We’re all aiming to become better writers, right? Well, I am a firm believer that good dialogue can turn a good book into a great one. Here are three more rules for writing great dialogue.
You can find Part 1 of this post here.
Rule #4: Use Dialogue to Distinguish.
Dialogue is a perfect tool to differentiate between different character voices. But this only works if each character has consistent patterns or quirks in their dialogue.
These can be subtle. Maybe one character uses shorter sentences while another uses more poetic language. One character might use more slang, while another always speaks formally.
If you have a lot of characters talking in your novel and you’re having trouble keeping their separate voices consistent, you can try two exercises:
One is to write down a definitive list of “dialogue rules” for each character. This could be things like, always uses “gonna” instead of “going to,” or “only refers to friends by their silly nicknames.” Then stick to these rules as you write and edit.
If you want to be even more thorough, you can create a blank document for each character and copy their respective lines of dialogue (and only dialogue) into those documents. This way, you can read only the words each character is speaking, without the distractions of description or action. This makes it really easy to spot inconsistencies in voice.
Rule #5: Don’t info-dump.
Dialogue is often used by beginning writers as a way to tell readers exactly what they need to know. But here’s the rule: if the characters talking already know the information they’re talking about, they shouldn’t be having the conversation just for the reader’s benefit. Something new has to come out of it. Besides, you can work in the backstory much more subtly. Readers are smart. They’ll pick up the hints and piece them together.
But what if your character needs to be told something he or she doesn’t already know? This can work, because it’s new information for at least one of the characters. It does need to move the story along, though. Here’s an example:
“Miss Ida talked to me last night. Asked me when I was gonna get my permission slip in. I ask her, for what? And she goes, ‘For your big date tomorrow.’” He paused. My ears were hot. “So, I say, ‘With who?’ Because I didn’t know I had a big date, see. And now Miss Ida looks a little surprised. She says, ‘Well, if not you, then who is Quinn taking?’ And I tell her I didn’t know Quinnsy had a big date either, see.”
These little recaps are actually some of my favorite things to write, because it really lets you play with character voice. Real people meander when they’re telling stories. They’re messy. They insert filler words and change the tense and make side comments. When you can find a way to have a character tell an entertaining story while also providing plot-moving information, by all means, do it.
Rule #6: Build relationships.
Your characters will talk to different people in different ways. A middle-schooler is going to use a lot more slang with his friends than with his principal. The way you write dialogue exchanges between different characters can be a really fascinating way to see how the characters relate to one another.
Dialogue can hint at a pair of characters growing closer as the story progresses. It can also suggest a fuming hatred between another pair. And the narrator hardly has to say a word, if it’s done right.
I hope you found these dialogue rules helpful. If you did, leave a comment below, and please share this post with your writing friends!