is a lot of sighing in my novels too.

By: Michelle Barker

Michelle Barker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:57:13 +0000

In reply to Debbie Vilardi. Oh, same. I have a list of them, and I have to go through my manuscript numerous times to get rid of them. Invariably I do some revision and... add more that I then have to replace. LOL

By: Michelle Barker

Michelle Barker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:56:15 +0000

In reply to Anna Chapman. Great to give your characters something to do. You can even push on HOW they do it. I love that one of them takes the last pastry (and I bet doesn't ask first!). Is one of them sloppy? Does one of them slurp or nervously wipe at their mouth? Meals are a great opportunity for characterization.

By: Michelle Barker

Michelle Barker — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 20:53:36 +0000

In reply to Maryann Miller. Excellent! I love the cat. Mine sits on my lap and rests her head on my arm. She's a great source of non-generic beats—and also makes typing difficult :-)

By: Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt

Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt — Mon, 28 Sep 2026 18:41:13 +0000

How do you handle dialogue beats? What do you use beats for in your stories?
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Couldn't live without them! In addition to all the information you can convey, character, plot, theme, these beats give you a lovely way to control the pace something reads at.

You can also choose the words themselves - a long or short synonym can make a sentence slower or faster.

I like to do such things as handle long dialogue exchanges by alternating between the pov character (who gets interior monologue beats), and the other party to the exchange, who doesn't. It helps the reader know who is talking without using direct attributions such as 'Andrew said.'