How Can You Trim Dialogue to Keep Your Scenes Moving?
Dialogue is one of the trickiest parts of storytelling to get right, even for experienced writers. And if you’ve been doing this a while, you’ve probably had that sinking feeling while re-reading a draft and realizing that a once-snappy scene now feels… sluggish.
I used to think, “But the characters sound great! The banter’s fun! Why cut it?”
Well, here’s the truth: great dialogue can still kill your pacing if it overstays its welcome. And when scenes start dragging, readers notice—even if they can’t always tell you why.
Trimmed dialogue isn’t about making everything short and punchy. It’s about letting the right lines shine, the right beats land, and the scene move with intention. When you get it right, your story breathes better.
And yes, you already know this—but stay with me. I’ll bet you’ll pick up at least a couple of techniques that’ll sharpen your next revision.
Know What Dialogue Is Actually Doing in Your Scene
Dialogue as Action
One trap I still catch myself falling into is treating dialogue as a side dish instead of a main course. If a conversation isn’t moving the story forward—through conflict, decision, or discovery—it’s taking up space.
Example: Instead of having two characters chat about the weather while waiting for a rescue team, have them argue about whose fault it is they need rescuing. Now we’re building tension and backstory on the fly.
Dialogue as Subtext
Sometimes the most powerful part of a conversation is what’s not being said. Trim out the parts where characters state the obvious, and let their evasions, silences, or deflections do the heavy lifting.
Think about the scene in The Godfather where Michael meets with Sollozzo and McCluskey in the restaurant. The surface-level dialogue is simple and polite, but the undercurrent of tension is brutal. Every word, pause, and glance matters. That’s the level of dialogue economy we should all aim for.
Dialogue as Rhythm
Every story has its own cadence. Too much dialogue without purpose breaks the rhythm—just like too many drum fills can wreck a song. Trim the lines that stall momentum and keep the beat moving.
One exercise I love: read your dialogue out loud. If you find yourself impatient to get through it, your readers will be too.
How to Trim Dialogue Without Losing Its Soul
Eliminate Redundant Beats
If a character says, “I’m not sure this will work,” and then five lines later says, “I don’t think this plan is going to succeed”—guess what? You only need one of those.
Every line should add new information or deepen the moment. If it’s repeating an idea or emotion already established, cut it.
Cut “On the Nose” Exposition
Nothing kills pacing faster than characters explaining things we already know—or can infer.
Instead of:
“I can’t believe you’re my brother, and that you were the one who stole the ancient map from the museum last night!”
Try:
“I should’ve known it was you.”
Trust your audience. They’re smarter than you think.
Streamline Exchanges
Long back-and-forths often turn into verbal tennis with no stakes. Condense those volleys into sharper, charged exchanges.
Before:
A: “Are you coming?”
B: “I don’t know. I mean, I was thinking about it, but I’m still not sure.”
A: “Well, we need to leave now.”
B: “Okay, I guess I’ll come.”
After:
A: “Are you coming?”
B: (beat) “Yeah.”
Less is more—especially when tension is high.
Balance Dialogue with Action and Thought
Pure dialogue pages can read flat. Break them up with meaningful action or internal reflection to control pacing and add texture.
Example: Instead of two characters standing and talking for two pages, have one pacing, handling an object, glancing at the door—physical actions that reflect their inner state.
Audit for Filler
We all have characters who say things like, “Well,” “You know,” or “I mean…” in drafts. Ask yourself: is this part of the character’s voice, or just lazy filler?
If it’s not essential, cut it. The tighter the line, the sharper the voice.
Challenge Every Line
This is my favorite trick: Go through a dialogue-heavy scene and ask of every line—does this move the plot, reveal character, or heighten tension?
If it does none of these, out it goes. Ruthless, but so worth it.
How to Tighten Dialogue Across an Entire Scene
Make Dialogue the Engine
A strong scene often runs on dialogue. But dialogue can’t just exist—it has to drive the story. If characters are just chatting, that’s a red flag.
Ask: what’s the power dynamic? What’s changing from beginning to end of this scene? If nothing is changing, your dialogue might be treading water.
Use Subtext and Pacing Together
One way to create electric scenes is to let subtext and pacing work in tandem. Trim surface chatter and leave room for tension to build. Short, loaded exchanges can say volumes.
Watch any good Aaron Sorkin walk-and-talk scene. The dialogue moves, but so does the story beneath it. That’s pacing mastery.
Give Each Line a Job
In a lean, purposeful scene, every line should pull double or triple duty: revealing character, building tension, advancing plot.
Look at Breaking Bad’s “Say my name” scene. Walt’s line does all three—asserts dominance, deepens character, moves the story.
When revising, challenge yourself: can I rewrite this line to do more? If not, maybe it doesn’t belong.
Edit in Passes
Finally—don’t try to nail dialogue economy in one pass. Do a dedicated dialogue pass where all you focus on is trimming and sharpening conversations.
I often do this after structural edits. Once the bones of the scene are solid, then I make the dialogue sing.
How to Trim Dialogue Without Losing Its Soul
Okay, let’s get into the good stuff — the actual techniques.
Now, I know you’ve probably heard a lot of these ideas before. But I promise, when you apply them in the right combinations and with a deliberate mindset, that’s where the magic happens. It’s not about the trick itself — it’s about knowing when and how to use it.
Let’s dive in.
Eliminate Redundant Beats
Here’s one of the biggest pacing killers I see, even in pro-level work: characters saying the same thing multiple times in different ways.
