Greetings, writers—
I once heard that agents evaluating a manuscript will flip to a page of dialogue and read that part first. I don’t know if this is actually true—I certainly didn’t do it as a slush-pile reader at BOMB and Zoetrope back in the day—but it doesn’t strike me as an insane idea.
While it’s hardly respectful of the author’s reasonable assumption that their readers begin at the beginning, it is an undeniably efficient way to separate the proverbial wheat from the chaff. Think about it! Dialogue sections can offer:
Rich opportunities for revealing competing agendas and conflict
Hints at subtexts (what does that character really mean?)
Swift characterization via vocabulary and syntax
White space (agents’ eyes are tired!)
On the other hand, dialogue sections can also be places where writers:
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