“I’m reading a book,” I said.

Kels looked up from her phone. “Any good?”

“Yeh,” I said. “It’s called French Exit.”

“I’d like it?”

“Yeh,” I said. “Satire.”

“Nice.”

“And it takes place in Paris…”

“Ooh la la,” said my wife. “We love Paris.”

“Oui.”

Later that day, I listened to a podcast about French Exit.

The author, Patrick DeWitt, was being interviewed by a literary critic in front of a small, live audience in Paris. Before the interview, DeWitt read the first few pages of the book. 

The audience clapped when he finished.

“Thanks,” he said.

The critic cleared his throat:

“I had this feeling listening to you…” he said. “It’s rare to begin reading a novel and meet two characters that seem so entirely fully formed.”

“Mm,” DeWitt agreed.

“There’s such a richness to their dialogues,” said the critic, “and even though we don’t get any particular physical description of them — we don’t even get to hear their internal monologue at this point — there’s something so clear and distinct… and we feel, as readers, as though we know them.”

The author cleared his throat. “I’m glad that was your experience...” he said. “Dialogue is how we get to know people, so I find it’s a good way to get to know fictitious characters, as well — just the way they speak and what they do and do not say.”

Dialogue is an efficient character-development tool.

And this, in turn, makes it a valuable copywriting tool… 

Because ads so often use characters to tell stories. Stories that remind The Reader of her problems, or her wants.

But to be effective, The Reader must quickly see herself in these characters. And so, copywriters must make their characters instantly recognizable and understood, instantly relatable.

And one of the best ways to do this is through pithy dialogue. 

For example, below is one of the most efficient examples of dialogue ever used in advertising (a Coldene print spot by the Papert Koenig Lois agency (circa January, 1960):

P.S.

Every copywriter should read and study good dialogue…

Below are 8 literary authors who’ve influenced my dialogue style: 

• Raymond Carver

• Ernest Hemingway

• Charles Bukowski

• Kurt Vonnegut

• Joan Didion

• Roald Dahl

• Patrick DeWitt

• Hunter S. Thompson

Maybe their writing will influence you, too?

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Hey there, thanks for reading. :)

If you want more “micro” content, feel free to explore 100s of articles, interviews, courses, and series — all free. 

Enjoy!

Eddie Shleyner
VeryGoodCopy, founder

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