Dialogue is an important part of a story. The writers strive to ensure that the conversations written in story books, books, plays, and films sound natural and authentic like real life. Writers often use dialogue to inform the reader in an engaging and emotional way. Write dialogue understanding your characters, keep it simple and honest, and read it aloud to make sure it sounds real.
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Method 1 of 3: Researching Your Dialogue
Step 1. Watch the actual conversation
Listen to the way people talk to each other and use those conversations to make your lines sound real. You'll notice that people speak different ways to different people, so make sure you do that when writing dialogue.
Remove the parts of the conversation that are not suitable for writing. For example, each word "hello" and "goodbye" does not always have to be written. Some of your dialogues may start mid-conversation
Step 2. Read a good dialogue
To balance real conversation and the text needed in your dialogue, you have to read good dialogue from books and movies. Read books and manuscripts, and notice what's good and what's not, and then try to figure out why it doesn't sound good.
- Some writers whose dialogue you need to read are Douglas Adams, Toni Morrison, and Judy Blume (these are just a few; there are many!). Their dialogue tends to look real, layered, and clear.
- Reading and practicing dialogues written for dramas and radio plays are very helpful in developing dialogue because they are both very dependent on dialogue. Douglas Adams, one of the writers mentioned above, started his career writing radio plays because of his fantastic dialogues.
Step 3. Develop your character to the maximum
You have to really understand your character before you can get them to talk. You have to know if they are quiet or slurred, or if they like to use a lot of great words to impress other people, etc.
- Things like age, gender, education level, region of origin, tone of voice, will make a difference in the way a character speaks. For example, a poor American teenage girl will speak very differently to an old, rich English boy.
- Give each character a different voice. Not all of your characters will use the same vocabulary, tone, or way of speaking. Make sure each character sounds different.
Step 4. Avoid stiff dialogue
Rigid dialogue won't destroy the story, but it can distract the reader, which no writer wants to do. Sometimes stiff dialogue can be used, but only in certain stories.
- Rigid dialogue is one that can only be used for the obvious and in a language that no one else uses. For example: "Hello, Jane, you look sad today," said Charles. "That's right, Charles, I'm sad today. Do you want to know why?" "Sure, Jane, I want to know why you're sad today." "I'm sad that my dog is sick and reminds me of my father's mysterious death two years ago."
- The dialogue above should be written like this: "Jane, what's wrong?" asked Charles. Jane shrugged, staring at something outside the window. "My dog is sick. They don't know what it is." "That's bad news, but, Jane… well, she's old. Maybe it's about time." Her hand gripped the window sill. "It's just, it's just, do you think the doctor would find out?" "You mean the vet?" Charles frowned. "Yes. Whatever."
- The second dialogue is better because it not only tells that Jane is thinking about her dead father, but tries to interpret it, especially by using the word "doctor" instead of "vet". The flow flows smoothly.
- An example of using rigid dialogue is Lord of the Rings. The dialogue isn't always stilted, especially if the hobbits are talking, but it can be very elegant and eloquent (and unrealistic). The only reason this dialogue is used well (and many people disagree that it is used with good!) is because the story has an ancient epic style like Beowulf or The Mabinogion.
Method 2 of 3: Writing Dialogue
Step 1. Keep your dialogue simple
Use "he said" or "answer" instead of using heavy terms like "protest" or "exclaim." You don't want to separate one character's dialogue from another with weird words. "the word _" is one of those words that won't annoy the reader.
In some cases, the words "_ words" and "answer _" or "response _" may be separated if appropriate. For example, you can use "cut _" or "scream _" or "whisper _" but only if the usage fits the story and in a certain way
Step 2. Get the storyline flowing using your dialogue
Your dialogue should inform the reader about the story or the characters. Dialogue is a good way to prove character development or information about a character that the reader may not know.
- Don't make small talk, even if it's something that's often done in real conversation. Small talk is done to build tension. For example, one character really needs certain information from another character, but the second character forces him to make small talk, leaving the reader and your character curious about what's next.
- All your dialogue must have a purpose. As you write dialogue, ask yourself, "What is the use of this dialogue in the story?" "What am I trying to tell the reader about the characters or the story?" If you can't answer this question, discard the dialogue.
