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Dialogue Class

Keepin' it Real: Dialogue Lessons by lydiad55

We're always talking. It's part of human nature to communicate. It's what we do on our way to work and school, when we get home, wherever we are. And, because we're always talking, we know how to suss out a realistic conversation in a book or not. So here are my top tips on keeping the conversations real.

Keep a record

It sounds crazy, maybe even creepy, but if you record some everyday conversations and play them back to yourself, you'll get to know how conversations work. Most people have a phone or something with a recording device on them, so why not click 'record' one lunch-time while your friends are having an ordinary natter and play it back later on.

Of course, it'd be a good idea to mention it to your friends that you've recorded them. But wait until afterwards. If they're expecting it, the conversation won't sound realistic.

Read a play

This is one of the best ways to understand conversations. Get yourself and a couple of friends to act out a play some time. Maybe not something as old-fashioned as Shakespeare, but it'd certainly be a great laugh. By reading the play, you'll understand how characters act around each other and how different characters talk differently.

We're not all the same

One of the worst things a writer can do is make every single character identical. Sure, one has brown eyes and the other has blue...But when words come out of their mouths, you're confused as to who's who. Remember that parents won't sound the same as their children. Do you say the same words and phrases as your Dad? Unlikely. And all of your friends may seem similar but they all have their own individual way of talking.

If you make each of your characters unique in the way they talk, we, as readers, can learn a lot about them. It's like describing them...without describing them! Genius.

Use appropriate vocab

This is difficult to do. When you're making characters speak, it's so hard to know the types of words that your parents would use (or, if you're the parent, your kids would use). It might be useful to observe their conversations a little. Using words like "darling" for parents or getting them to talk about their bank statements is perfect. Then you know how old they are. (Although, some parents don't talk about their bank statements and act like teenagers which is quite fun to experiment with!)

Remember the time period you're writing in too. If you're writing a historical fiction novel, it's probably not appropriate to be using words like "whatevs" and other slang. And don't forget that they may not have had phones or other technology - so don't refer to them during conversations.

You're writing a story, not a script

Oh dear! How many times have I seen dialogue written as if it's a script! Or sometimes written just as a list without any indication of who is talking. Don't do either of these things. If you prefer to write this way to start out, that's fine, but sort it into normal speech afterwards. Be sure not to use "she said" if there are two or more females present as readers will be left clueless.

Txt tlk

Texting and other forms of web-based communication like Facebook are great ways to communicate, both in real life and in stories. It is simple to get characters to know each other and can even be great to base a plot around it. However, like above, make sure to indicate who is sending the messages. Also, don't use too much text talk as it can be confused for bad writing. I'm not saying write in full English, just try and keep things simple. 

For example, instead of "last nite woz gr8" or "I had the most thrilling evening yesterday", try saying "last night was great" or even "gr8" if you want to.

One other thing to say about text conversations is not to write them in capital letters. Write them in normal letters or, if you want to make it obvious there's a difference, try italics. Capitals are messy and readers hate them.

DON'T USE CAPITALS!!!!!!

I know I just said this but it's worth repeating. Never ever use capitals during conversations. If you want readers to know that a character is angry or shouting, use italics or the simple exclamation mark (!) at the end of the sentence. It makes  things look much neater. 

Also, don't overuse punctuation at the end of speech (???!?!!?!?). This also looks messy and isn't necessary.

Don't be afraid to use 'said'

When I was younger, my teachers would encourage me not to use "said" so much. They'd try to get me to use other words instead. This is good, especially when it's words like "shouted" or "whispered" as you can understand the mood. However, trying too hard to use different words can get kinda crazy. You can't overuse the word 'said' and sometimes it's the best word to use. If in doubt, ask your readers what they thought of the conversation (i.e - did they find it boring?)

Pause for effect

Pauses can be great in conversation. For example: 

"Jack," she said. "Please don't go!"

This is effective as you've paused the conversation just by using the "she said". Try this yourself, putting a break in the conversation without using an elipsis or a hyphon. However, don't put a really long sentence in between the two halves of the conversation or the readers will forget what has just been said.

Read aloud

 My final point is that you must always read your work out loud. How else can you know that what you're writing sounds real? So, grab a few friends and read it out. Pause in the right places and whisper, yell, etc. when you're told. If it doesn't sound right, it probably isn't. So you can then edit your work and see if a few different words can improve it.

That's all for this class. Any questions? Want me to review your dialogue? Just ask.