Amy Oliveira- Amy Oliveira
Writing Tips: Dialogue
Updated: Feb 24, 2021
How’s your week going?
This week’s writing tips we will talk about dialogue!
Linking with our last post, to create a good dialogue the first thing you have to know is your character. Give them a distinguished and powerful voice!
I know it sounds simple, but dialogue is extremely important.
It moves the plot
Can further develop characters
Inserts the story into the real world
A few rules to create an effective dialogue are:
Cut small talk, we barely like small talk in the real world, why would we like to read it?
Reveal a little about your character, their believes and motivations. I can’t barely hold a conversation without mentioning books! Everyone has their passion, use this to introduce your character to the readers.
Use the dialogue to make descriptions, like when we used to spend hours and hours with our best friend on the phone telling everything of what happened Friday night.
Get to the point! The trick part is to get to the point without sounding abrupt.
Come on, let’s think how real humans talk?
With sense of humour! Your character doesn’t need to be a comedian to be funny, it actually doesn’t need to be funny at all as long as certain things are funny to them. Sarcasm, mockery or silly jokes! Everyone laughs at something!
Have you noticed? People don’t say what they mean! We are asked so many things throughout the day, but it doesn’t mean we will answer truthfully. At times we think we are being truthful, only hiding things from ourselves. Use it to create layers to your character.
When writing a dialogue between to characters always take in consideration a few things:
Their relationship balance
The way you talk to your friends is different from the way you interact to your family.
Body language
Biting their lips, curved posture, eye contact, shaky hands. It all can help to pass a message along a very simple line of dialogue.
Character’s background
Time and place!
What’s the best piece of dialogue you’ve ever read?
To read: Blindness by Jose Saramago.
Stay gorgeous xx
Amy