Writing Dialogue That Make Your Characters Come Alive

Characters in a good novel really carry the story along more than any other concept in writing. A problem I too often see in my clients' writing is stale dialogue; the kind that sounds like every character is the same person.

Have you ever listened to people while at a party or in a crowd at the store? People speak in this country with many wonderful dialects. Learning to incorporate different ways of speaking will cause your characters to jump off the page appearing to be actual people. This is very important. Your readers must be able to identify and relate to those characters that drive your story.

How to do this is not complicated. When you are fleshing out your characters, do so with a notebook. Take your time and brainstorm about what kind of person each character is from appearance, career, education, family influence, idiosyncrasies, nationality, etc. By researching and developing your characters, you will come to know them like best friends. These fictional characters will actually lead you as you write.

For example - Your antagonist is an uneducated young man, rough, with a mental disorder. Which dialogue should you use to bring this character to life?

"I won't do it, no matter how you try to convince me. In fact, you are causing me great turmoil." Michael sat down, crossed his legs and sighed.

Or -

"Hell no I ain't gonna do dat! No way, man. What, you's think I'm a freakin' idiot? You really on my nerves, man. Hey man, I gotta a gun that'll fit in yer fat mouth real good, if you's don't shut up." Michael paced back and forth, mumbling to himself, picking something off his shirt that wasn't there.

The first example isn't true to the Michael character at all. He sounds like any other person on the street, giving you no clues to his real personality. However, the second example tells you a few things about him; the manner in which he speaks shows that he is uneducated, angry, and rude. His actions tell the reader that he is seeing things that aren't there, showing - not telling - that he has a problem with reality. In just a few sentences of dialogue, you have given the reader valuable information about Michael that would take an entire page to tell in narrative form.

Affective dialogue will move your story along much faster than writing paragraphs of description that could end up stalling your story. Dialogue is active writing that will put your readers in touch with your characters unlike any other story dynamic. Being true to your characters, and how they relate to the rest of the story, will be the most important writing dynamic of your book.

Jillanne Kimble is the Acquisitions Editor for Kimble McKay Literary Arts Group. They help writers become authors in the traditional publishing industry through time-tested methods, full support, and their huge databases of agents and publishers who are looking for new talent. You can reach her at http://www.kimblemckay.netfirms.com; or jakimble@direcway.com.

MORE RESOURCES:

Course shows companies what NOT to put in writing - Reuters

Coens nominated for writing prize - BBC News

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Gonzales writing book on years in Bush administration - Austin American-Statesman

Children#39;s creative writing class is Saturday at Writers#39; Gallery - Yucaipa/Calimesa News Mirror

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Russia says will restore gas when monitors in place - guardian.co.uk

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The Flat Stanley Project gets kids reading, writing, and learning ... - Examiner.com

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Ex-broker guilty of writing bad check - Billings Gazette

table border=0 width= valign=top cellpadding=2 cellspacing=7trtd valign=top class=jfont style=font-size:85%;font-family:arial,sans-serifbrdiv style=padding-top:0.8em;img alt= height=1 width=1/divdiv class=lha href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-0fd=Rurl=http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2009/01/08/news/state/55-badcheck.txtcid=1287866693ei=XpFmSYHZJpGQmAepuPC7BAusg=AFQjCNEojn3Y35qtRojd1sLm_BAWbWarXQEx-broker guilty of bwriting/b bad check/abrfont size=-1font color=#6f6f6fBillings Gazette,nbsp; USAnbsp;-/font nobr14 hours ago/nobr/fontbrfont size=-1By LINDA HALSTEAD-ACHARYA Jeanne Rizzotto, a former Red Lodge real estate broker, pled guilty Wednesday in District Court in Red Lodge to bwriting/b a bad b.../b/fontbrfont size=-1a href=http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=Tct=us/6-1fd=Rurl=http://www.kxmb.com/News/317363.aspcid=1287866693ei=XpFmSYHZJpGQmAepuPC7BAusg=AFQjCNEZiFj45qNeOGn5hYteAN-wJFY5jwRed Lodge woman pleads guilty in bad check case | KXNet.com North b.../b/a font size=-1 color=#6f6f6fnobrReiten Television KXMB Bismarck/nobr/font/fontbrfont class=p size=-1a class=p href=http://news.google.com/news?sourceid=navclientie=ISO-8859-1rls=GGLG,GGLG:2005-22,GGLG:enncl=1287866693hl=ennobrall 6 news articles/nobr/a/font/div/font/td/tr/table

The business press: The horror of writing your own obit - BloggingStocks

Manhattan Public Library holding art and writing contest for MLK ... - KTKA.com

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How about if Steve Jobs smoked a pipe? - guardian.co.uk

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When you get stuck for ideas, and the words won't flow, invariably it's because one, more or all of your senses aren't being stimulated.Staring at a blank screen or sheet of paper really doesn't help.

The Write Habit: How to Strengthen Your Writing Muscle
Writing is a muscle that needs exercise to stay in shape.I realized how true that saying is when I took what I called "a well-earned break" after I finished my first novel.

Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 3 of 6
ELICIT, ILLICITElicit means to extract or draw out; illicit means not legal.EVERYONE, EVERY ONEEveryone means every person in a group; every one means each person and is always followed by "of".

Pairs/Groups Of Words Often Confused - Part 6 of 6
SALE, SAIL Sale is either offering something for purchase ("for sale")or offering it at a special price ("on sale"); sail is partof a ship or boat.SELL, CELLSell is to exchange for money; cell is a small room.

The Myths of Writing: Have You Bought Into These?
There is an image most people carry of the artist (think Van Gough's self-portrait, the one with his ear bandaged), working in solitude in a barren garret in a dark corner of the city. Everyday is a struggle.

An Inside Look at Proofreading
This is the ideal topic for us all to think about. We do it everyday, especially those of us that use the Internet the majority of the time.

Get Your Writing Reviewed by Major Publications for Free
All Writers need the press, especially new writers. As a new novelist, I know I need name recognition.

Five Keys To A Successful Query Letter
Do you know what a query letter is? If so, you are of a rare breed-a writer. Most people don't.

Writing Made Them Rich #4: Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.At age 17 he announced his intention to be a writer.

Do You Know What A Plot Is?
Creative Writing Tips -What a plot is and what a story is can be sometimes confusing. If you think they are the same? They are not.

The Beginners Guide to Freelance Writing
The Big IdeaOkay. So youve figured out that you would like to write for magazines, newspapers, and e-zines.

The Opportunities As A Freelance Proofreader in the UK
A UK based freelance proofreader should be able to provide quality products for the United Kingdom audience. There are many differences in the type of work that is produced for the United States and that which is produced for the United Kingdom.

Strategies For Finding Topics To Write About
What possibly could I have to write about? I never was good at it anyway. It doesn't matter how hard I try, I just sit and stare and stare at a blank screen.

Screenwriting, Screenplays, Screenwriters - Writing a Screenplay Using Structure
Effective screenwriting relies on the good understanding and use of structure.Inexperienced screenwriters may believe that structure inhibits creativity, but experienced writers know that following a template helps them to problem identify, generate ideas, select good ideas and develop them to reach that all important words-on-paper first draft - structure is not a hindrance but an enhancer of creative output.