Dialogue

This week in my Intro to Novel Writing class, I'm learning about Dialogue.  I'm sitting in a Starbucks now (okay, I don't go to Starbucks as much as it sounds like I do... we just have this tradition of going on Mondays when we both have a lot of homework, except this time we went on Tuesday because... oh, who cares!) and trying to pay attention to the kind of Dialogue going on around me.  There is a very unique group of people talking at the table next to us- an older white business man, a beautiful Asian woman, and a skinny young guy with hair that sticks up slightly around the edges.  The older man talks so low I can hardly hear him, telling stories in a matter-of-fact way while he sips on his drink with a refined air.  The woman laughs through every word and her voice rises and falls a lot, almost as though she's mimicking a whole cast of characters as she goes.  The boy's voice is louder and gruff, and he grins when he speaks and when he listens.  I wonder most what it is he thinks of the other two.  When he does speak, it is eagerly, as though he's excited to get a word in edge-wise. The woman reaches over suddenly and rubs the boys arm, revealing an interesting twist in the plot... is this her adopted brother?  Boyfriend, even?  Hum...

Then there are the Starbucks workers.  This week the gotte guy is missing his curly-haired companion, but he is just as talkative and eager as usual- maybe even more so now that he has the stage to himself.  He tells a different story to every customer, half of these stories about his adventures serving coffee with the curly-haired guy.  When he does manage to engage his work-focused co-worker in discussion, it is about things like milk, coffee, cleaning the counters properly, and the failings of the other employees.  Particularly about the curly-haired guy... I'm sensing this is a friendship that goes deeper than mere coffee and night shifts. 

But I digress from the point.  Dialogue.  The Starbucks guy tells a lot of pointless stories, says little things here and there that are mere silence fillers.  They would be very boring if put in dialogue form for a story, but as background to a more important scene... perhaps.  It's a good reminder that when people talk in real life they don't always speak with purpose, and sometimes that makes them lovable, even if a tiny bit annoying.