When I'm writing dialogue, I often hear the voices of the characters in my head.

Where Do I Start? | A Dialogue Prompt

Dec 30, 2024

"Dialogue...grows from the character and the conflict, and, in its turn, reveals the character and carries the action." —Lajos Egri from The Art of Dramatic Writing

Dialogue

Effective dialogue communicates character, moves the story forward, and reinforces theme without stating it outright. This is called subtext—the meaning of what is being said is implicit.

In other words, the reader understands the meaning even though it is unexpressed by the characters. Often what the characters don’t say is more important than what they do say. Characters pausing, being silent, not responding to what another character says is also an important part of dialogue writing.

When I'm writing dialogue, I often hear the voices of the characters in my head. Sometimes I plan out a scene or what the conflict is going to be, but it’s the voices that propel me forward.

If I'm feeling stuck with my dialogue, I read some plays or screenplays (even if I'm writing fiction) to immerse myself in dialogue and that usually gets the ball rolling again.

I also eavesdrop on conversations when I'm in public which not only tunes me into dialogue, but also it provides me with material for more stories.

Just don't get caught! I have found people don't like it when you write down their conversations!

Dialogue Writing Tips

These are not rules but some general advice for writing dialogue. You will find many examples that subvert this advice. If you are new to dialogue writing, I hope these suggestions help.

Avoid long blocks of dialogue. I generally advise writers to keep their dialogue to line or two, three maximum. The exception would be if a character is giving a speech or a lecture or delivering a monologue or you’re doing it for a clear purpose. Occasionally you’ll have a character who is chatty, but having some back and forth between the characters can help make your dialogue sound more nature. Ideally we want to avoid the dialogue sounding like it’s for the benefit of the reader to get information.
Avoid info dumping. If the readers feel like they are being spoonfed information or backstory or a plot point, they will be pulled out of your story. A great way to provide readers information with dialogue is if there is conflict in the scene. This allows you to provide backstory, characterization, plot while moving the story forward and creating tension.
Cut your "wells". It’s very common to write “well” at the beginning of a line of dialogue. I don’t know why we do this, but almost every writer does this in a first draft. The word “well” makes your dialogue sound artificial, and it can make your story unnecessarily wordy.
Less is generally more. Dialogue that does not reveal character or further the story is often extraneous. Read your dialogue aloud. If you can cut a word, a line, or a speech and still have the scene make sense—cut it. Then re-read the dialogue and cut again. If a look or a gesture can convey the same meaning, use the visual instead.
Avoid long speeches. Consider avoiding long speeches, especially those that begin "Remember when" or "I remember" or "When I was young" as this can lead to unnecessary exposition in your dialogue.
Differentiate your characters from each other and from you. Writers sometimes run into a common dialogue problem where all their characters sound alike and sound just like the writer. Ideally each character should have their own voice and speech patterns. Listen to the way that people speak in your life.
Avoid being intimidated by dialogue. Many prose writers that I talk to are often intimidated writing dialogue. They are worried their dialogue might sound wooden, unnatural, or embarrassing. So many screenwriters are worried that their dialogue lacks subtext or is on-the-nose which is another way of saying expositional or too obvious. It’s fine to have on-the-nose dialogue in a first draft because it’s important that you know what your characters are thinking and feeling. You can always pare it down in subsequent drafts. Try and not censor yourself. Let your characters speak and see where it takes them and you!

Writing Prompt

Think of a conversation you had recently with someone in person or on the phone. Write down as much as you can remember from the conversation. Don't worry if it's boring or not dramatic. I recently had a phone conversation with my mother where I said, "Do you have anything left to say?" And she said, "No, do you have anything left to say?" And I said, "No." And then she said, "I guess I'll go then." Just write down everything that you can remember from the conversation.
Next use something from that conversation as a writing prompt but add in a goal for each of the characters (give each character something they want from the other character—it can be physical like a ball or emotional like love, respect, attention).
Conflict and tension arise out of a character acting against their wants, needs, or desires while maintaining the relationship with the other character. If one person wants to talk and the other doesn't, how do each communicate their needs while maintaining the relationship? In a story about relationships (family, love, friendship) it's the relationship that is often at stake. In addition, if the goals are contrasting between the character (meaning each character has their own agenda in the scene) then conflict will be present in the story.
The story you write for this exercise doesn't have to be about the conversation or about the person you were initially talking to. Imagine if my phone dialogue with my mother was between two people who had just had a fight or between a couple breaking up or between two siblings who hadn't seen each other for a long time. What if one characters wanted to talk for longer and the other character didn't? How would you rewrite the scene to convey that extra layer of tension?

Did you try this prompt? Share your dialogue or your experience of responding to this prompt in the comments.

For Inspiration

”Pre-simulation Consultation XF007867” by Kim Fu
“You Should Go Over There” by Meredith Hambrock
Get Out (Screenplay) by Jordan Peele
The Vermont Plays by Annie Baker
Any play by Suzan Lori-Parks

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