Getting the dialogue right

Dialogue is crucial because good dialogue can make a story, bad dialogue can wreck it. So how do you get it right when your characters open their mouth? Well, how about this for a start?

* A lot of the time, we do not speak in correct sentences/we often use short sharp phrases/we interrupt each other/we assume a lot about each other. If that is how people speak then it is how characters must speak in stories

* Keep your dialogue crisp - we can tell a lot about a person in a short snap of conversation

* Dialogue must take the story on (the exception is small talk when the story needs it)

* Do not pack dialogue with extraneous information unless it is necessary to reflect on the character, showing that they are a wordy person with a scatterbrain mind

* Make sure every line does its job - a bit of information, we learn something about the character, it creates a mood etc. If you find yourself writing dialogue to fill space, cut it out!

 

John Dean