Writing Believable Dialogue in Fiction
How to Avoid Dialogue Disasters in a First Novel
Jul 20, 2009
Nothing can kill a character faster than the words they speak. Dialogue is one of the main ways a reader gets to know a character. Their personality is revealed in every word they speak, and it's the writer's job to make sure the dialogue is appropriate and sounds natural to that character.
Dialogue isn't an exact representation of speech. By its very nature, dialogue tends to be more formal. A real person speaks with pauses, broken sentences, and lots of ahs and ums thrown in. Of course, the writer doesn't include those things unless it's intentional, but the effort to make dialogue seem real can lead to some serious problems.
Working With Dialects
Many novels are set in regional locales, such as the deep South. A writer may want to capture the essence of the dialect to make his character real to the setting. But, it's extremely difficult to write hundreds of pages in a Southern Drawl. The reader has to limp through the y'alls and fixin's of the book, and inevitably, some g's will be dropped and others won't. If the writer gives up that track but never revises the dialogue of the previous chapters, the tone of the book changes in mid-stream and it's jarring for the reader.
The same is true of writing historical fiction and foreign accents. Trying to capture the real sound of Middle English is hard. And, if all the writer knows of the French language is "Oui, oui," it becomes a farce. It may be best to write the dialogue normally, and let the setting be the clue to the character's background.
Some words end up misspelled in order to recreate a dialect. Mangling the English language is going to put a computer's word check into overdrive. It's not a good idea, but it happens frequently.
One way to handle dialect is to use just a few words to give flavor to the dialogue. It could be as simple as having the character refer to his grandmother as "MeeMaw" or "Grandmere." If the writer isn't familiar with the dialect or foreign accent of the setting, it's wise not to go crazy trying to recreate it.
Avoid Anachronisms in Dialogue
When a writer is caught up in a zone, it's easy to let the creative process take over. It's wonderful when it happens, but read the draft carefully for any unintentional anachronisms that may have crept into the work.
It's highy unlikely that a Union soldier will shout "Holy Crap!" when the Rebs come flying over the hill. A character in Victorian England won't pass a friend on the street and say, "Hey, what's up?" Although these examples are extreme, small anachronisms do show up and need to be revised.
Recreating Real Conversations in Dialogue
Some problems in dialogue come from an unintentional formality that creeps into the writing. Instead of writing, "Hey, what's your problem," a novice may write, "I don't quite understand what the problem is." It sounds stilted and very formal. It's hard to get close to a character that never uses contractions and is so perfect.
Rehearse the conversation that is being written with one of the participating characters. Choose a time when no one else is around and actually speak the words of the dialogue. Talk to the character, going through the scene out loud. If the dialogue is formal, chances are it will be fairly evident.
On the other hand, if the dialogue is too informal, it tends to sound unbelievable. No one can say, "Yo, Dawg," too many times without it becoming ridiculous. At some point, the characters will need to have a substantial conversation to grow and develop. A weak dialogue can be a sign of a weak or undeveloped character.
Tips to Practice Writing Dialogue
One way to practice writing dialogue is to write one of the scenes between two major characters using only dialogue. Don't include any beats, setting, action, or background. Just write a back and forth dialogue and see where it goes, how it turns out. Read it out loud and listen to see how it sounds when spoken. This exercise may pinpoint areas of weakness.
Another exercise to develop writing dialogue is extremely easy. Sit in front of the television and watch an episode of a favorite sitcom, such as Friends or Seinfeld. Listen to the back and forth, how the characters speak and respond. At one point, the words the characters are speaking were just words on a page, written by a very well-paid writer. This may help tune your inner ear to the sound of dialogue.
Have Fun and Experiment With Dialogue
While it's not a good idea to experiment with dialogue mechanics, it is fun to write dialogue in different ways to figure out which works best with a character. Go ahead and write a Southern Drawl as thick as molasses. Use a phony French accent and see what happens. Going overboard like this will open the mind to all sorts of possibilities. Writing good dialogue is a skill and talent that can be developed.
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