Dialogue?

The first thing I'd suggest doing is review the types of characters you're writing about. Are these the type of people you know in real life? For example, a trend among teens I've seen in the past few years is writing about Japanese characters. Bless them for trying, but if the author in question doesn't even know anyone from Japan (outside of anime/manga) then the dialogue is apt to sound false. Write what you know, yeah, a timeworn cliche that I usually don't like, but in this case it holds true.

Listening to people chatting on their cellphones is a great way to develop an acuity with dialogues. Granted, don't make it obvious or nosy that you're listening (a lot of times this is unnecessary since people on their phones (myself included) have a tendency to forget where they are) but try to imagine what the other side of the conversation sounds like. Reality doesn't matter, have fun with it. A casual conversation about the weather can turn into a delusional discussion about the pretty pretty rainclouds while someone arguing with a bill collector can have a very confused adolescent on the other end of the line whose entire side is something along the lines of "Do you want fries with that?"

Finally, the draft itself: read the piece aloud. Where does the dialogue start to sound false/stilted? Is it too long, too short, too clumsy, too 'forced" (it's easy as authors to want our characters to say something that they just wouldn't because it will move the story forward) too...whatever? Reading it aloud will give you a perspective and let you know where, and how, specifically your dialogue falls apart....if it does at all. Who knows, you could just be too close to the piece and a couple weeks/months/years of chill time may be all it takes to gain perspective.

*points to the first post* All very good ideas; I just have one little thing that works for me.

I love acting (I'm in high school though, so it's not like I'd even compare to your second rate script-readers :)) and if I'm unsure of what a character would say/how they'd react, I stop writing and act instead. You know what it's like in their heads, so pretend to be there, having just heard the last line you wrote, or the last several lines is better, and don't imagine what they would say next, say it. Do everything aloud, and I find that being in the right position and remembering the setting helps too (someone crouching and cold is going to say something very differently than the same person standing in the tropics, say). Switch between characters if it's more than one line that trips you up. Basically: yes, reading aloud after it's written is a huge help - but acting it out and "reading" it aloud /before/ it's written might help you get closer to the mark the first time. Plus, it's fun to get in character(s) physically as well as mentally. Can help with choreography too.

That said, can you tell I write in private?

What I like to do is read the dialogue scene but just read one side, one character... like it's a monologue. No, it won't make sense, but it will tell you some things you need to know. Then, change places and voices and read just the other person speaking.

jade

Holly Lisle says ---Dialogue is about demonstrating character through conflict, either internal or external.

Moving to Writing 101

Heather
Forums Moderator

Umm . .. ah . . . yeah . . . well . . . darn.

Just litter the dialog with some extra words and phrases to spice it up. Not so much that it gets annoying though.

"Be nice to the imaginary people. Don't kill too many." -- e-mail from my youngest sister, June 23, 2008

My system is often similar to Nappara's. I don't go so far as to say it out loud but I know, from when I write at home, that I make faces and match at least the facial expressions of my characters unconsciously. I also sometimes stop and use my hands/arms to at least illustrate small movements.

I find a lot of dialogue is based of characterization - if you have a clear characterization in your mind of a character, it's easier to keep their dialogue believable and unstilted. The more serious somber character, the responsible, the goof-ball - my dialogue then can stay consistent within their personalities. (hopefully that's clear and makes sense)

2007: Won, Choices
2006 : Won, Adventure of Epic Proportions
2004: Won, Treading the Right Path
2003: Lost

ML for Lancaster and Cumbria, England!
Mod of Writing 101, This is Going Better... & Virtual Worlds

Dialogue is idealized speech. Actual speech has umms, ers, etc. We tend to filter these when we talk to others.

The key to dialogue is remembering that how people talk and choose their words will differ from another person. Who are they? Break down from their childhood the kinds of choices they would make. Do they have an unusual background? D they have a temper? What kind of choices would they make? If you don't know you need to do some exercises to figure it out.

My favorite is to hang the character over a cliff. Then I figure out how they would get out of that situation is no one was to come. (Falling off the cliff is also a choice.)

I also do word association bubbles when a character won't define themselves. If they are too close to another character I do comparison charts. Based on the listed traits I figure out how they would talk. A large factor in how people talk is how they face different kinds of adversity. There are thousands of ways to react to it. Once you have that boiled down, you have how the person will speak.

^_^ Here's some reactions to adversity: Depression, sleepy, lazy, anger, sarcasm, obsession, giving up, buckling up, etc.

You just need to ask which would your character choose given their history. Once you know that and in which situations they would choose that particular one, you will have sparkling dialogue. I think that characters are made up of choices. When a person tends to choose the same way more than once that's then called personality.

Telling someone you're a writer is like telling them you're an obsessive compulsive bipolar schizophrenic that goes to AA meetings once a week.

I think that characters are made up of choices. When a person tends to choose the same way more than once that's then called personality.

I like that a lot

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow. So do it." - Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. (1922-2007)

2006 - Famine: A Novel - failed
2007 - A Midsummer Night's Dream...IN SPACE! - on hold

When people are conversing they don't have to spell out everything as long as the other guy understands. Three chapters of plot may have happened in between, but if two characters are talking about something that happened yesterday chances are they won't spend any time describing the event. Work out how the conversation should sound like first, and don't worry about it not making sense to the reader. If the reader needs a refresher or some background info, put it outside the quotation marks.