It’s difficult (not impossible, but difficult) to write a story without dialogue. The way characters talk, both to others and to themselves, often determines the tone, pacing, plot, and emotional impact of your story. One of the most notable uses of dialogue in a story, in my opinion, is William Faulkner’s novel “As I Lay Dying.” The stream-of-consciousness narration, along with the monologues and conversations, create the story more fully than any other aspect of the novel. The dialogue speaks for itself (no pun intended), with almost no dialogue tags used throughout. In a sense, the best way to read it is out loud.
When preparing to write dialogue, one of my favorite things to do is write down things that people say around me. Not in a stalker way, but just notations on the words they choose, the phrasing they use, and the tone in which they say things. Paying close attention to the way that people actually talk is going to translate well into your writing, full-stop.
NY Book Editors wrote a great post about tips for writing dialogue, some of which are included below. Here’s Bonnie Book’s tips for writing great dialogue:
- Make it count.
Dialogue is not different from any part of your book, meaning that if it’s written down, it should have a purpose. If you find yourself writing conversations between characters that do not move the story forward in some small way, you are better to leave it out. Dialogue shouldn’t be avoided, but it also should not be used as a crutch.
- Avoid small talk.
Small talk falls into the previous category. If you’re writing small talk as a way to establish your characters, show the dynamics in a room, or reveal small pieces of information that are otherwise relevant, keep it in. Otherwise, avoid it. It’s not interesting in real life, so why would your readers want to read about it, too?
- Show characterization through the way your characters speak.
Every character in a book should speak differently. If you took away all dialogue tags and left your reader to figure out who was speaking, it shouldn’t be unnecessarily difficult for them to figure it out. If you do this and every voice sounds the same, then you need to infuse more individuality and characterization into your characters’ voices.
- Don’t info dump.
Have you ever watched a movie and noticed how often plot is shown through conversations between characters complaining about something? A recent example for me was Kung Fu Panda 4 (I recently saw it with my family.) The audience learns about the villainous actions of the antagonist through a casual conversation between the city’s landowners. “She went evil, and now she’s taxing us 60%!”, that sort of thing.
This type of exposition is common, and can be done well, but generally should be avoided. Remember the cardinal rule of writing a book – show, don’t tell. You probably don’t hang out with your friends and give them detailed explanations of past events they also lived through. Your characters shouldn’t, either.
- As much as is relevant, base your characters’ conversations on real conversations.
Record the world around you and transmute it through your writing. Nothing you write will ever truly be original or groundbreaking – all of it will have roots in the world you’re experiencing and the things you hear. Don’t just listen to people speak, take notes on it. Treat conversations around you as research, and infuse that into the things you write.
- Use dialogue tags like salt: a little goes a long way
Dialogue tags are sometimes necessary. They can lessen confusion, keep the reader engaged, and give visual structure to a page. However, as any audiobook listener knows, a little goes a long way.
You don’t need dialogue tags after every sentence or utterance. Use them to season, not to overpower.
- As always, read it out loud
If you read your dialogue and it sounds stilted or strange but you can’t quite put your finger on why, have someone read it out loud for you, and then ask them to replicate the conversation in their own words. Where are the differences? How would you change it to fit your character? Go from there.
As the great Elmore Leonard once said, “If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it.”
