Dialogue is one of the most important aspects of a novel. Great dialogue enhances characterisation, and moves the plot forward. But stilted or unrealistic dialogue makes a novel difficult to read, and can encourage the reader to abandon the novel (#TrueStory).
Dialogue needs to read like words real people will say, but it also needs to read smoothly and have meaning. This means eliminating some of the ums and ahs and repetition we have in real-life dialogue. But it doesn’t mean replacing them with long, grammatically perfect sentences that no one would ever say in real life.
Here are some tips for writing great dialogue:
Dialogue should sound natural.
It’s not natural—because it doesn’t have all those ums and ahs and interjections and interruptions and subject changes that are features of a real conversation. But it needs to sound natural.
That means:
- Short sentences.
- Simple sentences.
- Sentence fragments.
- Avoid adjectives (because we don’t usually use adjectives in our everyday conversation).
- Use adverbs (use them sparingly, but you can use them. After all, most people do use adverbs when they talk, which is probably why so many slip into our writing).
A simple sentence is subject – verb – object:
“I love you.”
When we talk in real life, we’re more likely to use a succession of short sentences than a longer, complex sentence. Which of these sounds more like how real people talk?
I love dogs, because they’re always so affectionate.
I love dogs. They’re so affectionate.
Both paragraphs are grammatically correct, but the second sounds more like real-life dialogue.
In contrast, interior monologue can be full of complex sentences, because that’s more like how we think:
I love dogs, the way they’re so affectionate. Not like cats. Cats can be cuddly and all, but it’s all on their terms. They can be affectionate, but they can also be really standoffish.
Writing overly formal dialogue can lead to writing sentences that no one would say in real life, or that are impossible to read aloud (punctuation is your friend, people). Some authors find that dictating their manuscript helps ensure their dialogue reads and sounds like a real conversation.
Use Realistic Vocabulary
The vocabulary in dialogue should fit the specific character:
- Age
- Education level
- Culture
- Where they live
An adult is going to use more complex vocabulary than a child (unless the child is particularly precocious). A university professor is going to use more complex vocabulary than a manual worker (unless that manual worker is working to support their PhD studies).
Use Contractions
Most of us use contractions when we speak, so it feels unnatural to read dialogue that does not use contractions. But there are exceptions:
- If the novel is historical fiction (i.e. before Tudor times).
- If the character speaks English as a second language.
- If the character is speaking another language.
- If the scene calls for formal language e.g. a police officer giving evidence in court.
Avoid Dialect Spellings
Some authors use nonstandard spelling to indicate the character’s accent. I find this distracting. Sometimes it’s distracting because I can’t work out the word, so I have to stop and sound it out to understand the passage. And sometimes it’s distracting because the nonstandard spelling is how I pronounce the word, so I’m left wondering how the author pronounces the word.
Here’s an example, from Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh:
Ah tried tae keep ma attention oan the Jean-Claude Van Damme video. As happens in such moveis, they started oaf wi an obligatory dramatic opening. Then the next phrase ay the picture involved building up the tension through introducing the dastardly villain and sticking the weak plot togither. Any minute now though, auld Jean-Claude’s ready to git doon tae some serious swedgin.
I am obviously not the target reader for Trainspotting, because I find this virtually unreadable (and inconsistent: Walsh has only used dialect for common words:
- ah for I
- tae for to
- ma for my
- oaf for off
- wi for with
- ay for of
The less common words are spelled correctly—introducing the darstadly villain. Surely someone who says ma for my and wi for with would say intraducin, not introducing? As such, the spelling feels inconsistent.
I therefore recommend the following:
- If the word is English, use the dictionary spelling.
- If the word isn’t English, use the relevant dictionary spelling.
- Use slang where appropriate.
- Use regional vocabulary where
- Use word order to indicate accent or nonstandard usage
Ensure Dialogue Doesn’t Tell
One of the major “rules” of modern fiction is to show, not tell. Dialogue should be showing, but sometimes dialogue slips into telling e.g., when the characters are telling each other things they already know, or when dialogue is used to share backstory.