Step 3. Don't give too much information in your dialogue
This is a common tendency for many people. You think that there is no better way to provide information to the reader than by having the characters discuss it at length. Wait! Background information should be added little by little throughout the story.
- Example of dos and don'ts: Jane turned to Charles and said, "Oh Charles, remember when my father died mysteriously and my family was kicked out of the house by Agatha's cruel aunt?" "I remember, Jane. school to help your family.”
- An even better version of the story above goes something like this: Jane turned to Charles, her lips pouting. "I heard from Aunt Agatha today." Charles was surprised. "But he was the one who kicked you out of your family home. What did he want?" "Who knows, but he's starting to give hints about father's death." "A clue?" Charles raised an eyebrow. "He seemed to think father's death was unnatural."
Step 4. Add sub text
Conversation, especially in stories, has a multi-layered problem. Usually more than one problem occurs, so you should make sure that you provide subtitles for each situation.
- There are many ways to say something. So if you want a character to say "I need you," make the character say it, "without actually saying it." For example: Charles starts his car. Jane put her hand on his arm; He bit his lip. “Charles, I… do you have to leave right away?” Jane asked, pulling her hand away. "We still don't know what we should do."
- Don't make your character say everything he or she feels or thinks. This will give too much information and no tension or other nuances.
Step 5. Merge your dialogues
You want your dialogue to be interesting and to make the reader want to continue the story. This means skimming over the background of a conversation, like people at a bus stop talking about the weather, and starting to enter contentious conversations, like Jane's confrontation with her treacherous Aunt Agatha.
- Engage your character in arguments or make them say surprising things, as long as these are traits of your character. Dialogue must be interesting. If all the characters agree or just do questions and answers, the dialogue will be boring.
- Intersperse your dialogue with action. As your characters converse, they play with things, laugh, wash dishes, trip over things, and more. Adding these things in the dialogue will make it more real.
- For example: "A healthy person like your father would not easily get sick and die," said Aunt Agatha with a chuckle. Jane held back her emotions, replying "Sometimes people get sick." "And sometimes she gets a little help from her friends." Aunt Agatha sounded so arrogant that Jane wanted to grab her over the phone and strangle her by the neck. "If someone killed her, Aunt Agatha, do you know who did it?" ""Oh, I have some guesses, but let you decide."
Method 3 of 3: Check the Dialog
Step 1. Read your dialogue aloud
This will give you the opportunity to hear your own dialogue. You can change it based on what you hear and what you read. Give it a little time after you've written the dialogue before reading it, otherwise your brain will be filled with the things you want to tell rather than the things that are actually in your dialogue.
Ask a trusted friend or family member to read your lines. A new pair of eyes can tell if your lines sound natural or need improvement
Step 2. Punctuation your dialogue well
Nothing is more disturbing to a reader (including and especially publishers and agents) than the use of punctuation errors, especially in dialogue.
- There should be a comma after the end of the dialogue and a closing quotation mark. For example: "Hello. I'm Jane," said Jane.
- If you add an action in the middle of your dialogue, you have to decide whether or not to capitalize the second part of the dialog. For example: "I can't believe he killed my dad," Jane said, her eyes welling with tears. "It's not like him." or "I can't believe he killed my father," said Jane, her eyes welling with tears, "because it's not like him."
- If there are no words, only actions, then there should be a period and not a comma in the closing quotation marks. For example: "Goodbye, Aunt Agatha." Jane slammed the phone down.
Step 3. Remove unnecessary words or phrases
Sometimes, less dialogue is better. When people talk, they don't use unnecessary words. They say it short, simple, and you want to apply it in your dialogue.
For example, instead of "I can't believe that for years, Uncle Red was the one who put poison in my dad's cocktail and killed him," says Jane, you could say "I can't believe Uncle Red poisoned my dad!"
Step 4. Use accents well
Each character should have their own voice, but too many accents will irritate the reader. Also, using an unfamiliar accent can make you stereotype and offend a natural speaker of that accent.
Determine the origin of the character in another way. For example, use regional terms like "soda" and "pop" to denote territory. Make sure if you're writing characters from a specific region (e.g. UK or America), you're using appropriate slang and terms
Tips
- Look for writing communities and classes near you, including screenwriting. Working with others and getting feedback can really help you grow!
- Access lessons that can help you write great dialogue. Take a writing class or read books and websites written specifically to help writers improve their ability to tell in dialogue.
