Dialogue is one of the most powerful tools in a writer's arsenal. It can reveal character, advance the plot, establish relationships, create tension, and deliver exposition—all while keeping the reader engaged. Yet writing dialogue that sounds authentic while still serving the story is one of the trickiest skills to master. In this article, we'll explore techniques for crafting dialogue that crackles with life and purpose.
The Functions of Dialogue
Before diving into how to write dialogue, let's consider what dialogue should do in your story. Effective dialogue usually serves multiple purposes simultaneously:
- Character revelation: Shows personality, background, education, etc.
- Plot advancement: Moves the story forward
- Conflict creation/resolution: Establishes or addresses tensions between characters
- Information delivery: Provides necessary information to the reader
- Subtext exploration: Reveals what's happening beneath the surface
The best dialogue accomplishes several of these functions at once.
The Golden Rule: Dialogue is Not Conversation
The first thing to understand about dialogue is that it's not meant to mimic real-life conversation. Real conversations are often:
- Rambling and unfocused
- Full of filler words and phrases ("um," "like," "you know")
- Repetitive
- Mundane and practical ("Hi, how are you?" "Fine, thanks.")
Good fictional dialogue, on the other hand, is:
- More concise and purposeful
- More interesting and dramatic
- More revealing of character and situation
- Free from unnecessary pleasantries and small talk
"Dialogue should be an edited version of how people really talk—authentic enough to feel natural, but crafted to serve the story's purpose."
Techniques for Writing Effective Dialogue
1. Give Each Character a Distinctive Voice
Each character should sound different based on their:
- Background and education: Vocabulary, grammar, and references will vary
- Personality: Anxious characters might speak in short bursts; confident ones in complete sentences
- Typical speech patterns: Favorite phrases, verbal tics, or habitual expressions
You should be able to remove dialogue tags and still know who's speaking by how they talk.
2. Use Dialogue to Show, Not Tell
Instead of telling us about a character's feelings or traits, show them through dialogue:
Telling: "John was arrogant and dismissive of others' ideas."
Showing: "Yes, I heard your suggestion," John said, checking his watch. "But I've been in this business twenty years. Trust me, my approach will work better."
3. Cut to the Heart of the Exchange
Skip the boring parts. You don't need to show characters greeting each other and exchanging pleasantries unless there's something interesting or revealing about how they do it.
Start the dialogue at the moment it becomes interesting and end it before it becomes dull.
4. Use Subtext: What's Not Said Matters
Often, the most powerful dialogue happens when characters aren't directly stating what they're actually thinking or feeling. This creates tension and engages the reader who must interpret what's really happening.
"I'm fine with it if you are." (When they're clearly not fine with it.)
"It's getting late." (When they really mean, "I want you to leave.")
"I've been busy." (When they've been avoiding the other person.)
5. Dialog Tags and Action Beats
When it comes to attribution, remember:
- Simple is usually better: "Said" is largely invisible to readers and usually preferable to more dramatic alternatives like "exclaimed," "pontificated," or "exhorted."
- Action beats can replace dialogue tags: "John paced across the room. 'We have a problem.'" This approach both attributes the dialogue and shows character through action.
- Adverbs are often unnecessary: If your dialogue itself is strong, you shouldn't need to tell readers that something was said "angrily" or "excitedly."
Common Dialogue Pitfalls to Avoid
1. The "As You Know" Syndrome
Characters should not tell each other things they already know simply to inform the reader:
"As you know, Sarah, since we're twins and have lived together our entire thirty-two years, our parents died in that car crash when we were just five years old."
Find more natural ways to convey necessary information.
2. Everyone Sounds the Same
If you could swap dialogue between characters without changing anything, you need to work on giving each character a more distinctive voice.
3. On-the-Nose Dialogue
This is dialogue where characters say exactly what they're thinking and feeling without any subtext or nuance. Real people rarely do this, and it makes for boring reading.
4. Information Dumps
Avoid long monologues where a character explains complex background information. Break up exposition with questions, interruptions, or relevant actions.
Exercises to Improve Your Dialogue
- Eavesdropping Exercise: Sit in a public place and listen to how people actually talk. Note the rhythms, interruptions, and verbal shortcuts. Then write a fictional scene that captures the essence of real speech while making it more focused and interesting.
- Conflict Through Dialogue: Write a scene where two characters want different things but never directly state what they want. Use only dialogue (no internal thoughts or narrative explanation).
- Character Voice Development: Create three different characters and write the same basic scene (ordering coffee, for example) from each character's perspective. Make their dialogue so distinctive that readers would know who's speaking without dialogue tags.
Mastering dialogue takes practice, but it's worth the effort. When your characters speak in voices that ring true while still serving the story's needs, your writing will leap off the page and your readers will feel like they're eavesdropping on real people with real stakes—exactly the kind of immersive experience that keeps them turning pages.
In my work editing fiction manuscripts from authors like Prince H. Noch and Sarah Spookychild, I've seen how improving dialogue can transform an entire narrative. If you'd like personalized feedback on your dialogue, consider reaching out for a sample edit. I'd be happy to help you identify opportunities to make your characters' conversations more dynamic, authentic, and effective.