How to write good dialogue between characters?

[asdf123456789]

Hi, I'm struggling to write good dialogue between characters in my novel. I feel like every time I write it, it's rather robotic and not actually like two people talking. I don't know where I'm going wrong and how to fix this feeling. Any tips?

 

[Daydreamers]

i'm a terrible writer myself but can you share some dialogues? maybe i can help

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Hi, I'm struggling to write good dialogue between characters in my novel. I feel like every time I write it, it's rather robotic and not actually like two people talking. I don't know where I'm going wrong and how to fix this feeling. Any tips?

The advice that I've been given in the past is read it out loud (or, if you can, have someone else read it out loud) to see how it sounds and tweak it from there.
The other bit of advice is more useful but not as easy: read a lot of writers you believe do dialogue well, and try to emulate what they do.
The other option is pick a style that is intentionally "stilted" and run with that (example: Brust's The Phoenix Guard - which blatantly emulated the style of Dumas's Three Musketeers cycle with some very wonky dialogue that starts out a little tedious but becomes hilarious to read as it progresses; another example is the staccato rhythms of absurdists like Harold Pinter - who inspired the Monty Pythons or a guy who's name I'm blanking on who usually does crime dramas, frequently set in and around Chicago; a more recent example would be the television work of Amy Paladino - Gilmore Girls primarily but she has done other stuff) - this usually works best for comedy or "slice of life" stuff but can be a good learning exercise to play with as well.

 

[l8rose]

So I don't consider myself a professional by any means but this is my opinion on writing dialogue.

Outside of trying to make it feel natural between the two characters, maybe think about the content and context of the dialogue. Does it make sense in that situation for the characters to be discussing that particular thing? Of course, some conversations don't need to have anything important about them and just off topic things to expand on characters. Like Castlevania's "Is a bathtub full of water still counted as moving water" conversation. It's pointless but something you can easily picture people discussing.

Try to add little things that are unique to specific characters (for a really cracked example, there is a video game where one character's dialogue can all be written out to the beat/tone of the song Hallelujah) to help make them feel more real. That could be anything like a character that never uses contractions in speaking (does not versus doesn't) or never says someone else's name (referring to someone by their role or title instead). You can also use content outside the dialogue to help cover up where you can't make the dialogue any better. Describe their thoughts or perhaps their actions.

And any time I feel like I can't get my dialogue just right, I write out what I can to cover the situation and then leave it there. Sometimes, I'll add in [Character A says something snarky] if I couldn't think of anything at all to make it feel natural. Then I come back a few days later and usually, I can come up with better dialogue. Never try to force what you're writing as you'll only burn yourself out and lose complete interest in your work.

 

[Anonjohn20]

Whenever someone asks this question, I am reminded of this video, The Key to Writing Freakishly Good Dialogue Video Essay. His segment from 2:45 to 8:45 illustrates what many aspiring authors struggle with.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Robotic dialogue?
Each character needs to have their own goal in a conversation. Their own approach to topics. What angle does each character take?

You can also use action tags to show body language or whatever "business" they are preoccupying themselves with.

 

[RepresentingDesire]

Analyze dialog and why it is done in rl or any fiction.

 

[Anonjohn20]

Each character needs to have their own goal in a conversation. Their own approach to topics. What angle does each character take?

You can also use action tags to show body language or whatever "business" they are preoccupying themselves with.

Aha, you probably watched the 18-minute video. A nice summary.

 

[Prince_Azmiran_Myrian]

Aha, you probably watched the 18-minute video. A nice summary.

Not the one you posted, but other writing videos have said similar things. Those were my takeaways over time.

 

[John_Owl]

Hi, I'm struggling to write good dialogue between characters in my novel. I feel like every time I write it, it's rather robotic and not actually like two people talking. I don't know where I'm going wrong and how to fix this feeling. Any tips?

Dialogue is only part of the message. IRL, only about 30% of what you say is what you say. Around 30% is how you say it and around 40% is what you're doing while you say it (body language). You have to consider this when writing character dialogue. This can make it feel more realistic.

