Prerequisites
Scene structure, character goals, inference, and revision.
Distinguish a character's immediate goal from the words used to pursue it. Subtext can arise from evasions, mismatches between speech and action, or shared context. Evaluate a revision against a stated effect rather than a rule that all dialogue must be indirect.
Worked example
Asked 'Will you stay?', a character answers 'The last train leaves at nine.' The reply can imply pressure or hesitation without stating a decision; context determines which readings remain plausible.
Model and Assumptions
Original scene: Nia wants a colleague to acknowledge a mistake. Sol wants to end the meeting. Nia says, 'There is one number we have not checked.' Sol closes the folder: 'The room is booked for the next group.' The revision goal is unresolved tension, not a definitive confession.
Further inquiry
Write two versions of the exchange: one that sustains uncertainty and one that moves toward reconciliation. Annotate how three speech or action choices alter the reader's inference, while keeping both characters' immediate goals intelligible.
Review criteria
- Connect each revision to the declared scene goal.
- Distinguish what is stated from what a reader may infer.
- Allow more than one defensible wording instead of treating craft as a universal formula.