How to Write Effective and Believable Dialogue in Your Short Story
One of the most challenging parts of writing is coming up with believable and meaningful dialogue. Dialect, choice of words, tone, all of these things play a role in determining if your dialogue is believable or not. Many people make the mistake of telling the reader something when they should have allowed the characters using dialogue.
Bad: Tom was very upset with Susan after she left him that night. He was alone when he needed her the most.
Good: "Susan, I cannot believe you left me alone last night. I needed you more than ever," Tom said with a tear in his eye. Readers are smart. They will figure out more than you think, so feel free to tell less and let your characters do the explaining! Here are some common issues I have seen as well!
Punctuate Dialogue Correctly! Many times people abuse commas, periods and semi colons in their dialogue. It makes the dialogue clunky and hard to follow. Keep it simple!
Speak naturally. Do not use formal dialogue unless you are having a conversation between a professor of philosophy and a doctor. People speak with very plain words. Don't overdo it!
All speech should advance the story. Revealing something new to the reader about the plot or the character.
If you only have a few characters, don't use "he said" / "she said" If the flow is clear; you can get away with not identifying the speaker if the reader is clear on who is doing the talking. If you need to use the "he said" / "she said" then be consistent with it, don't change it every line to: he said, Said he, he spoke, etc.
Related Tags: how to write dialogue, short story writing, writing dialogue, how to edit dialogue
Casey Quinn is a freelance writer and editor of the free online short story magazine Short Story Library - http://shortstory.us.com. He has been published in every form of short writing (microfiction, flash fiction and short stories) and has had over 300 articles published in various magazines both in print and web versions.
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Writers Tips - Writing From the Heart
We all love tender stories. Some love to sigh and sink deeper into their soft armchairs, others lov - Buying Books Online is so Simple
Even in these days of high technology, umpteen channels on your TV, and a barrage of other activiti - Halloween Asian Style
Halloween is one of the oldest holidays celebrated by people from different countries all over the - Gianni Truvianni's Inspiration to Write "rompryska and Other Erotic Tales"
During my life, I have made many travels to many different places where I have a met many a lady; - Teach Creative Writing With These 5 Steps
Teaching creative writing to children is fun and rewarding. Kids naturally love to here stories re - A Guide to Medieval Weapons for Fantasy Writers
If you write fantasy or are thinking about writing fantasy you probably are going to have medieval - The Opossum That Came to Visit (a Title) by Peter Menkin
"The Opossum That Came To Visit" (A title)..children's story... This children's story is about an - Saadiya Halima-ashort Story!
This was his first trip overseas and Ashok was very excited about it for quite sometime. On arriv - Ambition and Comparison - a Short Story
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, th - On Writing in First Person
Writing assignment: to make the story of a famous person into something new and different, bringing
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Novel Writing, My True Story
Novel Writing, My True Story By Arthur L Burton III Novel writing begins with a thought, a vi - Betrayal
Summer evening. 5 PM. Barber Bhagwan Dass closes down the shutters of his shop. He would see his fr - Case Report Writing
Case report writing is a research of an unregistered earlier issue. It is usually used in the medica - Tips for Business Report Writing
A business report provides information for further business decision making process. A lot of people - On Writing in First Person
Writing assignment: to make the story of a famous person into something new and different, bringing - Ambition and Comparison - a Short Story
Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, th - Saadiya Halima-ashort Story!
This was his first trip overseas and Ashok was very excited about it for quite sometime. On arriv - The Opossum That Came to Visit (a Title) by Peter Menkin
"The Opossum That Came To Visit" (A title)..children's story... This children's story is about an - A Guide to Medieval Weapons for Fantasy Writers
If you write fantasy or are thinking about writing fantasy you probably are going to have medieval - Teach Creative Writing With These 5 Steps
Teaching creative writing to children is fun and rewarding. Kids naturally love to here stories re
