While most allow that other words such as asked or replied are also useful sometimes, beware of unusual or unintentionally funny dialogue tags, and make sure they are describing sounds people make in the real world. Some writers maintain that “said” is the only dialogue tag you need. There are a few guidelines to keep in mind when using dialogue tags: Notice that in the above passage, there are six lines of dialogue and three tags. Be vigilant with dialogue tagsĭialogue tags are phrases like ‘he said’ and ‘she asked’. The dialogue flows more naturally and is more interesting if these things are implied rather than spoken. Within the greater context of the story, the man’s refusal to speak of his brother and his abrupt shift of topic may indicate that he finds the topic too emotional to discuss. We also understand that they are both concerned but neither has to say so directly. We still get from this exchange that one of the speakers has a brother named Richard. “Have you finished running the reports?” he asked.
“Have you heard from Richard?” Blanche asked. Here is how it might be rewritten with unstated meanings implied: Let’s take a look back at the earlier passage. Your dialogue will be much more interesting if it’s not just characters stating the obvious. Often, the real meaning behind what they are saying is discernible to either the other characters in the story or to the reader. In their daily life, people often spend a lot of time not saying what they mean or concealing their meaning in their speech. People often do not say exactly what they mean, and this can be used to your advantage to make dialogue interesting: Use implication and hidden meanings If huge numbers of people have been disappearing as a result of Richard’s invention, Richard’s brother is likely to have heard something about that. However, the other information Blanche conveys is likely for the reader’s benefit as well. This is obviously only for the reader’s benefit. One is that Blanche tells the person she is speaking to the name of their own brother. There are a number of reasons besides the silliness of the information that make this exposition seem unnatural. “Ever since your brother, Richard, invented the invisible ray, people have been disappearing in enormous numbers!” Blanche exclaimed. It’s easy, however, to make the common error of having one character tell the other something that character already knows or in a way that the character would never speak. In an attempt to avoid info dumps, writers will sometimes try to convey the same information via dialogue. Even when a character does stumble or ramble in speech, the dialogue should demonstrate this without accidentally bogging the reader down in the parts of a conversation you find frustrating in life. Unless the point of a passage of dialogue is to show a character doing this very thing, this should be avoided as well. One thing we often do when we speak is fumble for words or ramble before getting to the point. The key in writing strong, snappy dialogue is to choose a few notable features to stand in for any unusual quirks of language and aim to write speech that sounds natural even when it technically is not.
It is rarely a good idea to try to recreate the speech exactly as it sounds. When writing about a particular place, you may want to capture a particular dialect, accent or way of speaking. This will help you see what in your dialogue needs fixing. One of the best ways to make sure your dialogue reads well is to read out loud. That’s because people often interject pauses and words like “um.” They may speak in a way that is understandable in a conversation but is difficult to understand when written. One of the first things to remember about writing dialogue is that it should capture the essence of how people speak without actually copying the exact way that people phrase things. Here are 7 rules for writing dialogue: Make your dialogue imitate life If written well, it engages readers and increase their identification with characters. Dialogue can serve a number of purposes in fiction including developing character, building suspense and advancing plot.
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