Using Dialogue in Microfiction

Over the past few years, I have written well over 2,000 microfiction stories, most of them drabbles (100-word stories) and dribbles (50-word stories).

- RAN WALKER

I have learned when it comes to writing fiction this short, important decisions have to be made regarding how you use dialogue—or even if you should use it at all. My experiences have helped me to develop three different approaches when it comes to writing dialogue for microfiction stories: 1) don’t use it at all, 2) use it sparingly, and 3) use it extensively. There are arguments to be made for each of these, so I have shared some stories below that explore each of these options.

NO DIALOGUE

Love on a Plate

She delighted in cooking for him. This was how she expressed her love. She regularly served him fine meals she‘d discovered online and cooked to perfection. She even sought out more exotic meats, feeling the more difficult it was to secure an ingredient, the more she loved him.

He ate each meal, oftentimes complaining about a lack of seasoning or a texture that simply felt “gross” in his mouth. He didn’t see these meals as anything special, definitely not acts of love.