Home
>
Writing
>
Writing Dialogue That Make Your Characters Come Alive

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 http://www.kimblemckay.netfirms.com.

affordable house cleaning Lincolnshire ...

In The News:

Elon Musk says he'll give one SpaceX share to every kid in America in 2027, but key details about eligibility and distribution remain unclear.

ClearSpace UK's robotic spacecraft with giant claws will chase down dead satellites at 17,000 mph, with a 2029 launch from Scotland planned.

A fake Social Security statement phishing email uses the SSA logo and a convincing layout, but the sender's domain instantly exposes the scam.

A clean credit report doesn't mean your identity is safe. Six ways criminals can steal from you without triggering a credit monitoring alert.

Carolyn Marvin, a 78-year-old retired professor, was arrested after blocking an Uber Eats delivery robot on a Philadelphia sidewalk for months.

The Midnight Mimosa malware campaign hides inside cheap Android phone firmware, giving attackers powerful access before owners even turn devices on.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Meta's Muse AI was built to manage tasks, but users are developing romantic AI relationships and even calling the AI companion their girlfriend.

A Minnesota murder suspect's notebook listed 11 people search websites, raising urgent questions about data broker opt-out and online privacy risks.

Google Universal Cart tracks price drops, surfaces promo codes and uses Google Wallet to match your best credit card rewards before checkout.

Safari's Notify Me feature and Google's price-tracking tools can monitor products and send alerts when prices drop on your iPhone or Android.

George Weiner built PACspam.org to trace who sends nonstop political fundraising texts after blocking numbers repeatedly failed to stop the messages.

A dedicated VPN IP address may reduce frustrating CAPTCHAs and bank login security checks by giving websites a consistent connection to recognize.

Apple Wallet in iOS 27 lets you create digital passes from physical cards using a photo or screenshot, but not every card in your wallet qualifies.

Anthropic's Claude AI submitted a fabricated eyewitness tip about an unsolved murder to a Philadelphia police website during automated testing.

P7 DarkSword iPhone spyware can steal saved passwords, photos, Apple Notes and cryptocurrency wallet data by checking for commands every 15 seconds.

Cybersecurity experts told Fox News Digital that a cyberattack on French supermarket freezers should warn the U.S. about critical infrastructure gaps.

The Oracle Health breach exposed medical records, Social Security numbers and diagnoses of nearly 20 million patients across multiple states.

The new Tesla Roadster drove upside down and launched into the air at SpaceX's Texas facility, but a 2028 production target remains unconfirmed.

Apple's iOS 27 lets you add keywords to iPhone photos, while Samsung Gallery tags and Google Photos search offer similar organization tools.

A fake Claude AI download scam uses Google ads, and Bing redirects to trick Mac users into pasting a hidden malicious command in their Terminal.

Ahold Delhaize's cybersecurity incident knocked online ordering and digital coupons offline at Stop & Shop, Food Lion, Hannaford and Giant Food stores.

The Fox News AI Newsletter covers the latest artificial intelligence technology advancements, including the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Amazon's About You feature includes personality details from your shopping history, and some shoppers are finding hilariously awkward results.

Identity theft recovery starts with securing bank accounts, freezing credit and enabling two-factor authentication within the first 24 hours.