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These are notes and jots that offer help with creating better dialog. |
Tips for Dialog #1: Watch Your Dialogue Tags - Normally, the word “said” will do just fine. #2: Ground Your Dialogue in a Scene - Every conversation that takes place needs to be somewhere. #3: Use Dialect and Accents with Caution - If you have a Scottish character, they don’t need to sound like a Burns poem. (I *Laugh*'d.) #4: Don’t Let One Person Speak for Too Long - If your characters have long blocks of speech, break those up. #5: Realistic Doesn’t Mean Real - Dialogue is supposed to give an impression of real speech; it’s not supposed to be a transcript of how we really talk. #6: Give Your Characters Distinct Speech Patterns - One good trick is to take just the lines of dialogue in your short story or novel – cut out the action and dialogue tags – and see whether you can work out who said what. #7: Don’t Put Exposition in the Dialogue - Avoid having characters tell one another things that they logically should already know. #8: Use Silence as Well as Words - Sometimes, what’s not said is more powerful than what is said. #9: Get in Late, Leave Early - You don’t have to begin the conversation at the first word and end at the last. #10: Punctuate Your Dialogue Correctly - You want your story or novel to be as professional as possible. **These tips came from the November writing.com newsletter Short Stories. This issue was edited by senior moderator Leger~ ![]() ![]() |