For some writers, dialogue flows easily onto the page; for others, it\u2019s an agonizing battle to find just the right words. Here are some tips for writing convincing dialogue.<\/p>\n

$\"Writing$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Know your characters<\/strong>. If you haven\u2019t already filled out one of those character background charts, at least consider the educational level and basic history of each character. Know what sort of language they\u2019d use. Are they well-educated, using longer words and sentences with correct grammar? Are they less-educated, with shorter words and sentences, and possibly with poor grammar? Do they use idioms and slang particular to a certain area? Are they talkative, or do they say only what\u2019s necessary? Knowing your characters is the first step toward giving them convincing dialogue.<\/li>\n

Use individual voices<\/strong>. Each main character should have a unique speaking style based on their history and education. This should be plain enough that the reader could identify a speaker without any dialogue tags (\u201cTom said\u201d or \u201cSally asked\u201d). Once you\u2019ve learned all about your characters, this will be much easier, and they\u2019ll develop their own style of speaking.<\/li>\n

Avoid the thesaurus<\/strong>. Beginning writers often try to come up with variations on \u201che said\u201d or \u201cshe asked.\u201d Don\u2019t. Words like \u201cqueried,\u201d \u201chissed,\u201d \u201cexclaimed,\u201d or even (OMG) \u201cejaculated\u201d jerk the reader right out of the story (and perhaps off in search of a dictionary) and defeat your primary purpose as a writer. If you must use a tag, go with \u201csaid\u201d or \u201casked.\u201d The reader will skim over those words and keep reading, which is what you want.<\/li>\n

Keep the dialogue tags to a minimum<\/strong>. If you have only two speakers, you can skip the tags altogether and have a back-and-forth dialogue with only the occasional \u201cJoe said\u201d to remind the reader who\u2019s speaking. If you\u2019ve followed Step 2, even that will be unnecessary, as each character\u2019s unique voice will make it obvious which one is speaking.<\/li>\n

Skip the tags entirely<\/strong>. One great way to indicate speaker without using tags is to use action. Show the characters moving and reacting instead of telling that they\u2019re speaking. You don\u2019t need \u201che said\u201d if you start the paragraph with Jeff pounding a fist on the table in frustration, or split the dialogue to show Mary dabbing tears of laughter from her eyes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
What about you? Do you find dialogue easy or difficult? What are some tips you’ve learned?<\/p>\n
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