A lot of people tend to focus on detail while they write and edit, but dialogue is just as important! It develops the characters, builds tension, and lets us feel more connected to the characters.
So, here are 5 easy tips on how to improve your dialogue!
1) Keep in mind your dialogue tags
Dialogue tags are what is attached to the dialogue to explained how a character spoke, such as whispered,shouted and confessed.
However, there are two key issues to avoid: too many dialogue tags and not enough.
You want a fair balance between said and other more descriptive dialogue tags like the ones listed above.
Here's an example:
"What did Kristi tell you last night?" I said.
"Oh, nothing," Matt said.
"I heard otherwise," I said.
"Well, you heard wrong."
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm not lying!" Matt said.
As you can see, just repeating 'said' did not detail the tension in the scene well.
So, try to mix it up like this:
"What did Kristi tell you last night?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing."
"I heard otherwise," I retorted.
"Well, you heard wrong."
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm not lying!" Matt shouted.
As you can read, a few more descriptive dialogue tags can help your scene convey a sense of tension, or dread, or bliss - anything you want. Half the time, your readers don't pay attention to the tags, so don't have every single dialogue tag be something other than 'said'. Sometimes, you want the reader to pay more attention to the words said than the tag.
2) Support your dialogue with detail!
Nobody wants to read bare dialogue, and by bare I mean with absolutely no detail. Think about when you are having a conversation with a sibling, a friend, a cousin. You two aren't just sitting there, stone-faced and motionless. Both of you move, you interact.
Here's an example:
"What did Kristi tell you last night?" I asked.
"Oh, nothing," Matt said, crossing his arms.
"I heard otherwise," I retorted.
Matt scoffed. "Well, you head wrong."
"You're a terrible liar."
"I'm not lying!" Matt shouted, pounding his fist into the counter.
As you can read, the little details added to Matt made his character feel more alive, and displayed his emotions more. Try to do that with your characters - if their anxious, have their hands tremble or their forehead sweat. If their angry, have their hands form into fists or their jaw clench. These little details indicate their state of mind to the reader, and add another layer of emotion!
3) Don't Overdo Dialect and Accents
We all want our dialogue to come off as realistic, but sometimes, we try too hard. If you have a British character, they don't say 'bloody' in every line they speak. If a character is American, they don't say 'like' or 'bae' a lot either - trust me.
Adding dialect and accents are helpful, and do make your characters feel more real and authentic, but do it sparingly. Wealthy people don't use flowery language 24/7, but you can contrast their language to a poorer, uneducated character, for example, by letting the uneducated character use improper grammar - ain't, for example.
It doesn't have to be very obvious, but just be mindful that Americans don't speak like those awfulJersey Shore people all the time (or ever).
4) Read your dialogue out loud!
If you want to achieve realistic conversation, the best way to do it speak the scene out loud. Trust me, it seems like this exercise wouldn't help, but it does. Reading your dialogue out loud allows you to identify odd phrases that wouldn't be spoken normally, and you can tweak the scene from it!
5) Give characters their own speech pattern
Do you talk like your grandmother? Your younger sister? Your grouchy teacher?
No, and neither should your characters! Keep in mind the following items while writing dialogue: Age, Gender, Social background, Education level, Geographical location, and Verbosity.
Here are examples:
Age: a 12-year-old speaks differently than a 55-year-old
Gender: Women and men do use different vocabulary
Social background: Upper-class persons speak more eloquently than lower-class typically
Education level: Uneducated persons don't typically speak as well as educated persons
Geographical location: Think about your own country! The USA, for example, has different speech patterns between the North and the South
Verbosity: Some characters tend to ramble on while others prefer the silent treatment
With these useful tips, you can help your characters convey more emotion through their dialogue! As I stated in the beginning, just these simple changes can help your characters seem more authentic, build more tension, and let the readers feel more connected to the characters!
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We'd specially love to say a BIG Thank you! To Lexie for always coming through.
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