Writing better dialogue doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, you can probably improve upon the dialogue you’ve already written, no matter how bad it is. Here’s a handy cheat sheet to help you spot the signs that your dialogue needs work and write better conversations between your characters.
How to Write Better Dialogue
For some people, writing dialogue comes second nature. I’ll admit that I’m one of those people. I can hear my characters’ conversations in my head, so I usually know exactly what someone’s going to say next. That doesn’t mean I get it right every time, just that writing dialogue comes easier to me than, say, exposition.
In my years of editing other people’s fiction, I’ve noticed that most people know how a conversation should flow. I rarely come across a non sequitur, even in the most stilted passages. What that means is that you can usually write better dialogue simply by improving upon the dialogue you already have. But first, you have to be able to spot the signs that your dialogue needs work.
Signs Your Dialogue Needs Work
You Do Not Use Contractions
You are not getting paid by the word. Avoiding contractions makes your characters seem wooden. It can also give your readers the sense that your book is intended for a younger age category, since many children’s classics do not use contractions. (Lookin’ at you, Boxcar Children!)
You will notice I have not used a single contraction in this section. That is because I want to show you how stilted your dialogue sounds when you choose to write out every word. I would bet it is working. I would bet that you would like a contraction to break up the monotony of these sentences. So would your readers, so go fix your dialogue.
Your Characters Call Each Other by Name… a Lot
Some languages use personal names in lieu of pronouns like I, you, and they. English is not one of them. Although “Jenny went to the store” is just as correct as “She went to the store,” English speakers probably would not continue to use Jenny’s name as they tell the story of her shopping adventure. That is, unless another she came into the picture and forced them to.
Similarly, English speakers don’t tend to call a person by their given name in conversation. When they do, it’s typically to emphasize something they’re about to say, e.g., “Harrison, you know that razor is too dull to use.” What they don’t do, Reader, is continually call the other person’s name.
You Place Your Dialogue Tags at the End of the Passage, Every Time
Dialogue tags are simple markers that tell your reader who is speaking and how. The most common are tags like she said, he asked, and they replied. Finding a natural place to put these tags is crucial to learning how to write better dialogue. Unless your passage is very short, the best place for the dialogue tag will rarely be at the very end — and it definitely shouldn’t take you sentence after sentence to get to the tag. Instead, try placing your dialogue tag at the first pause in the statement. So instead of:
“Scotty isn’t here. He doesn’t care about me, or you, or anyone else. All Scotty cares about is Scotty,” Fiona said.
write:
“Scotty isn’t here,” Fiona said. “He doesn’t care about me, or you, or anyone else. All Scotty cares about is Scotty.”
Your Alpha and Beta Readers Say You Overuse “Said”
If you get this feedback, hold your horses. Don’t go replacing every instance of said with chuckled, remarked, retorted, etc. See, said blends into the background of your writing to let your dialogue take center stage. Your readers shouldn’t notice it at all. If they do, you probably haven’t overused said so much as you’ve overused dialogue tags in general.
To fix this, go back through your draft and evaluate each conversation, line by line. If it’s obvious who the speaker is, remove the dialogue tag from that statement. Easy, right?
Your Dialogue Tags Are Formulaic
Finally, let’s talk about formulaic dialogue tags. These happen when writers don’t trust themselves or their readers. They add extra words, like the dreaded adverb, to their dialogue tags almost every single time. They might even add a whole phrase. This can look like:
- he said warmly
- she said, brushing her hair back from her face
- they grinned
Taken alone, any of these is probably fine to leave in your writing — although your reader should probably be able to pick up his tone from context, and they can’t grin a word. The problem is when he said warmly leads to she replied cheekily and they answered truthfully. Or when she said, brushing her hair back from her face is immediately followed by he said, taking a deep breath. Or when your characters are constantly grinning, smiling, laughing, shrugging, chuckling, etc. It’s just too much, and it exhausts your reader.
Instead, use detailed dialogue tags sparingly. If you must attach body language to a statement, make it its own separate sentence, like so:
“I’m not sure.” He ran his fingers through his graying hair. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
Conclusion
The secret to learning how to write better dialogue is to trust your instincts. The overall flow of your conversation is probably fine. But if your language sounds inauthentic, or your dialogue tags are getting in the way of good reading, it’s time to haul out your red pen and fix a few things.