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Tips for writing good dialogue

Hi everyone!
In this post, I'll be talking about tips on how to write a good dialogue. A good dialogue is the one that feels realistic and natural not an unrealistic scripted conversation. If a dialogue is not properly written it may dull the shine of most unique characters that is why as writers we need to write our dialogues properly. I hope these few tips help you guys and I hope you enjoy reading them.

1. Listen to people talk in real life and pay attention to dialogues in your favourite movies: I know everybody thinks they do this, but as a writer, you should look beyond mere conversations. Pay attention to the gestures, emotions and mannerisms attached.
The way you see people hesitate before they talk, make gestures while talking; ensure to add it to your writing; in that way it feels realistic and natural.

2. Show don't  tell: You may have heard this countless times. You keep hearing this because it is very essential in writing in general. When writing dialogues describe the emotions, tone, voice and gestures that follow in such a way that a mental picture is created in the mind of readers. 

Now check out these examples:

"Are you ready to talk now?" She inquired in a low voice, genuine concern etched on her face as she placed her palms on my cheeks.

"No, I can't." My voice came out low as a tear flowed freely down my left cheek.

Example 2

"Are you ready to talk now?" She inquired.

" No, I can't," I said

Now which of these allows you to visualize their actions and emotions? The first example right? that's how a  good dialogue is supposed to be like. Engage your readers, make them feel emotions.

3. Eliminate unnecessary dialogue tags: Don't use dialogue tags you don't know the meaning of; it doesn't make your writing better rather it confuses you the writer. Don't use  dialogue tags that may be ambiguous to your readers. Sometimes, said is just fine. Although, avoid too much repetition.

4.Use subtext.

Subtext refers to the implicit meaning of a speech or dialogue. It means an unspoken message. This doesn't mean you shouldn't allow your characters to pour out their feelings, you should, but not all the time. It gives room for intrigue. According to Viola Davis: " The unspoken word is what makes dialogue rich."

Infusing subtext in your dialogues makes it so real because in real life people don't talk about all their feelings all the time. Sometimes their expressions give them away.

5. Establish your character voice:

It is so unrealistic to have four to five characters talking the same way. For example when your MC is surprised he/she says: "are you sure?" Another character may say, " stop kidding." You can't just allow all your characters to sound the same way.

6. Use the correct punctuation marks:
It's okay to use a comma instead of period during dialogues.
"Give me the bag," I say, still scribbling on my note.
If the dialogue is being followed by an action use a period
"Nope." I stand up from the wooden chair.
Use an exclamation mark to indicate the tone
"Are you okay? " indicates a low tone.
"Are you okay!?" Indicates a high tone.

Bonus tips:
*Read the dialogue aloud and check if it feels like a conversation people may have in real life.

Edit: Eliminate unnecessary dialogues. A dialogue should give us more information about the characters and it should take the story forward. So, when editing dialogues ask yourself the following questions.

Did the conversation  introduce new information?
Did the conversation achieve its purpose?
Did the character say anything that made sense?
Did the conversation tell us more about the characters?
Did the conversation develop the story?
Can my readers understand what my characters are trying to communicate?

There are so many other questions to ask yourself, if you are not sure, you could get a trusted person to help question the relevance of the dialogue.

Post created by Wemsoflight