Lively Dialogues

[Zoi4erom]

Can someone explain what "lively dialogues" really means? Of course, I understand that it’s when, while reading or listening, we feel that the characters are alive, not just cardboard cutouts. But I don’t really understand where the line is between what can be called a lively dialogue and what can’t.

Why am I asking? I’m writing for myself, and the thought occurred to me that all my characters don’t feel alive. They all speak the same way, they talk as if they know things they shouldn’t, or as if they already understand in which direction they’re supposed to speak/guess/think, and so on. Of course, I also realize that this will come with experience—you just have to keep writing, and one day it’ll click. But I’m still curious to learn some kind of theory about what exactly makes a dialogue "lively," what the boundaries are, and see some examples.

(Unfortunately, I can’t share any examples from my own writing, because I’d just die of embarrassment.)

P.S.
If anyone knows any exercises for practicing dialogues, creating lively characters, or writing dynamic battle scenes, I’d love to learn about them <3

P.S. x2
Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

The only exercise I've heard is to either read the dialogue aloud and record it to hear how it sounds, or to have one or more friends read it out loud for the same thing.
Another tactic that can help is to read authors you think handle dialogue well, and try to mimic it without copying exactly, and maybe find scripts by playwrights and TV writers who are noted for their dialogue like David Mamet (a bunch of crime dramas) or Amy Paladino (several more traditional dramas, most notably "The Gilmore Girls") - this works even better if you can find a taped version of the play, movie, or episode you have the script for to compare written word to how it sounds.

 

[whitesculptor]

Something you may want to try is to write a chapter and when dialogue arrives, you put yourself in the character shoes and think what would he say, why would he say this? Then do this for the other characters and slowly you'll gain a distinct sense on how to write dialogue.
Hope that helps ☆

 

[soupsabaw]

I think that what helps dialogue come to life more is adding around what is being said:

Like, instead of always saying "He said" or something like that, give them some more emotion. "He yelled." "He stuttered." "He emphasized." Use words other than the basic "said." It adds more character, scene, etc.

Additionally, add more actions and movements and other elements. Example: " "Don't say that!" he shouted, throwing his arm in a fit of anger. The movement from his swing carried a dramatic gust of wind, knocking some papers from the desk to the wooden floors." It goes much further then just saying " "Don't say that!" he said." or something like that.

 

[expentio]

To me, it usually helps to try take some distance and really look at a dialogue and ask oneself: "Do human people really talk like this to each other (or possible other species for that matter)?"
A talk usually has banter, yet also a certain playfulness, or heaviness if it's a serious one. Trying to convey that this is how your character, with all the emotions, quirks, motivations, principles, and so on, you are aware of as their creator, would interact with someone. That's the difficult part.
Adding some slang can help. Witty retorts.
People are usually not all that formal with each other.
It's the tricky part to make them convey information without sounding like a wiki page. Never dump everything at once, but make the dialogue develop so they get to it. Only if they really have to make a report, they should speak more than a few lines. Otherwise, the character they're talking to may respond in between.

Of course, those are all pretty vague guidelines. Liveliness is hardly a stiff ruleset. But if you can convey character in their interactions, that's already most of the deal.

 

[DaydreamingScribe]

I found this really helpful.

I've got points from it written on little sticky notes stuck to my screen for when I'm editing.

 

[DireBadger]

living a long time helps. Cause you are like... exposed to more dialogue.

 

[Bartun]

To me, it is very simple. Do not allow the plot to dictate the dialogue. It never feels natural when your characters 'force' the dialogue according to the plot. Sure, all the advice the other gave helps a lot, but it won't matter much if your characters know where the plot is heading.

For example: Your characters are a party of adventurers in a quest to defeat the Demon King, and every conversation revolves around it. 'We should look for the Hero's Sword' or 'There's a powerful mage in the mountains. We should recruit them,' or whatever. It feels awkward and mechanical.

If you want to make it more 'lively' and natural, the characters should talk about mundane stuff more often, instead of always focusing on the grand scheme. Instead of 'We should defeat the Demon King, try to focus on the short-term objectives. 'Tomorrow we will go to Randomville, and ask the innkeeper for supplies,' and slowly weave your way towards the ultimate goal.

Hope this helps!

 

[Corty]

My example is from my book:

"Moooom, please… five more minuteeeees~!" Ren moaned as she was woken up way ahead of time.

"Get up, you lazybones!" Anya laughed as she pulled off her blanket, making the still-sleepy Ren land on her head as she fell onto the cold floor.

"Ugh… why is it always my forehead? It will grow big, and I'll look like an idiot!" Ren moaned grumpily as she sat up with messy hair and slanted eyes with big black bags under them. "I hate mornings! Why can't the day start at noon?"

"Bla-bla-bla, little princess! Get up; the preliminary tests start in 3 hours!" Anya scolded her, standing before her daughter.

"Ugh… the what?" she asked, still sitting on the ground, rubbing her eyes.

"Competition. THE competition. You know... The one you signed up for. Remember? It's today. First, every attendee must go through three tests. One: Background check. Only those who are from the Empire can participate. Two: Body Refinement check. Those below the third stage are eliminated instantly. Three: Age check. Only those below a hundred can participate."

"Troublesome. Can't I skip it besides the second one?" She moaned, "My background should be pretty obvious..."

"No cutting curners, sweetie. This is mandatory. So, get up, wash yourself, dress up, and eat your breakfast! Then I'll take you to the assembly. Bring your registration after it's done; the competition starts tomorrow."

"Oookay… ugh, it's still just half past six... "she moaned when she saw the numbers on the clock in her room, but soon enough, she got herself together… or not, as she clawed her way towards the bathroom with closed eyes, like a little mole who stumbled up to the surface accidentally.

I don't know if it actually qualifies but for me, it does.

 

[blackcrowcrowd]

My example is from my book:

I don't know if it actually qualifies but for me, it does.

Dang that's pretty good, until her mother starts lecturing her about the test.

...

Thinking it again, this is probably something that mothers might actually do

 

[Ruyi]

the best way to write realistic dialogue is honestly just listen to how people talk. you don't have to include all their ums and uhhs and ahhs, but you can see where they pause and take cues from there. or read young adult fiction—people talk a lot there. or any fiction in the genre you wanna write and see how other published authors do it.

another thing to keep in mind is that dialogue and description/narration have different goals in mind. when people speak, they wanna get their ideas out fast, so they take shortcuts—that's why you hear people say "i'm gonna go to the store" instead of "i am going to go to the store." when speaking we tend to take shortcuts to get to the point. if your dialogue sounds stilted, chances are you're being too formal (unless your character is just a formal kind of person, in which case go full-on with the full text)

of course this extends to sentence structures too—nobody's gonna pay attention to perfect grammar/pronunciation either, and most likely they'll have slang or inside jokes mixed in when speaking to people they're friends/familiar with. you also have to take the setting and context of the conversation into perspective...whether someone is more confrontational (direct/blunt speech) or passive/peacekeeper etc.