Diagnose the Exchange Before Counting Lines
A page-long conversation can contain rich testing and change. A few lines can still repeat facts readers know. Mark the purpose of each exchange: seeking something, confirming something, withholding something, or expressing closeness, discomfort or farewell.
Oh Story’s references consider dialogue’s contribution to plot, character and tension, while allowing atmosphere and interaction. With author style priorities applied, these are diagnostic directions, not a requirement that every line reverse the situation. Routine answers, ritual repetition and comic returns may be the intended effect.
This guide addresses the density of conversational content. For attribution, see dialogue tags; for communicating unstated intentions, see subtext.
Separate Repeated Confirmation From Key Responses
| Observation | Revision direction |
|---|---|
| Both speakers recap history they both know | Keep what changes the current choice; cut or summarize the rest |
| The same request repeats without a changing answer | Compress, unless pressure or a deliberate refrain is the effect |
| The decision becomes “they sorted it out” | Restore the existing key offer and response without inventing conditions |
| Many lines leave possession unclear | Keep the actual handoff; distinguish promise from completion |
| Every line gains a tiny physical action | Cut filler and use necessary narration to sustain the exchange |
Compression can turn “I’m willing to lend it” into “the loan is complete,” or “I’ll return it” into “it was returned.” Check decisions and actions separately. Summary should preserve cause and effect.
Original Comparison: Borrowing a Guitar for Rehearsal
Du Lin needs a guitar for rehearsal; Xu Hang has not yet agreed to lend his. The original passage reads:
“I’m rehearsing tomorrow. Could I borrow your guitar?” Du Lin asked.
“You have rehearsal tomorrow?”
“Yes. I need a guitar tomorrow.”
“So you want mine?”
“Yes. I’ll return it before Friday.”
“I need it on Friday.”
“Would Thursday evening work?”
“Yes.” Xu Hang took the guitar case from the cupboard and handed it over. Du Lin accepted it and slung it over her shoulder.
Two exchanges only restate the request. Friday’s need, changing the return to Thursday and the handoff affect the arrangement.
Compressed version
Du Lin asked to borrow the guitar for tomorrow’s rehearsal and promised it back before Friday. Xu Hang shook his head. “I need it on Friday.”
“Thursday evening, then.”
“Yes.” He brought the case from the cupboard and handed it over. She accepted it and slung it over her shoulder.
The request is summarized, while renegotiation, acceptance and actual possession remain. Thursday’s return is a promise, not a completed event. These examples are original. Repeated questions serving hearing difficulties or deliberate obstruction would require a different judgment.
One Pass: Does the Exchange Still Work?
Keep the original, mark intentional repetition, then identify request, response, change and handoff. Revise this exchange only and reread its joins for speakers, time and possession. In a group scene, fewer tags should not make attribution uncertain.
Revise conversational density in [passage]. Identify repeated content first. Compress only functionless repetition and summarizable process. Preserve [responses, conditions, promises and handoffs]. Use [book style] without adding conflict, actions or knowledge sources. Return the revision and protected facts; flag uncertain repetition for my decision.
This is a manual revision brief. Canceling the loan or changing its return date is a factual revision requiring scope and downstream checks. Fewer dialogue lines alone do not establish success.
FAQ
What percentage of a novel should be dialogue?
This method sets no universal percentage. Judge by style, scene purpose and readability. A pivotal conversation may be long; a short one repeating known facts may still need cutting.
Do it with the skill
Use /story-long-write, or $story-long-write in Codex, for local revision of the named exchange. Supply its purpose and protected facts; preserve other paragraphs and apply dialogue defaults under the book’s style. Choose the compression direction after diagnosis.
Read the method: Dialogue, rhythm and atmosphere · Author style and factual boundaries · Local revision and joins