Dialogue is real speech – only better

Everyone recognises good dialogue when they see it. But few people can write it.

Here’s a quick guide to really good dialogue:

• Does it give the appearance of real speech without the repetitions and inconsistencies of life? If you’ve ever recorded a real conversation, you’ll know that people speak in circles, they repeat themselves, they often talk nonsense … what we want in dialogue is the appearance of speech without the tedium of all that circular repetition.
• Is it energetic? You can energise dialogue by interrupting it, by having people not listen to each other, not ending sentences.
• Is it provocative. Does it surprise other charcters? Does it surprise, intrigue or delight us?
• Does it “show” us something or confirm something about the characters? This, in the things they say, they way they say it, and even the things they don’t say.
• Is it necessary? Does it convey something we need to know? Does it develop our characters or take the story forward?
• Is it economical? We don’t want long swathes that tempt us to skip.
• Does it convey a reality and a past bigger than the narrow plot objectives of the scene? Characters have lives beyond the page. If we hint at a larger existence, it makes them more real and complex.
• Is it witty? Obviously it doesn’t always have to be – but it can give dialogue a real lift.
• Is it appropriate for the character uttering it? Does it show their unique voice, background, personality?

This is just a guide, obviously, but it does contain the most important elements contained by some of the best dialogues ever published. For more detail about writing good dialogue, see our online writing courses.