Realistic Dialogue | Like A Writer

Hey Guys x

So, for today's instalment of 'Like A Writer' I want to talk about dialogue!

For me, when I'm reading a book, one of the most annoying things is when the author has amazing descriptions, and I can picture everything perfectly, but then the character's speech is the most unrealistic thing.

Like, in 'Fifty Shades of Grey', although for the most part, the descriptions were great, Ana's prolonged use of the phrase 'oh my' was so annoying! Like, what person randomly goes around saying 'oh my' all the time?

But something that I find interesting is that, for script writing, this is so much more important! I guess, because in a movie or TV show, the dialogue is the most important because all that ever happens is people talking, either to other people or to themselves.

You probably don't find this as interesting as I do, but as someone who thinks about script writing (or any other kind of writing, I'd literally do anything!) it's something that I've had to think about.

I think I'd find script writing a lot harder than writing a novel because all you have to go on is what the characters say to each other. Everything is in first and third person at the same time and if the characters aren't interacting, no one will be watching.

However, even though description in a novel is really important, the dialogue is too!

A piece of advice that I've heard about making dialogue realistic is to read piece of dialogue you write out loud.

Which brings it back to script writing. Because everything written is definitely going to be said out loud, the writer is automatically going to make their words sound more realistic. With a book, it's harder.

Unless your book is going to be made into a movie (and congratulations to you if it is!), it's unlikely that you'll hear your words read out loud - so you need to do it yourself!

Another thing is, use your imagination. Imagine yourself in your character's shoes, having these conversations with your mum or your best friend or the postman - everyone sounds different and needs to be given their own separate voice.

It's also important to look at the correlation between the dialogue and the person that you're writing in.

For example, I'm writing 'Lou's Novel' in the third person. Therefore, when my character speaks, it shouldn't sound the same as the third person narrator. In the same way, if you are writing in first person, your character's speech shouldn't sound completely different from the narrative voice, because they are the narrative voice.

Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts about dialogue.

Please leave your own thoughts and feelings about this in the comments!

Thank you for reading

Comment below your own advice about writing dialogue!

Keep Smiling - Lou xx