10 Ways To Write Great Dialogue (Explained)

Dialogue is one of the most important elements in storytelling. It can make or break a scene, and it can make or break your career as a writer. But with so much at stake, it’s easy to get tongue-tied when writing dialogue. 

Or you might get bogged down by all those rules about how to write great dialogue (all 60 of them!). Fear not! Here are some tips that will help you navigate the world of conversation and create compelling exchanges between characters:

Takeaways
1. Utilize subtext to convey hidden meanings and emotions.
2. Craft dialogue that reflects each character’s voice.
3. Keep conversations concise and avoid unnecessary details.
4. Use dialogue to reveal character motivations.
5. Create tension through conflicts and disagreements.
6. Incorporate pauses and beats for natural pacing.
7. Experiment with different dialogue tags and cues.
8. Balance exposition with engaging conversation.
9. Show cultural and contextual influences on speech.
10. Edit and revise dialogue for clarity and impact.

Use Conversations To Reveal Character Relationships

Character relationships are an important part of the story. They can be used as a source of conflict, motivation, or backstory for your characters. 

The way you choose to handle dialogue in these situations will go a long way toward determining how well your audience connects with the characters.

The conflict between characters is one way that you can use dialogue to reveal character relationships and motivations. 

A good example would be a romantic relationship where both partners want different things out of life but don’t know how to speak up about their wants and needs. 

The two people could be having arguments over petty things like who gets to take out the trash or what movie they should watch on Friday night when they have more important matters at hand that need to be addressed such as who has more chores around the house (or maybe there isn’t even any real conflict between them at all). 

Either way, this type of conflict reveals something very deep about each person’s personality because it shows how they react when faced with adversity or disappointment which gives clues into their values system.

As well as their history together which could include past conflicts from childhood through adulthood so there are many ways in which this kind of dialogue can be used effectively depending on what kind of story you’re trying to tell!

Aspiring writers often stumble upon various pitfalls when crafting their stories. From awkward character development to convoluted plotlines, these are some of the hilarious mistakes novelists make that can be valuable lessons for improving your dialogue skills.

Make Conversation Sound Real

Great dialogue reveals character relationships, traits, and backstory. If you’re writing a book with multiple characters, each of them should have its distinctive personality. 

Your dialogue should give each character’s personality some depth and color through their words and actions.

For example, A character might say “I’m going to hit you!” in one scene; but then later in your book when they see an opportunity for revenge against someone who wronged them earlier on in the story, they could say “I’ll be back later”, instead of making threats like before. 

Both these sentences reveal different things about how this character thinks about themselves and others’ opinions of them – so it’s important to use conversations between characters effectively!

Use The Word “Said” And Its Synonyms Sparingly

There are plenty of ways to write dialogue that doesn’t involve the word “said”. And if you have a character who is constantly saying things, your readers might be tempted to close the book. Here are some suggestions for describing speech:

Use Other Synonyms For Said Like “Remarked” Or “Volunteered”

Remove said entirely and let the reader figure out what’s happening from context clues or descriptions of non-verbal actions like rolling eyes or nodding heads.

Use said only when it’s necessary. For example, if you write something like “He said ‘I love you'”, then I’m going to expect him to say those words again later on in our story… one more time than he would have if we just used dialogue tags such as (he says) instead!

Avoid direct-character-to-reader exposition in dialogue.

Don’t tell the reader what to think. Avoid direct-character-to-reader exposition in dialogue.

Use dialogue tags after every line of dialogue. If you don’t, you’ll confuse your readers and make them wonder who’s speaking—and if they’re confused about that, they won’t be able to focus on anything else in the scene or story.

Avoid overusing words like “gasped,” “croaked,” etc. As a general rule of thumb, try not to use more than three words in a row with your chosen dialogue tag; otherwise, it will become distracting and irritating for readers!

Avoid modifying descriptive words with adjectives and adverbs that do nothing but tell us what we already know (for example: “she said thoughtfully”). 

Instead, try using verbs instead of adjectives or adverbs when possible: “She nodded her head” can be changed into “She nodded vigorously.”

Crafting compelling dialogue requires more than just words; it demands a keen understanding of storytelling techniques. Explore our top 10 tips for the aspiring novel writer to uncover insights that can transform your characters’ conversations.

Write Dialogue That Doesn’t Tell The Reader What To Think

You may think that your dialogue is just a way to get information across, but it’s also a great opportunity to show the reader what the characters are thinking and feeling. If you want your dialogue to be effective, then you should avoid writing things like:

“You were wrong about me, mom! I wasn’t flirting with that girl! I was just trying to make things better between the two of us!”

In this example, there’s no reason for “I wasn’t flirting with that girl” or “I was just trying to make things better between the two of us” to be in quotation marks.

They’re not being said by anyone they’re just there so we know what our main character thinks. This can lead readers astray as they try to figure out what they should be thinking while reading it.

