One of the biggest challenges a writer faces is how to write realistic dialog. Often times people talk in fragments, interupt each other, and finish each other’s sentences. So how do you write that in a story? One word at a time.
The key to good dialog is good listening skills. I took a playwriting class in college and one of our assignments was to go to a public place (restaurant, the mall, bookstore) and eavesdrop. It was great fun having permission to eavesdrop, because my folks didn’t approve of that when I was growing up. The rest of the assignment was to write it down and develop a story around it in play format. It worked. I listened and it peaked my imagination as well as my curiosity.
Writing a play, which is basically all dialog, is much different than writing a novel. But the dialog element is the same. Write with honesty and a clear voice. If the character wouldn’t curse, then don’t put it in your dialog. Write the words you hear your character saying as if they are talking aloud to you. Listen carefully to their phrasing and intonation. If they speak in clipped tones, then the dialog should be short, clipped sentences. If they tend to drone on a bit, then write longer more descriptive sentences in keeping with the character.
The next time you’re in a crowded restaurant, listen to a piece of the conversation going on at the table beside you. Write it down. When you get home, write a story around it. It’ll be a fun learning experience.
A lifetime resident of Kansas, B.D. Tharp is the author of Feisty Family Values, published by Five Star Publishing in February 2010.
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