Mostly Void

Dialogue is tricky for many reasons, but a good place to start is knowing what shouldn’t even be in dialogue to begin with. 

Filler Words

While using words like Um, Uh, Like, ect. can do a lot to show a character’s hesitance or nervousness, there are other great ways to show these emotions without those filler words. Add body language, gestures, facial expressions, or pauses to show the character’s anxiety. I’ve seen ellipses used to denote pauses in dialogue, but only do this if you’re stingy with them. 

Also, be economical. Don’t use more words than you need to. When I’m editing my own dialogue, one word I’m always deleting is “that.” If you cut it from the following sentences, they roll off the tongue much easier. 

“I didn’t know that she was there.”

“I found out that he was cheating on me.”

“He said that he’d meet us there.”

Long Explanations

Say you’ve just written this fantastic chapter where your protagonist has been through absolute hell, yet they discovered something crucial to your plot. Then, in the next chapter, your protagonist meets up with another character and needs to catch them up on everything that just happened. It is more than okay to say something like, “Sarah told Bill what happened.” Focus instead on how Bill reacts or what he says in response. Readers  don’t want to hear an explanation of something they just read, so keep that in mind when recapping events between characters.

Greetings

When I answer the telephone, I say hello. When I see someone at work, I say hey and ask how it’s going. That’s realistic dialogue. But despite its authenticity, it has no place in fiction. Have you ever noticed how people on TV never say goodbye when they’re on the phone? Or they tend to just barge into a scene and start talking? We know people usually greet each other appropriately, but we go with it because we don’t want to waste time on trivialities when we’re enjoying a story.

Character Names

Use character names in dialogue sparingly. When two characters are speaking to each other, it’s redundant to use the other’s name.  A general rule of thumb is to only use a character’s name in dialogue when you’re trying to get that character’s attention, or if there are multiple people in the scene and you need to make it clear who she’s speaking to. When in doubt, leave it out!

And some last tips!

-Watch movies or television, or listen to an audio book. Part of learning to write great dialogue is hearing it. 

-Find a dialogue heavy scene you enjoy and analyze it! Do some characters speak in only fragments? Do some rarely use contractions? How many simple sentences vs. compound/complex sentences are there? How does the author denote accents or bizarre speaking patterns? 

-Read aloud dialogue you’ve written, either by yourself or with a friend. 

-If you’re writing prose, write the scene in script format first. Don’t worry about anything except the words inside those quotation marks.

Now go put words in people’s mouths!

Other great resources:

How to Write Great Dialogue

The Power of Silence

How to Write Dialogue

when ur homie’s lung collapses 

家主…あの…

Excuse me landlady...

オレはたんじょうびの ぷれぜんとと おとしだまに

ネズミをふたつもらったのですが

You gave me two mouses as a birthday present and a new year's gift,

ぷれぜんとのほうが いなくなったんですよ

but the present has already escape away...

よびありましたよね、よび…

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🐺Werewolf:

Loves camping and the outdoors, always warm, very protective of their friends and family, moon water, thick hair, earthy scent like patchouli or vetiver, has a close group of friends that they’ve known forever, treading barefoot on mossy rocks, short nails, braided leather bracelets, lives in workout clothes, dog person.

🧛🏻‍♀️Vampire:

The scent of cool leather, curtains always drawn, night owl, silver jewellery, classic films and novels, likes their steak rare and their wine red, can be a bit cold and emotionally distant, dramatic lipstick, lives for the night life, house is air conditioned, black lace lingerie, will leave you covered in lipstick stains and hickies.

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Can pull off wet hair look, dewy skin, can be a tad moody, always falling in and out of love, festival body glitter, emotional extrovert, colourfully streaked or dip dyed hair, collects sea shells, skinny dipping, beautiful singing voice, youthful looks, sun kissed skin, sea salt scrubs, lavender, has a pet fish or home aquarium.

😈Demon:

Heavy eye makeup, cigarette smoke, flipping their hair over their shoulder with confidence, a bit of a show off, neon lights and underground night clubs, they know someone who knows someone and can get you pretty much anything, whiskey neat, husky laughs, dares and bets, manipulative, keeps people at arms length.

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Floral perfumes, sugar highs, spinning until you’re dizzy, bubblegum, anime girl aesthetic, piggy back rides, giggles, can appear ditsy but are actually quite smart, blowing into dandelions, ultimate dreamers, hair either cut short or waist length, rose quartz crystals, pop music, vodka mixers, wild imaginations.

👻Ghost:

Doesn’t get out much, dwells on the past a lot, either sleeps too much or too little, cries a lot, pacifist, family heirlooms, cold hands warm heart, foggy mornings, 100% an introvert, chamomile tea, vanilla ice cream, sitting in the bath until the water turns cold, white lace curtains, chapped lips, watches late night television.

👽Alien: