How to Write Dialogue

 

How to Write Dialogue

If you don’t know how to write dialogue before you attempt to write a novel or even a movie script, you’ll not be successful. No matter what you come up with as a plot or storyline, if your writing is effective you’ll fall flat on your face. That’s why my mentor always told me that a book without good dialogue isn’t a good book. But first, let’s discuss the ground rules for dialogue.

Each voice or character gets a new paragraph. Doesn’t matter if they say one or two words in the conversation, those words get a new paragraph. The dialogue also gets quotes surrounding the dialogue. For example,

            “Mary had a little lamb,” Paul said.

The only time you don’t indent is if you are starting a new chapter or it’s after a scene break in a script. This is why you never start a new chapter or after a scene break with dialogue. Always start off with describing a scene or what a character is doing or thinking, then go into the dialogue.

Each character's dialogue should be indented while your background, storyline, or a person’s feelings thoughts, or emotions should always be flush left as a paragraph.

Should you have a character speaking for a great length of time you start with the indent and quotes, then add in an emotion or explanation of what is happening around them as they speak, close the quote then start a new paragraph when you begin your dialogue again to finish the conversation or speech. Oh yeah and please be sure to put the punctuation inside the quotes. When punctuation is placed outside of the quotes a reader for a publisher or editor will strike your work down fast because they know you don’t know how to write dialogue. So please heed my warning and get it right the first time out.

Always remember that when a new character speaks or is introduced into the storyline make sure you put quotes around their dialogue, indent the dialogue, and make it a new paragraph. Got it. Good.

Another good thing to remember is to use dialogue tags with your dialogue because it tells the reader who is speaking and how they’re speaking. For example,

            “You really shouldn’t say that,” Carl, sniped at John at the way he was treating Pam.

Other tags that are used could be, she wondered aloud, she huffed, he whispered. As you can see, I used lowercase for each phrase, that’s because that phrase would follow the quote. This tells the reader that the tag is part of the character’s demeanor at that moment. You can also add the tagline before the quote such as She cursed to herself, “Fine be that way.”

Another thing to remember is to always capitalize the first letter of the quote and then end it with a quote before you provide action items such as She tossed her hair back to show her defiance, then you use a quote to start the conversation once again.

What I do is use a recording machine like a tape recorder when I write dialogue. I write it out and if I’m not sure if it sounds right, I read it out loud and record myself then play it back. If it sounds good, I’ll use it, if not I’ll rewrite it over and over again until I get it right. Don’t be upset if it sounds cheesy to your ear, that’s ok. Always remember that dialogue in a storyline isn’t realistic and it’s ok to sound cheesy.

I can’t say it enough, your dialogue should be able to move the story forward as your character speaks. A publisher doesn’t want to know what they had for dinner last night until it is important to the storyline and moves the story forward in some way. Like the person sitting next to you fell over dead and it turns out they were poisoned. Was the poison meant for them or someone else?

Ask yourself these important questions as you read your own dialogue: 

1)      Is the dialogue realistic, in other words, would a cop really say it that way? If you don’t know find a cop friend and ask them to help you with the verbiage.

2)      Will the dialogue move your storyline forward and help you develop your character even more? If not, don’t use it.

Make sure your character has a unique voice. If your character is from Philly, be sure they have a Philly accent and use verbiage that someone from Philly would use. The same goes for a New Yorker or a Southerner. If you don’t know how they speak, ask someone for help and do the research yourself so you can get it right.

Your objective in writing dialogue is to give your character a unique voice that makes them come alive. Think about speech patterns and the dialect that people speak in various parts of the country or the world. Use appropriate slang when necessary.

Now that you’ve got the gist of how dialogue is written, go practice and be sure to record yourself to hear how it sounds.  Good luck! Now Make me proud.

 

Artist and Author Elizabeth Kilbride is a former political operative, author, scriptwriter, historian, and journalist. business professional, creative artist, and life coach consultant. Ms. Kilbride holds a master’s in criminology and a BS in Business Management she stepped out of the loop for a while but is now back with a powerful opinion and voice in the direction of this country and our economy. As a life coach, she is available to counsel individuals to enjoy their dreams and a better life. Ms. Kilbride loves to travel and photograph her surroundings and is also a gourmet cook who loves to garden and preserve food for the winter months.