Natural sounding dialogue should present the typical nuances of how people interact with each other. In real life, people generally have back and forth conversation rather than each person taking a turn with a monologue.
Leave Out the Obvious
Readers will assume the greetings and polite questions about the weather, so leave it out or simply allude to it very briefly. A half page of mundane conversation drags down the story and brings the pacing to a grinding halt.
Dialogue With Purpose
All dialogue in fiction should have at least one purpose. It may show characterization and present the motivation in a natural way, giving the readers some insight into their world. The characters can bounce ideas off each other or share their thoughts and feelings with a close friend or love interest. Perhaps it’s to create tension between the villain and the hero.
Whatever the reason for the dialogue, it should always move the story forward and leave the reader knowing more than when the conversation between the characters began.
Dialogue to Show Characterization
Strong dialogue should show who each character is. If the dialogue is written properly, most of it won’t require attribution or dialogue tags.
Some characters may speak with accents, but use colloquialisms and accents sparingly, or readers may be confused. Slightly peppering accents into one person’s speech will be all the readers need to know where they’re from.
Most people have specific speech patterns that are easily identifiable on the page. For a man of few words, several longer sentences may be out of character for him. If a woman is easily flustered, she may come across as unnatural if she suddenly speaks with confidence and self-assuredness.
Dialogue to Create Tension
Most commercial fiction has a main conflict with enough tension between the characters to increase the interest. Without tension filled dialogue, the story may seem flat or outright boring. This doesn’t mean every page needs a screaming argument, but subtle tension, sassy repertoire and back-and-forth verbal sparring will keep the reader turning pages.
What to Avoid
When writers go back and edit their work, they need to look for some common pitfalls in dialogue:
- Don’t allow the characters to suddenly change the way they speak, unless there’s a valid reason.
- Avoid dumping back-story in dialogue just to give the reader the history of the characters.
- If a dialogue tag must be used, don’t be too creative, or the reader will focus on the tag rather than what the character is saying.
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