Take Advantage Of Pauses And Interruptions In Dialogue

Pauses and interruptions can create tension and suspense.

Pauses also show character reactions. For example, if a character is surprised by something, they may pause as they take it in.

Pauses also show uncertainty: Is there a problem? Are we missing something? How do I react? What’s going on here?

Pauses also allow characters to think through what the other person just said so they can give an appropriate response (or not).

Pauses are often used when a character is confident or arrogant; it makes them look smart or powerful because they don’t rush their words but instead take their time thinking about things before answering

Don’t Use Dialogue Tags After Every Line Of Dialogue

There are times when you want to show the reader what is happening in the scene, but not necessarily who is speaking. This can be useful if you have two characters saying the same thing at different times or it helps to show how much time passes between each line of dialogue.

Dialogue tags are used to tell the reader who’s speaking and should only be used when there isn’t another way for them to figure it out from context clues or other information given about that character’s personality, actions, or background circumstances (this does not include action tags). 

They should also not be used excessively so that your writing feels overly descriptive and doesn’t allow readers room for their imagination as they read through scenes where characters talk back-and-forth with one another

Writing dialogue that resonates with readers is a continuous creative endeavor. Discover effective strategies in our guide on how to stay inspired as a writer, helping you infuse authenticity and energy into your characters’ conversations.

Use Everyday Words In Speech

Using everyday words in speech is an easy way to make your dialogue sound more realistic. 

This is because most people don’t use fancy words in everyday conversation, and the entire point of writing dialogue is for it to sound like something that’s being said by a real person.

On the flip side, using too many complicated or obscure words can also give your dialogue an unnatural quality. If you’re not careful, you may end up sounding as though you’re quoting from Shakespearean plays (or at least from his sonnets). 

It can be tempting to use unusual slang or terminology when writing but it’s important to strike a balance between sounding too formal and sounding too casual; 

Otherwise, the reader won’t be able to distinguish between characters speaking with each other regularly versus someone who only talks like this once every few months when they’re under duress (e.g., when being interrogated by police officers).

Give Your Characters A Unique Style Of Speaking

When it comes to writing dialogue, it’s important to give your characters a unique style of speaking that reflects their personality. Here are some tips for doing so:

Speak in your voice. Write like you talk and let the character speak through you. If you’re having trouble getting started, try saying the dialogue out loud it may help get you started on the right track and make it easier to catch mistakes as well!

Use words that would be used in real life. A great way to do this is by reading transcripts from interviews or watching video footage of people talking about similar topics as those featured in your story (e.g., a murder mystery). 

You can also use online dictionaries such as WordReference or Urban Dictionary for reference if necessary just be careful not to overuse slang terms.

Because they tend not to be appropriate for formal situations such as work meetings when discussing business matters like product development plans with coworkers who have less experience working at large companies than they do!

Memorize Snippets Of Real Conversations

If you love eavesdropping on people’s conversations but can’t bring yourself to become a social pariah, there’s a way around it: memorize snippets of real conversations. Use them in your writing.

We’re not suggesting that you do this as a matter of course, though. To write great dialogue, it’s important to know exactly what types of things are appropriate for your story and characters and what is not. 

For example, if one character always uses Yiddish slang when talking with another character (who doesn’t understand), the reader will get confused by all the unfamiliar words and phrases being thrown around out of context. 

Similarly, if two characters speak in different languages or dialects (or even accents), this can also be confusing for readers who are unfamiliar with those languages or dialects or accents and if they’re unable to decipher these conversations on their own, then they won’t enjoy reading them either!

In short: use caution when taking real-life conversation snippets from other people and inserting them into your own fictional stories!

Dialogue Needn’t Be A Transcription Of Real Speech

You can use dialogue to reveal character relationships, personalities, motives, emotions, and backstory. You can also use it to show what characters are thinking or doing at the time.

Here are some examples:

“You’re a jerk!” she yelled. She wanted to make sure he knew that she was angry with him and didn’t want him around anymore.

“I don’t believe you’re telling me that!” he said defensively as he tried to figure out where this conversation was going wrong and how it could have been avoided altogether if only he had thought of something clever to say before now.

“How do I know who’s right here?” he asked quietly as his mind raced through all possible explanations for why they were fighting again (even though they weren’t fighting).

Unveiling the unexpected can elevate your writing, especially when it comes to crafting engaging dialogue. Delve into our compilation of 12 novel writing tips & tricks that will surprise you, and enrich your dialogue with inventive techniques.

Avoid Using Too Many Modifiers With Dialogue Tags

When you’re writing dialogue, remember that overuse of modifiers can make your character sound silly.

Gasped, croaked, wheezed, and stammered are all examples of words that can be used as dialogue tags or beats but should be avoided as much as possible. If you find yourself using them too often in your writing, then take a step back and look at your work again with fresh eyes.

