Writing Better Dialogue

Dialogue can make or break a story. Great dialogue feels natural while simultaneously revealing character, advancing plot, and maintaining pace. Here are five essential techniques to elevate your dialogue writing.

1. Give Each Character a Unique Voice

Your characters shouldn’t all sound like you. Consider:

• Vocabulary level - Education and background affect word choice
• Sentence structure - Some people speak in fragments, others in paragraphs
• Verbal tics - Repeated phrases or speech patterns (use sparingly!)

2. Read It Aloud

This is non-negotiable. If you stumble while reading your dialogue aloud, your reader will stumble mentally. Listen for:

• Awkward phrasing
• Unnatural rhythm
• Tongue-twisters

3. Less is More

In real life, people rarely say exactly what they mean. Use:

• Subtext - What’s NOT being said
• Interruptions - Conversations overlap
• Silence - Sometimes the most powerful dialogue is none at all

4. Avoid Info-Dumping

Nothing kills dialogue faster than characters explaining things they already know to each other. Bad example:

“As you know, John, we’ve been working at this company for fifteen years…”

Nobody talks like this. Find natural ways to convey information.

5. Use Dialect Sparingly

While regional dialects can add flavor, they become exhausting to read when overused. Suggest accent through:

• Word choice and idioms
• Sentence structure
• Occasional phonetic spelling (very occasional)

Practice Exercise

Take a scene from your current project and rewrite the dialogue focusing on just one of these techniques. You’ll be amazed at the difference.

Remember: dialogue should sound natural, but it’s actually highly crafted. Every word should earn its place on the page.