Quick Tips for Writing Interesting Characters Through Dialogue
Creative writing is an art form that requires a keen eye for detail, a vivid imagination and an uncanny ability to breathe life into characters. One of the most overlooked ways to write interesting characters is through dialogue. We’ve put together some quick tips to help you do just that!
Start with the basics
Before you can write convincing dialogue, you need to thoroughly know your characters – their personality, backstories, motivations, and quirks.
Start with in-depth character development. Delve into their past, their relationships, the significant events that shaped them, and the dreams or fears that drive their actions. Your understanding of who your character fundamentally is will naturally guide their conversation style, topics they would discuss, and how they would react in dialogue, bringing authenticity to their interactions.
Know your character beats
Character beats form the backbone of a character’s development, marking transformative events, consequential actions, and insightful choices. Once you’ve developed your character’s personality, plot the key milestones that challenge and change them.
These milestones reveal how they react to their environment and to other characters, demonstrating their growth and change. Character beats are not merely plot developments; they encapsulate the internal evolution of your characters, paving the way for an authentic and compelling character voice.
Use verbal cues
Verbal cues serve as subtle indicators of a character’s underlying emotions and intentions, enhancing readers’ understanding of the character’s internal world. Voice modulation—from a soft whisper to a booming shout—can depict varying moods.
Unique speech patterns, like a nervous stutter or specialized jargon, differentiate characters and reveal aspects of their personality or background. Even the silence between words can be telling, with pauses and lapses in conversation often speaking volumes about a character’s emotional state.
Examples of verbal cues
Volume modulation: A character speaking softly when feeling vulnerable or shouting in anger.
Speed of speech: Fast-paced speech could indicate excitement or nervousness, while slow speech may show calmness or thoughtfulness.
Use of pauses: Strategic silence or pauses can suggest hesitation, contemplation, or underlying tension.
Stuttering: A character might stutter due to a speech disorder, nervousness, or anxiety.
Laughter: This can vary from sarcastic chuckles to uncontrollable laughter, indicating a range of emotions.
Specialized jargon: The use of profession-specific terms can give clues about a character’s background, knowledge, or occupation, just as colloquialism and local jargon can give examples of a character’s location, social status, background, and upbringing.
Choice of words: A character’s diction can reveal their education level, their cultural background, and their personality. Intentional choice can also indicate aspiration, an attempt to change, or an intentional misdirection.
Repetition: Repeating certain words or phrases could indicate a character’s preoccupation or fixation, or simply be a character quirk, like a catchphrase.
Tone: A sarcastic, cheery, or monotone voice can cue readers about a character’s current emotions.
Dialogue descriptions
The way you describe dialogue can significantly impact the reader’s perception of a character. Using descriptive adjectives in dialogue, like “he grumbled” versus “he exclaimed,” can drastically change the tone. Also, pay attention to sensory details – the sound, tone, pitch, and pace of a character’s voice can enhance reader understanding. Physical reactions and body language, like facial expressions, gestures, and posture, during the conversation further enrich the description, making the dialogue more engaging and revealing. Good dialogue varies description with dialogue tags, so mix and match the simple with the descriptive, and you’ll find a good rhythm.
See also: A Beginner’s Guide to Dialogue Tags and Vary Your Language With Synonyms To Use Instead Of “Said”
