How to write dialogue (rather, how I write dialogue)
Writing dialogue or conversations in general has always been easier for me than writing prose. While I love prose, especially that of Jane Austen or of Betty Smith, there is nothing quite like hearing characters be themselves. I seem to write much, but many people ask me how I do it. I really have only one "secret" for this:
Listen.
Listen to everyone and everything. Listen for colloquialisms, mannerisms, inflections, etc. Some of the best conversations I have ever heard came from two people yelling at one another right outside my door.
To show you what I mean, here is an actual conversation I had with my publisher (warning: I am very sarcastic):
Me: Let me know what you think of this.
Him: I'll take a look. What do YOU think of this?
Me: You know better than to ask a woman what she thinks. And I know better to ask a man.
Him: *laughs*
Me: I as an uninformed female can only know about baking , writing, and housework. I must ask a man if I want to know about anything else.
Him: It's true.
Me: I'm certain there are those who would disagree, but they're all women.
Him: Stop making me laugh so hard that coffee spews out my nose and embarrasses me in front of all these cool hipsters.
Me: Hipsters?! You must shower before returning. If not, you'll smell like American Apparel.
So. Here we have excellent fuel. We have characterization, we can get a general sense of manner, now all we have to do is spice it with direction and a little prose.So we could do something like this:
"Let me know what you think of this," she said, and before closing the email window, she received a reply.
"I'll take a look. What do you think of this?" he remarked, awaiting a snarking assertion.
She simpered to herself and wrote,"You know better than to ask a woman what she thinks. And I know better to ask a man."
The rejoinder was an ingenuous laugh, one of which though done in the good spirit of jest had all the sense of sardonic veracity.
"I as an uninformed female can only know about baking , writing, and housework," she added. "I must ask a man if I want to know about anything else."
"It's true," was the reluctant answer.
"I'm certain there are those who would disagree, but they're all women."
"Stop making me laugh so hard that coffee spews out my nose and embarrasses me in front of all these cool hipsters," he said, feigning a shout.
"Hipsters?" she exclaimed. "You must shower before returning. If not, you'll smell like American Apparel."
See? All done. You can put the dialogue in any setting you like, but you can see that just by listening and taking notes, the world is enough to supply you with endless characters and a multitude of dialogue from which to chose.
Happy writing!
Listen.
Listen to everyone and everything. Listen for colloquialisms, mannerisms, inflections, etc. Some of the best conversations I have ever heard came from two people yelling at one another right outside my door.
To show you what I mean, here is an actual conversation I had with my publisher (warning: I am very sarcastic):
 |
| Now you know where she gets her snark |
Him: I'll take a look. What do YOU think of this?
Me: You know better than to ask a woman what she thinks. And I know better to ask a man.
Him: *laughs*
Me: I as an uninformed female can only know about baking , writing, and housework. I must ask a man if I want to know about anything else.
Him: It's true.
Me: I'm certain there are those who would disagree, but they're all women.
Him: Stop making me laugh so hard that coffee spews out my nose and embarrasses me in front of all these cool hipsters.
Me: Hipsters?! You must shower before returning. If not, you'll smell like American Apparel.
So. Here we have excellent fuel. We have characterization, we can get a general sense of manner, now all we have to do is spice it with direction and a little prose.So we could do something like this:
"Let me know what you think of this," she said, and before closing the email window, she received a reply.
"I'll take a look. What do you think of this?" he remarked, awaiting a snarking assertion.
She simpered to herself and wrote,"You know better than to ask a woman what she thinks. And I know better to ask a man."
The rejoinder was an ingenuous laugh, one of which though done in the good spirit of jest had all the sense of sardonic veracity.
"I as an uninformed female can only know about baking , writing, and housework," she added. "I must ask a man if I want to know about anything else."
"It's true," was the reluctant answer.
"I'm certain there are those who would disagree, but they're all women."
"Stop making me laugh so hard that coffee spews out my nose and embarrasses me in front of all these cool hipsters," he said, feigning a shout.
"Hipsters?" she exclaimed. "You must shower before returning. If not, you'll smell like American Apparel."
See? All done. You can put the dialogue in any setting you like, but you can see that just by listening and taking notes, the world is enough to supply you with endless characters and a multitude of dialogue from which to chose.
Happy writing!
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