Learning how to write dialogue in a story is crucial. Writing gripping conversations that include conflict and disagreement and further your story will make readers want to read on. Here are 7 steps to improve your dialogue writing skills:
Category: Dialogue Writing
Dialogue writing is key for novels and other stories.
Find every article on dialogue writing in Now Novel’s archives here.
Read about using action tags versus dialogue tags. See examples, along with dialogue formatting tips and tricks.
Find out how to write conversations between multiple characters. How to make dialogue tense. Find other words for said and learn how to make your characters’ personalities shine through their speech.
If you search for alternative dialogue tags to use in your story, you’ll find many lists. While some synonyms for ‘said’ read naturally (such as words conveying volume like ‘whispered’), others come across as overwritten and forced, particularly in the wrong context.
The Oxford dictionary defines dialogue as ‘a conversation between two or more people as a feature of a book, play, or film’ (OED). Yet the ‘or more’ (dialogue between more than two characters) is often confusing to write. How do you write and format dialogue well in a scene involving more than two characters? Here are some tips:
Great dialogue in fiction sweeps us up in the story. Movement and action in dialogue are two important elements that serve multiple purposes. Here are tips for writing dialogue that connects your characters to their world:
Writing effective, compelling dialogue has multiple elements. It’s not only what characters say but how they say it that matters. Read other words for said as well as tips for keeping your dialogue natural and engrossing:
Realistic dialogue doesn’t necessarily mimic everyday speech. There’s a lot of real-world filler we remove when writing dialogue (e.g. pleasantries, ‘Fine thanks and you?’) Yet for dialogue to feel real, it’s important to avoid missteps that make dialogue ring hollow:
Dialogue is a key part of any character-driven novel. What characters say and how/why/when/where they say it is revealing. Read 5 types of dialogue your novel needs, and illustrative examples from books:
Learn how to write accents and dialects in your stories because it will help you write about crosscurrents between people and places. Regional dialects help to convey a sense of local character speech in stories.
Dialogue can serve a number of purposes in fiction including developing character, building suspense and advancing plot. If written well, it engages readers and increase their identification with characters. Here are 7 rules for writing dialogue: