Tips From Writers: How To Write Great Dialogue

Good dialogue matters, because if your character’s speech does not flow, it ends up breaking the entire structure and the story plot apart, causing readers to lose focus and probably stop reading. Great dialogue helps the story to move forward, pull the readers along with the characters’ stories, and it allows for you as a writer to flesh out the characters and their dynamics as much as you can. Dialogue is an important element when writing a story, which is why I have collected all the best tips from different writers and editors to help you move forward in writing your own dialogue.

Previously, I wrote about how to create a character for your story, so if you would like to read more on that topic, then click HERE; otherwise, read on for tips, tricks, and advice from people who were just like you before!

Nine quick tips on writing dialogue from the Reedsy Blog:

• Skip the small talk – do not worry too much about the ‘hey’ and ‘how are you’ talks.
• Keep to three dialogue beats – screenwriter Cynthia Whitcomb advises using a maximum of three dialogue beats at a time, after which you should insert a dialogue tag, action beat, or another character’s speech.
• Use action beats – these are descriptions of expressions, movements, or internal thoughts accompanying the character’s words.
• Do not be afraid of using ‘said’ – this simple tag is preferred over the descriptive ones, as it focuses the reader’s attention on what is being said, rather than how they are saying it.
• Add variety to dialogue scenes – do not stick to one technique, otherwise you will wear the reader out; try to use a variety, such as using descriptive tags other than ‘said’ once in a while.
• Avoid excessive exposition – having at least one character who does not understand something can help you in explaining a part of the story more naturally, rather than overexplaining something.
• Use catchphrases or quirks in moderation – use them but do not go overboard with them.
• Remember that character’s do not always mean what they say ­– creating good dialogue places emphasis on what is not being said, and it can make the story more realistic and compelling; the best way to do this is to show, do not tell.
• Less is more – keep editing and cut out any parts that are not important and add nothing to the story.

For further advice on dialogue tips, formatting, and examples, click HERE to read all about dialogues from the website of Self-Publishing School. You can also find some masterclasses HERE to learn more detailed techniques and methods, as well as in-depth explanations from professionals themselves!

Author of ‘People We Meet on Vacation’, Emily Henry, says that writing is like a game of tug-of-war; when there is dialogue on the page, it should feel like something is happening, something to do with the plot changing direction, emotions moving forward, etc. Not every conversation has to feel like a fight, but there should be something pulling in opposite directions; for example, characters who do not agree with each other give different ideas and thoughts, like a game of table tennis, leading to something else later in the story.

Writing dialogue may be difficult now, or you may have started but you do not know how to continue on; the key to great dialogue and a great story overall, is to keep writing without fear, and to keep editing without mercy.