Writing Dialogue
When I do character sketches, I include voice:
How do they speak? Soft, deep high-pitched, raspy, fast/slow talker/child’s voice mumble etc. [just a hint is all that is needed]
Do they speak with an accent? foreign/Southern/educated/teen/child etc. [a little accent goes a long way or the reader might get lost]
Do they speak differently under different circumstances? Happy/sad/scared/bored/angry [emotion affects speech]
Do they speak differently in different places? School/home/public/work [the vocabulary will also vary]
What kind of vocabulary do they use? Large/simple/slang/work places terms. [age affects this, too]
Use these as you write/edit. Read aloud, try to imitate each character. If a character speaks more than once, Include their voice in a character sketch. When using slang, dialect etc., find a native speaker (E.g. A teen for high school slang), read it aloud to them.
Dialogue is not just voice or sound:
What are your characters doing while speaking? Washing dishes. Hiking, etc. [but use moderation]
Silence is a form of communication. (AKA the silent treatment) [wife called it passive-aggressive]
If the POV character chooses to think rather than speak, it is a form of dialogue because it informs the reader the way speech would.
Facial expressions, body language, movements can communicate as much as words.
What is dialogue for?
It either propels the story forward or tells the reader something about the characters. If it doesn’t do either one of these, what is the dialogue for?
Things to forget:
Grammar. Complete sentences.
Answering questions: characters often ignore questions and change the subject, which often tells more than answering the question.
Don’t try to write dialogue that is too real-to-life. The reader doesn’t need every huh, um, etc, speakers say. Writing dialogue is a trick to convince the reader the speech is real. When using dialect, a few hints work better than dialogue that is difficult for anyone to read.
Using exclamation points (let your word choice indicate excitement). Using caps for emphasis (use italics).
Read it aloud:
Dialogue needs a rhythm. Angry or scared words need a faster, frantic pace. Conversation or romance might take a slower, relaxed pace.
People interrupt each other, breaking the rhythm. People are rude to each other.
Beats, tags, or neither?
Beats are actions or gestures that either interrupt or add to the dialogue. Use them occasionally.
Tags should be used ONLY when leaving them out it will confuse the reader. Try to use either said or asked.
Neither. If it is clear who is speaking, and no action or beat is required, then just dialogue is fine (hard to accomplish with more than 2 speakers).
Three Ways of Dealing with Non-dialogue for Intense POV’s
E.g. The character breaks a piece of chocolate candy.
Narrative description: The brown candy broke in his hand, releasing a vanilla scent.
Thought: Brown candy. Vanilla scent. Breaks right in my hand.
Active: He broke the brown candy in his hands, the vanilla scent making him smile.
