Writing Tips | ✔

How to Write Better Dialogue

1- Stop using dialogue for information dumps.

* Info Dump; noun. A very large amount of information supplied all at once, especially as background information in a narrative

* Speech that starts 'as you know [character name]'. If the other character knows the information already, would their interlocutor be likely to repeat the entire story?

* Speech that gives far more than the essential information - real people condense alot and omit unnecessary information.

* If the information is for the reader's benefit, chances are you're dumping. If the information is for the character's benefit (or detriment), chances are it's fine.

2- Keeping the conversation moving at a cracking pace.

* If characters talk on and on without a pause or their conversation partners chiming in, it can feel boring and stilted.

* You may of course want to write a character who tends to drone as either a source of comic relief or simply to show something about the character in question. In real life, however, people often interrupt each other, or don't finish their sentences.

* It's fine and natural for characters to speak at length from time to time. If a character does need to talk for a page, make sure that what they were saying is vitals to the story in some way.

* If a character is narrating a particularly traumatic event or something that is crucial to your themes, a long monologue might feel apt.

* Remember to at least vary the length of sentences as people usually do. Creating rhythmic interest will help maintain the reader's attention.

3- Dont make dialogue too lifelike.

* This advice might seem counter-intuitive - after all, shouldn't dialogue feel like real speech? The answer is yes, but dialogue can feel lifelike without including all the clutter and repetition that can make the written word sound clunky.

* An analogy: In stage acting, actors have to project their voices and expressions so that the person in the back row can feel the emotion and understand the meaning and implications of each piece of dialogue or event.

* In film, because the action is so up close, the smallest emphasis can say a lot more.

* Dialogue on the page is like the magnified screen compared to the stage of actual, real-word speech. Each detail stands out more. We don't always notice people's more monotonous, repetitive word use, but in text every word stands out.

* For this reason, make sure that you dont put in every unnecessary detail of a conversation when writing dialogue so that you can avoid it dragging to much.

4- Write dialogue that establishes your desired mood.

* Think about how the immediate environs and the level of tension in a scene might affect or change how characters speak.

* A character whose voice usually booms would probably whisper if there were other characters who should not overhear sensitive information.

* Hushed conversation, as an example, will involve characters trying to say as much using a few words as possible. They might break of mid-sentence more frequently to avoid being overheard.

* In a tense, high-drama scene, a long monologue might feel out-of-place, but more importantly it could also destroy the tension you have carefully built in the preceding narrative.

5- Think about 'text' versus 'subtext'.

* It's not only how your characters speak but also what they say that is important.

* Text is the flow of actual word that makes up your characters' conversation.

* Subtext is an underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation.

* Make sure that what your characters say creates interest and furthers your themes by implying that there is more to be said.

* As an example, what might the subtext be if a character pretends not to care about having been jilted at the alter? It could be pride, or the subtext could use what is not said to show how lonely and embarrassing the experience was for the character.

* The way characters can create all kinds of fascinating subtext that provides character depth.

* Subtext can help you to reveal both the internal and external world of your characters - the stories they tell themselves and the stories they tell others.

6- Let each character's speech be their signature.

* Another mistake widespread among aspiring writers is making character dialogue to samey.

* Unless your characters inhabit a fictional world consisting entirely of clones, each character's speech should be a unique identifier that gives your novel the richness of an ensemble cast where no part is too small to be worth playing.

7- He said, she said: Character identifiers to in dialogue.

* One of the elements of dialogue in fiction that many writers find tricky is character identifier - words such as 'he said' and 'she said'. In everyday speech, we are able to look at who is speaking and/or hear through people's talking. Writing doesn't give us these visual and auditory cues automatically, so they have to be built into your dialogue.

* There are two common mistakes novice writers make with identifiers:
-Over using 'said'.
-Using replacements for 'said' that seem bizarre.

* Much of the time, the meaning and implications of what a character says do enough to tell the reader the tone of a character's voice and their emotional state.

* For example, 'You forgot to do the dishes again' naturally sounds scolding and perhaps irritable. Although you could have, 'You forgot to do the dishes again.' she grumbled, 'said' in this case is fine.

* Continuous use of 'said' can grow monotonous, however. Also remember that different genres have different norms regarding this. It is far more common in Fantasy Fiction to come across synonyms for 'said' that are dramatically expressive (such as 'barked', 'threatened', 'chuckled' and so forth).

* Using character identifiers when writing dialogue helps guide readers to see who is speaking, but make sure you don't use said synonyms that perplex readers.

* For example, would a real person 'squeak' or 'chirp' a line of dialogue? Make sure the reader can imagine a real person saying something in the manner you describe. A good solution is to read all of your dialogue out loud.

~~~

Instagram: raincovet_