The advice that I've been given in the past is read it out loud (or, if you can, have someone else read it out loud) to see how it sounds and tweak it from there.

One of the things I do is run it through text to voice. They tend to read literally, which can help catch any grammatical errors. Also, AI voice software (not the cheap/free tiktok crap, but decent paid models) can help with the "having someone read it to you". I used to use one that offered free read-streaming, but downloads and alterations were subscription. I forget the site, since I lost it when I had to switch pcs.

 

[ACertainPassingUser]

Well, dialogue in novels are very exagerated information change between characters that are supossed to give readers context into the plot.

Watch anime that have comic and/or novel version of them. Then compare the dialogue between them.

My favorite is Fate Zero. They have quite good action and there's dialogue too.

Re:zero is quite good dialogue wise. They have action too, and actually very good. But the action segment is not as common as other stories.

There's also Vivy fluorite eye song. Fromt he same author as Rezero. The genre is modern future sci fi and not Isekai. If you have those type of stories revolving modern world, you can take inspirstion and copy them.

Konosuba is a master of dialogue. The whole story of konosuba is funny dialogue filled with heavy content and information. Just by changing the course from each of their dialogue a little bit will affect the story as a whole.

Find the anime and novels they referenced from and the arcs they simialrly copied.

There's also Combatant will be displaced, from the same author as Konosuba.

 

[John_Owl]

One thing I forgot to mention. This is something some will likely disagree with, but... Use improper grammar. Humans are imperfect. In dialogue, a character shouldn't use flawless grammar and wording and such. It should sound natural. For you, it's thought out and planned and edited. For them, it's quick, fast paced, in the moment. The characters aren't going to have time to stop and edit there speech while in the actual conversation.

This is something a lot of fanfic, indie webnovel, etc all fail on. they either over edit everything, including the dialogue so it sounds rehearsed by bad actors, OR they fail to keep it legible.

 

[AnonUnlimited]

This is a problem I've been working on as well.
I've sort of overcome it by writing the dialogue first and not focus on descriptions when outlining the story, and then going back and writing it.

 

[asdf123456789]

Robotic dialogue?
Each character needs to have their own goal in a conversation. Their own approach to topics. What angle does each character take?

You can also use action tags to show body language or whatever "business" they are preoccupying themselves with.

Wait forgive me what are action tags? And how do you use them?

 

[Anonjohn20]

what are action tags?

The opposite of dialogue tags. If your line of writing is what a character did, feels, sees, thinks, etc. rather than what he or she said, then its an action tag.

 

[asdf123456789]

Also, it's a bit unrelated but how do y'all organize/outline your stores? Since this is my first work and I created it impulsively, I've been freestyling it, which has gotten me into numerous issues. Currently I have a Google doc with some ideas but not an actual story outline.

The opposite of dialogue tags. If your line of writing is what a character did, feels, sees, thinks, etc. rather than what he or she said, then its an action tag.

Ah thank you I wasn't aware of this terminology.

 

[Anonjohn20]

how do y'all organize/outline your stores?

I don't, as a pantser writer (as opposed to a planner writer) I just start writing whatever I feel like writing and then add any important facts or characters to my glossary/encyclopedia afterwards to reduce the chance of inconsistencies. I have no planning beforehand.

 

[Deleted member 167438]

I don't, as a pantser writer (as opposed to a planner writer) I just start writing whatever I feel like writing and then add any important facts or characters to my glossary/encyclopedia afterwards to reduce the chance of inconsistencies. I have no planning beforehand.

 

[Representing_Tromba]

Talk to yourself irl like a skitzo till the characters voices start appearing in your back and forth personal conversation so that you can act out the scene. That is how it becomes more realistic or normal sounding.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

at least for your main character cast. Try to include noticeable speech habits that make it so you can identify the speaker solely through their quotes.

Should also note this is pretty hard to do in a way that feels natural, but if you can pull it off, the benefits are many