Now, in real life, people repeat themselves constantly. In fiction? Deadly. Readers get it the first time.
For example:
“I can’t believe she lied to me.”
(pause)
“She didn’t tell me the truth. I thought we trusted each other.”
You don’t need both of these. The first one is plenty. The second line either needs to add new emotional texture (“I thought we trusted each other”) or it can go.
The test is simple: does this line add something new to the moment? If not, cut. Your pacing will immediately tighten.
Cut “On the Nose” Exposition
Expert writers know this one in theory — but I still see it slip into early drafts all the time.
We fall in love with making sure the reader gets it. But too much “on the nose” exposition slows a scene down and makes your dialogue feel mechanical.
Example of what not to do:
“I’m sorry I missed dinner, Mom. I got held up at the crime scene where we found the missing child and the suspect confessed to the kidnapping.”
No one talks like that. You can trim this way down:
“I’m sorry I missed dinner. The case blew up.”
Give your reader credit. They’ll piece it together. And if they don’t? Well, that’s what subtle layering and context are for. Not spoon-feeding in dialogue.
Streamline Exchanges
Here’s another dialogue killer: long, drawn-out back-and-forths where nobody’s saying anything new or driving the scene forward.
I see this a lot in early drafts of tense scenes. Writers think they need to build tension by having characters volley short lines — but too many volleys with no progression = dead air.
Here’s an example of a bloated exchange:
“Are you coming?”
“I don’t know.”
“We don’t have time.”
“I know.”
“Then let’s go.”
“Wait. I’m not sure.”
Instead, tighten to:
“Are you coming?”
“Yeah.”
Or even:
“Are you coming?”
(beat) “… Yeah.”
Silence and beats can say more than extra lines.
Balance Dialogue with Action and Thought
One of the most powerful ways to control pacing is to break up your dialogue with meaningful action and internal thought.
I don’t mean adding random stage directions: She picks up a glass. He adjusts his tie. That’s just filler.
I mean adding action that reflects emotional stakes or builds subtext.
Example:
“You can’t trust her.”
He reached for the folder, fingers trembling. “You sure about that?”
Now the action reinforces the tension and the character’s internal state. That’s gold.
Likewise, a brief internal beat can sharpen a line:
“I love you.”
She almost laughed. Too late. Too easy.
“I know.”
That moment breathes. And it speaks volumes.
Audit for Filler
I do this at the micro level on every revision: hunt down filler words and verbal tics.
“We should, like, probably go.” → “We should go.”
“Well, I mean, that’s kind of hard to say.” → “That’s hard to say.”
If a character has a deliberate verbal quirk, keep it. If not? Out it goes.
The tighter the line, the sharper the voice. Readers love sharp voices.
Challenge Every Line
Finally — my ultimate test. Every single line of dialogue must earn its place.
When editing, I literally ask of each line:
- Does it move the plot?
- Does it reveal character?
- Does it build or release tension?
If the answer is no to all three — it’s gone. No mercy.
This one practice alone will take your dialogue from “pretty good” to “unputdownable.”
How to Tighten Dialogue Across an Entire Scene
Now let’s zoom out. Trimming a line here and there is great — but the real magic happens when you craft an entire scene around lean, purposeful dialogue.
Here’s how to do that.
Make Dialogue the Engine
Dialogue can’t just sit there. It needs to drive the scene.
Ask yourself: What’s changing in this scene? What are the stakes?
If your dialogue isn’t helping something shift — power, emotion, information — it’s probably stalling the story.
Look at this dialogue from Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy:
“There’s a mole.”
“Who?”
“That’s what you’re here to find out.”
Three lines. Whole scene dynamic shifts. Stakes established. Off we go.
That’s dialogue as an engine.
Use Subtext and Pacing Together
When you pair subtext with pacing, you create scenes that crackle.
One exercise I love: write your first draft of a scene with all the subtext explicit.
Example draft line:
“I know you slept with him, and I’m furious about it.”
Now rewrite for subtext:
“How was your weekend?”
(beat)
“Quiet.”
“Mm. I heard otherwise.”
See how much more tension lives in the unsaid? Then trim even further. Let the silence work.
Give Each Line a Job
In your final pass, challenge every line to do at least two things:
- Advance plot
- Reveal character
- Heighten tension
- Establish voice
If a line is only doing one of those — fine, but it better do it exceptionally well. If it’s doing none? Cut.
This is how you get scenes that feel dense with meaning but light on words.
Edit in Passes
And here’s the reality: you won’t nail all this in one go.
When I’m editing, I do a pass just for dialogue economy. That’s the pass where scenes often shrink by 30–50%. And they read so much better for it.
Here’s my process:
- First pass → story and structure
- Second pass → pacing and scene rhythm
- Third pass → dialogue economy
By the time you’re on that third pass, you know what matters in each scene. And trimming dialogue becomes an act of surgical precision.
Don’t skip this. It’s where the pros separate themselves.
Before You Leave…
Here’s the thing: trimming dialogue is not about making it short — it’s about making it matter.
We all fall in love with our clever lines or beautiful exchanges. But the best storytelling happens when you’re ruthless enough to cut what doesn’t serve the scene.
Remember:
- Let subtext breathe.
- Make every line do work.
- Use pacing and silence as your allies.
- Revise in layers — dialogue deserves its own focused pass.
You already know how to write great dialogue. Now take the extra step and make it sing with purpose.
I guarantee your scenes will move faster, hit harder, and leave a stronger impact.
And hey — if you discover a killer trimming trick of your own, shoot me a message. I love learning new ways to sharpen the blade.
Happy writing.