Don’t Overuse Words Like “Gasped,” “Croaked,” Etc., As Dialogue Tags Or Beats

If you can avoid it, don’t use the same word over and over again. These are usually called dialogue tags or beats, but they’re all the same thing: a short description of what someone’s doing when they speak. 

Some people recommend never using more than one word per beat others say two is okay if it helps you make sense of a character’s reaction but either way, it shouldn’t be just one monosyllabic grunt every time someone speaks.

Another problem with these kinds of dialogue tags is that they often sound like code names for animals in a story about talking animals (e.g., “HISS” instead of “said”). 

It might work for certain genres (and there are some great examples), but if your book isn’t about talking animals or superheroes who have their unique vocabularies (“POW!”), keep that kind of thing to yourself until after publication when no one will know what you look like anyways!

Think About How Fast Characters Speak And Adjust Your Pacing Accordingly

One of the most common mistakes I see beginner writers make is to write dialogue without understanding the context in which it’s being spoken. If a character is excited, angry, or nervous, their speech should reflect that. 

Similarly, if they’re calm and relaxed, they should speak slower than usual. When you’re writing dialogue for your characters and can’t decide whether to make it fast or slow or even if you’re supposed to make it fast/slow at all it’s helpful to think about how your character would be feeling.

If you’ve ever been around a person who’s excited about something but isn’t sure how others will react (as in maybe they just got engaged), you’ll notice them talking very quickly as if afraid that someone might interrupt them before they can finish talking about their big news. 

Alternatively, when someone is extremely nervous while speaking with someone else (like when meeting a new boss), their speech tends towards an equally rapid pace but one that feels more stilted than the former example because there are more pauses between words and phrases with each utterance containing only one primary idea.

Rather than several different ones per sentence like in our first example above where marriage proposals are discussed excitedly among friends celebrating together over champagne glasses filled with bubbling effervescence!

Don’t Let Your Writing Get Bogged Down By Stuffy Dialogue

Dialogue is one of the most important elements in any piece of fiction, but it can also be one of the most difficult to write.

To make sure that your dialogue doesn’t become bogged down by stuffy or repetitive words and phrases, you must avoid certain pitfalls:

Don’t use too many modifiers (words like “gasped,” “croaked,” etc.) as dialogue tags or beats. If you do this, your character will sound like a cartoon character and not seem real at all. 

Instead, try using simple sentences with short words whenever possible it will make your characters sound more authentic while also keeping their personalities intact.

Don’t overuse direct-character-to-reader exposition via dialogue tags (i.e., “he said quietly”). This can get exhausting for both reader and writer alike! Instead, try using indirect exposition through conversation: 

Let characters explain things indirectly by asking questions about them or otherwise trying to learn more about something they don’t understand yet themselves (for example: “I thought he was just being nice when he offered me coffee last night.)

Novice writers often seek guidance to embark on their novel-writing journey. Explore our resourceful 17 tips for anyone wanting to write a novel, where you can uncover valuable insights that encompass not only crafting dialogue but the broader realm of storytelling.

Conclusion

The next time you write dialogue, think of it as a way to bring your characters to life. Dialogue is so much more than just words spoken between two people. 

It’s how they interact with each other and what they say that can reveal their personalities, backgrounds, and attitudes towards others. For example:

Further Reading

Reedsy’s Guide on How to Write Dialogue Short Description: Learn essential techniques and tips for crafting impactful dialogue that engages readers and advances your story.

MasterClass Article: How to Write Great Dialogue Short Description: Dive into this article to discover the art of writing memorable dialogue, with insights from experienced authors.

NY Book Editors: Your Guide to Writing Better Dialogue Short Description: Explore this comprehensive guide to improve your dialogue writing skills, covering nuances that enhance character interactions.

FAQs

How can I create realistic dialogue that captivates readers?

Crafting authentic dialogue involves observing real conversations, understanding your characters’ personalities, and avoiding excessive exposition. Focus on natural flow and subtext to engage readers effectively.

What are some common mistakes to avoid in dialogue writing?

Avoiding excessive dialogue tags, eliminating on-the-nose dialogue, and steering clear of overly formal language are crucial steps to prevent common dialogue writing pitfalls.

How do I make dialogue contribute to character development?

Dialogue can reveal a character’s personality, motivations, and conflicts. Utilize subtext, differing speech patterns, and dynamic interactions to showcase characters’ uniqueness and growth.

How can dialogue enhance the pacing of my story?

Well-paced dialogue balances action, exposition, and character interactions. Vary sentence lengths, control the timing of reveals, and strategically place dialogue to maintain an engaging rhythm.

How can I ensure dialogue serves the plot effectively?

Each dialogue exchange should propel the plot forward, reveal information, or create conflict. Evaluate whether the dialogue contributes to story goals, and consider the broader context in which it occurs.