Tips on Writing Great Dialogue for Fiction Novels

A good narrative alone makes for a good story. However, strong dialogue is an essential element of a novel or short story which will forge a difference between a good and great story. Here are some tips for writing great dialogue.

Realistic and believable

I recently read a mystery novel written by a much proclaimed best selling author. Two of the main characters, a homicide detective and a seasoned ex-cop, were engaged in a conversation concerning a crime scene. The dialogue left me with the impression that these were two university professors waxing philosophical over hypotheticals possibly gleaned from a treatise written by one or the other. As a former law enforcement officer in an urban environment, I remember that those discussions were often blunt and rather graphic. Think of who are your characters. Are they lovers in conflict, educated individuals, or soldiers in combat? Dialogues are unique to the time, place, and characteristics of the individual in the particular scene. Make your characters sound realistic and believable.

Define characters

Your narrative will give the reader a glimpse of the physical features of a character. Tall, short; slim, obese; color of hair; pointed nose, etc., etc., ad nauseam. However, your character will only come to life, true life in the eyes of the reader, when he or she speaks. Do not explain away your character's inner secrets in a deftly orchestrated narrative, but let the character describe those feelings through the spoken word.

Get to the point

Too often is the case where some authors will drone on and on in an attempt to build a 300 page novel into a 500 page epic. Words for the sake of words. Your character may ramble on, because that is within character, but come to a conclusion or you will lose momentum and the reader might stop turning pages, place the book on the night stand, turn off the light and never look you up at the bookstore again.

Format

Format is an important element of dialogue as it allows the reader to follow along without distraction. Your character is not defending a dissertation, but is engaged in normal day-to-day conversation. Let other characters join in. Each time a person speaks again or a new speaker joins in the dialogue, begin with a new paragraph. While it is unnecessary to tag each paragraph ( he said; she said; John said), if the dialogue is lengthy to make a point, occasionally enter a tag. I sometimes find it is necessary to trace back who is saying what, if the dialogue is long.

These are but a few tips in creating dialogue that will bring readers back to you again and again.