WRITING TIPS FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

When To Use And How To Format Dialogue In Your Stories

Sharing things I have learned during my over twenty years of reading and writing

Adding conversations between characters to your fiction helps to tell the story. Sometimes novice authors are hesitant to use dialogue, and rightly so, as there are some pitfalls in using and writing it.

When adding conversations between two characters, it should ‘sound’ like they are in the real word, but in this lies the first pitfall: the ‘real world’ has no plot. Everyday conversations frequently have no purpose at all and those don’t belong in a story.

Necessary dialogue

One way for an author to learn which conversations are necessary for a story is to read a variety of novels which have been published over the last ten years and to study the dialogue.

Experienced authors only use dialogue when it’s essential for the story; when it moves the story forward. Sometimes this means there are a minimum of conversations in a story, and this is good. Unnecessary conversations should never be part of your story.

Three reasons to use dialogue

If you want to use dialogue in your stories, make sure it complies with at least one of these:

• To advance your plot “Let’s go!” said by a character works perfectly to replace the sentence: ‘Peter said that they should go.’
• To reveal more about a character Each word a character speaks must allow the reader to learn more about his personality.
• To give information Be very careful with this one, as there is a thin line between giving the reader information or boring them with details. Don’t let your character tell everything in a conversation, but rather use a brief description.

Avoid this when you use dialogue!

To write good dialogue is difficult. These are ten things you should avoid when using dialogue in your stories:

• Unnatural exchanges The conversation doesn’t sound natural. Read it out loud to hear if it’s something a person would say.
• Similar voices Make sure each character has its own voice, which means they have a certain way of speaking and a particular vocabulary. This technique also helps you to give more details about the character.
• Small talk Sometimes a writer wants to add small talk between characters, because there haven’t been conversations for some time. Don’t! Use dialogue only for immediate action, or to reveal emotions or motives of the characters.
• Exposition This is when a character tells a story in a conversation. This is the total opposite of ‘show don’t tell’.
• Names Be careful with using names in dialogue. In conversations in the ‘real world’, names are only used to draw attention or to emphasize a point. Remember this when you write.
• Forgotten tags A dialogue tag is when you supplement speech with ‘said’ or ‘shout’ or ‘calls’, etc. If a reader has to stop reading because he doesn’t know who is talking, it means you haven’t used enough dialogue labels/tags. However, keep the next point in mind!
• Too many tags Sometimes it's better to use the word ‘said’ instead of ‘shout’ or ‘calls’ or ‘whispers’ or any other dialogue tags. However, always using ‘said’ with dialogue is boring to read. When it is clear who is talking, then don’t use any tags. Remember that actions, words and body language of a character should convey their mood.
• Wrong punctuation When a character speaks, you place those words between single or double quotes. It doesn’t matter which you use — single or double — as long as you use them consistently throughout your story!
• Insignificant conversations This differs from ‘small talk’. For example: if a character will be back the next day or the next week, this information doesn’t have to be shared in dialogue, but you can make a character think of it. Conversations should cause friction or tension and add information; move your story forward. If this is not the case, don’t use dialogue.
• Too many conversations Sometimes silence is more powerful than words, meaning the character doesn’t react to what it said. Sometimes there are no words to convey a character's feelings. Use this technique (silences) sparingly to make it more effective.

Punctuation and dialogue

When you write dialogue, it is important to use the punctuation marks correctly so readers know when someone is talking.

• Use quotation marks before and after the exact words of a character. Use a full stop inside the quotation marks to show the end of the dialogue, but only when you use no dialogue tag. Example: “Jack will come with us.”
• Always use a comma before you use the dialogue tag. The comma is always inside the quotation marks. Example: “Come on, Jack,” says Sally.
• When you use the dialogue tag before the actual spoken words, you use a colon after the dialogue tag. Example: Jack says: “I’m staying.”
• Use quote marks around each part of divided dialogue and don’t forget the comma before and after the dialogue tag. Example: “But Jack,” Sally says, “it will be fun.”
• When you use other punctuation marks, such as exclamation or question marks, you always place those inside the quotation marks. Example: “I’m not in the mood! Why do I have to go?” Jack asks.
• Always start on a new line when a different character speaks.

Always remember!

Enrich your stories with dialogue, but do not bore your readers with the black-on-white spoken words.

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