How to Write Strong Dialogue
(from a writer of ten years)
So youâre back in the writing trenches. Youâre staring at your computer, or your phone, or your tablet, or your journal, and trying not to lose your mind. Because what comes after the first quotation mark? Nothing feels good.
Donât worry, friend. Iâm your friendly tumblr writing guide and Iâm here to help you climb out of the pit of writing despair.
Iâve created a character specifically for this exercise. His name is Amos Alejandro III, but for now weâll just call him Amos. Heâs a thirty-something construction worker with a cat who hates him, and heâs just found out he has to go on a quest across the world to save his motherâs diner.
1.) Consider the Attitude and Characteristics of Your Character
One of the biggest struggles writers face when writing dialogue is keeping charactersâ dialogue âin-characterâ.
Youâre probably thinking, âbut Sparrow, Iâm the creator! None of the dialogue I write can be out of character because theyâre my original characters!â
WRONG. (Iâm hitting the very loud âincorrectâ buzzer in your head right now).
Yes, you created your characters. But you created them with specific characteristics and attitudes. For example, Amos lives alone, doesnât enjoy talking too much, and isnât a very scholarly person. So heâs probably not going to say something like âI suggest that we pursue the path of least resistance for this upcoming quest.â Heâd most likely say, âI mean, I think the easiest route is pretty self-explanatory.â
Another example is a six-year-old girl saying, âHi, Mr. Ice Cream Man, do you have chocolate sundaes?â instead of âHewwo, Ice Cweam Manâ Chocowate Sundaes?â
Please donât put âwâs in the middle of your dialogue unless you have a very good and very specific reason. I will cry.
Yes, the girl is young, but sheâs not going to talk like that. Most children know how to ask questions correctly, and the âwâ sound, while sometimes found in a young childâs speech, does not need to be written out. Children are human.
So, consider the attitude, characteristics, and age of your character when writing dialogue!
2.) Break Up Dialogue Length
If Iâm reading a novel and I see an entire page of dialogue without any breaks, Iâm sobbing. Youâre not a 17th century author with endless punctuation. Youâre in the 21st century and people donât read in the same way they used to.
Break up your dialogue. Use long sentences. Use one word. Use commas, use paragraph breaks. Show a character throwing a chair out a window in between sentences.
For example:
âSo, youâre telling me the only way to save my Maâs diner is to travel across five different continents, find the only remaining secret receipt card, and bring it back before she goes out of business? She didnât have any other copies? Do I have to leave my cat behind?â
vs.
Amos ran a hand over his face. âSo, youâre telling me the only way to save my Maâs diner is to travel across five different continents, find the only remaining secret recipe card, and bring it back before she goes out of business?â
He couldnât believe his luck. That was sarcastic, of course. This was ironically horrible.
âShe didnât have any other copies?â He leaned forward over the table and frowned. âDo I have to leave my cat behind?â
The second version is easier to digest, and I got to add some fun description of thought and action into the scene! Readers get a taste of Amosâ character in the second scene, whereas in the first scene they only got what felt like a million words of dialogue.
3.) Donât Overuse Dialogue Tags.
DONâT OVERUSE DIALOGUE TAGS. DONâT. DONâT DONâT DONâT.
If you donât know what a dialogue tag is, itâs a word after a sentence of dialogue that attributes that dialogue to a specific character.
For example:
âOrange juice and chicken ramen are good,â he said.
âSaidâ functions as the dialogue tag in this sentence.
Dialogue tags are good. You donât want to completely avoid them. (I used to pride myself on how I could write stories without any dialogue tags. Donât do that.) Readers need to know whoâs speaking. But overusing them, or overusing weird or unique tags, should be avoided.
Examples:
âIâm gonna have to close my diner,â Amosâ mother said.
âWhy?â Amos growled. âItâs been in the family forever.â
âIâve lost the secret recipe card, and I canât keep the diner open without it!â she cried.
âThe Bacon Burger Extreme recipe card?â Amos questioned.
âYes!â Amosâ mother screamed.
âWell, thatâs not good,â Amos complained.
vs.
âIâm gonna have to close my diner,â Amosâ mother said, taking her sonâs hand and leading him over to one of the old, grease-stained tabletops with the ripped-fabric booths.
Amos simply stared at her as they moved. âWhy? Itâs been in the family forever.â
âIâveââ she looked away for a moment, then took in a breath. âIâve lost the secret recipe card. And I canât keep the diner open without it.â
âThe Bacon Burger Extreme recipe card?â
âYes!â She still wouldnât meet his eyes, and her shoulders were shaking. âYes.â
Amos sat down heavily in the booth. âWell, thatâs not good.â
The first scene only gives character names and dialogue tags. There are no actions and no descriptions. The second scene, however, gives these things. It gives the reader descriptions of the diner, the charactersâ actions, and attitudes. Overusing dialogue tags gets boring fast, so add interest into your writing!
So! When youâre writing, consider the attitude of your character, vary dialogue length, and donât overuse dialogue tags.
Now climb out of the pit of writing despair. Pick up your pen or computer. And write some good dialogue!
Best,
Sparrow
