Unnecessary Dialogue

Writing unnecessary dialogue can be a lot of fun. It's a way to get to know your characters. You can see how they might react in a different situation. Although, boring readers with unnecessary dialogue is never a good idea. I have cut so many scenes from my manuscript because they were unnecessary and that was much more challenging for me than I care to admit. The writing in the scene might have been great, the characters could have been witty and very entertaining, but it ultimately did nothing to advance the story so it had to go.

Still, I don't regret brainstorming or writing scenes with unnecessary dialogue. If anything, thinking about and writing those scenes helped me grow my character and practice my editing skills. Realizing that those types of scenes were unnecessary and a.) learning how to make the scene/dialogue relevant or b.) cutting the scene, helped me become a better writer and editor.

So, don't worry about writing unnecessary dialogue. Write it anyway, if you realize it doesn't work later, scrap it!

What's the best scene you've ever cut from your novel or short story? Tell me in the comments!