Sometimes, just a few words can open up a whole new world. A very down to earth friend of mine of pagan inclination was vexed by a woman who, when various witchy types were assembled in the woods one full moon, asked “shall we go skyclad?”. For those unaware – that will probably be most of you, since it’s a particularly precious piece of faux-Wiccan terminology – skyclad means naked. My friend’s response was characteristic: “I don’t know about that love, but let’s get our kit off”. Perfect.

Yesterday’s Independent presented a similarly novel world in response to a question posed to a fashion designer. Asked where he’d rather be at that moment, he replied “At the gym having a glamour pump to get ready for the weekend”.

Wow. I scarcely know where to start. But let’s go with the notion of a ‘glamour pump’. Face it, that has to be the single least heterosexual reason a man ever went into a gym. Sure, straight men are there partly there to buff up for whatever women they’re planning to impress, but there’s something deliciously camp about the expression ‘glamour pump’, with its implicit resonance of Dorothy’s ruby slippers, a legion of high-kicking Vegas showgirls, and other gorgeously footed women from the biz that is show.

What’s also wonderful about ‘glamour pump’ is that it subverts the notion that the gym is a place for men to work out. No, this is all about preening and play, a fact made clear by the purpose of the activity ‘to get ready for the weekend’. Of course: this is Saturday night we’re talking about. Never mind beefy rugby players aiming for whatever trophies they play for, you need to be just as buff – or at any rate feel it – to score on the dance floor.

When you’re writing dialogue, aim for lines as dense in meaning and implication as the one we’ve pulled apart there. Language can convey many layers within one utterance. A single sentence can convey a character’s worldview, status, perception of another’s status, convictions, doubts, and more besides. Here are a few examples from the notebook I keep to collect random utterances from people I overhear – as well as enjoying them, start to build up a picture of what must be true about the person for them to be saying the words they release into the world:

“Lime has that sublime, beyond lemony thing.”

“She’s definitely retired: Christmas party with the watercolour group.”

“I don’t believe it’s going to happen but if it does happen it’s going to take a long time and be gruelling.”

“I have to acknowledge you right now as a woman.”

“Eating chickpeas off their caravan doorstep.”

Fascinating, isn’t it, the details that people pick up on as relevant in their worldview? ‘Chickpeas’, not chicken and chips. ‘Acknowledging’ someone (how, exactly?) merely because they happen to belong to one gender, and not another. And the more effort we put into creating dialogue that’s rich with assumptions and values, the more convincing the characters we create will be. That doesn’t mean writing lots of dialogue, as all these examples indicate: a few choice words with just the right nuance can speak volumes.

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