TIPS FOR GREAT DIALOGUE

Photo by Tyler Nix on Unsplash

Hello Writers,

Come on in and hang with me a while. Let me give you some tips about writing dialogue for your characters. I'll start with the basics for new writers, then move on to easy rules that help everyone. 

Structure

For each line of dialogue, the character’s words must have curly quotation marks on both ends.

For example. “It’s in the car.” 

The other punctuation marks such as any period, question mark, comma, explanation point must be inside the quotation marks. Think of it as a neat package with everything kept inside.

Dialogue Tags

Dialogue tags are the small phrases that show who's speaking. They stay outside the quotation marks. 

I’ll use our example above to show you. “It’s in the car,” Sara said. 

The sentence ends with a period after the tag said. Some writers are confused about when to capitalize while using a dialogue tag. Only capitalize when the tag starts with a proper noun like Sara. If I had used the word she instead, I wouldn’t capitalize it. 

For example: “It’s in the car,” she said.       NOT: “It’s in the car,” She said.

When using dialogue tags, give them purpose. It’s best to use tags sparingly to tell the reader who's speaking when there may be confusion. Also, stick to said or asked. Readers gloss over said and asked, but linger on words like exclaimed, whispered, yelled, huffed, and other expressions. But back to what I was saying; let me show you how writers overuse tags.

“It’s in the car,” Sara said.

“Where in the car?” Todd asked.

“Under the seat,” Sarah said.

“Which seat?” he asked.

Don’t write like that. There are too many tags. No reader wants to look at that. If you are unsure if you used too many, read the line out loud. You’ll know instantly if it sounds robotic. 

Now to my next point. Each person speaking gets their own line like I wrote it above. What if everyone wrote dialogue like this?

“It’s in the car,” Sara said. “Where in the car?” Todd asked. “Under the seat,” Sara said. “Which seat?” he asked.

It’s hard on the eyes, isn’t it? Don’t write like that either. Those are basic tips for structure, and I only mention it to help new writers who may not know the difference. Give each speaker their own line. 


So, what do you put between the quotation marks? I have easy rules.

#1. Dialogue isn't a conversation. It must be in line with a character’s desire for something. Nobody talks unless they want something.

When people talk, they chitchat, pause, and sometimes never get to the point. If your characters speak like that, they'll bore the reader. Drop all the pleasantries and think about the character's motivation. What do the characters need or want to move the plot along? 

For example: If Mary is looking for her husband’s killer, she won’t chitchat while that is on her mind. She wouldn’t ask her neighbor, Leanne, how to grow mums. She might ask Leanne about strange sounds the night of the murder. 

Whenever you’re not sure if the dialogue is appropriate for the scene, ask yourself, if I eliminated it would the reader understand what’s going on? Make each line count. The next time you watch a movie, listen to the dialogue. Each line has a purpose. The actors don’t talk unless there's a reason.  

#2. Dialogue expresses the character, not the writer. It's not there to dump information that the writer wants the reader to know. It isn’t a speech.

Please don’t dump information on the reader in long-winded character speeches. 

For example, a man is talking to his neighbor: “As you know, Bob, my son has been in college for five years. He should've graduated last year, but he likes to come home in the summer instead of taking classes to catch up. I think he should work harder. Finish and get a job.”

If Bob already knows about his neighbor's son, he doesn’t need to hear the story again. This is an example of the writer trying to dump information onto the reader. Don’t force-feed the details. The writer is putting the words in the character’s mouth instead of letting the character move closer to his goal.

#3.  Choose to show a scene instead of using dialogue when possible.

Sometimes it’s better to let the characters show rather than talk, even with conflict. In my following example, a married couple is having a problem in their relationship. I could let them argue and fight, but consider the following instead of a page of dialogue. 

 The couple leaves their penthouse apartment. Harry rushes toward the elevator while donning his hat, leaving his wife far behind him. When she finally catches up, the elevator doors bump her as she gets inside. She clutches her purse against her chest. Both of them are frowning until the elevator stops on the fourth floor, and the doors open to reveal a beautiful woman. Harry holds the elevator, removes his hat, and smiles at the lady when she enters. His wife takes a step away from him.

See what I mean. A visual can show the reader the state of their relationship without them saying a word.

#4. Use contractions

 Unless your character speaks formally, use contractions such as don’t couldn’t, wouldn’t and others. It sounds better than do not, could not, should not. It will seem natural to readers. 

#5. Don’t use proper names excessively when using dialogue tags.

This goes back to what sounds good. It’s better to tag with he said, she said, instead of calling the characters by proper names when it’s clear who he and she are. Proper names identify individuals of the same gender. For example: If Mary is talking to Casey, one of them will need their name when tagged. 

#6. Give each character their own voice, a contrast from one another

Let each character have their own way of saying things based on their education, age, personality, outlook on life.

For example: If someone told a pessimist that her husband filed for divorce, the dialogue might go like this: 

“Oh, you poor thing. You’ll never ever find another man. Now that you’re over forty, you should move back in with your parents if they’ll have you.”

While an optimist might say:

 “He wasn’t right for you. But don’t worry, there’s this guy I know who's perfect for you. If I didn’t have a boyfriend, I’d go out with him myself. I’ll set you up.”

The optimist and pessimist will have different outlooks on everything. That’ll determine what each will say. Each character has a motivation even if it's only responding to what was said. It’s the writer’s job to determine how each character will reply.

#7. Don’t let heads talk in empty rooms.

Give the reader a little scenery and action between the dialogue. When the dialogue goes on too long, it seems like heads are talking. Without scenery, everything goes blank, sometimes referred to as white room syndrome. Ground the reader with a view of the surroundings. Give the characters something to do to engage the reader, so the scene becomes realistic.

#8. Use subtext when to add depth to the story when appropriate. 

Dialogue is interesting when the reader can read between the lines. The subtext is the meaning beneath the spoken words and within the body language. Often what’s said isn’t what’s meant. It’s implied. This avoids on-the-nose dialogue that points out the obvious to the reader. Readers like to come to their own conclusions.

Don’t get into the habit of letting characters to tell each other exactly what they’re thinking all the time. Whenever you find them being candid, take a step back. Is this information necessary to advance the plot or the readers’ understanding of what’s going on? If not, cut it. Why would one character share or withhold their thoughts from another character? There are whole books written on subtext, and it’s beyond the scope of this blog. I may write a blog about this subject later.

This post was longer than I had planned. I hope this helps you create believable dialogue in your stories. Whatever you do, keep writing.