“Good morning Mr. Brown,” said Mr. Smith.
“Good morning Mr. Smith,” replied Mr. Brown.
“Nice weather,” said Mr. Smith.
“Yes indeed,” said Mr. Brown.

Okay, so it’s not the most exciting section of dialogue that you’ve ever read (and I know that you could do much better) but it just shows how easy it is to write dialogue which neither entertains nor moves the story along.

It may sound obvious to some, but successful dialogue should enrich the story, add a greater depth to your characters and fulfil your reader in their craving for excitement and a greater understanding of your (hopefully award-winning!) creative work.

If, like me, you’ve never felt very confident in your ability to write dialogue, there are techniques which we can all use to help us improve. The first thing to remember when writing speech is that it’s spoken, so my advice is – go do it! Gather a group of willing volunteers together and ask each of them to read a character in the conversation. Get someone else to read in the stage directions, or for conversations in prose pieces (or even poetry) get them to read the ‘said’s’. This will give you a much clearer idea of how it reads on the page and how it might be interpreted by your perspective reader. I always try to find readers which fit the age and gender of the character so that they really come to life! 

Diverse and empathetic characters are a gift to both writer and reader, but remember to keep things simple. Only add a character if you feel they’ll add a missing element to your piece. Too many voices can confuse your audience and long sections of dialogue can often be found to be very weighty and you don’t want your readers to turn off and miss vital points.

In scriptwriting many writers will tell you that ‘three is the magic number.’ If the conversation between two characters is losing its drive then the writer has a secret weapon: introduce a third character who delivers some extra action or a plot twist. I am not condemning the use of adding this character – I’ve done it many times – but there are other ways to add action and dialogue. New revelations by one of the two speakers can bring a peak in your storyline, causing the attitude of the other character to change and continuing the story at a new pace. Consider the following scene:

ANGELA: I see, so…are you doing anything tonight?
DAVE: Nothing.
ANGELA: Oh.
DAVE: Of course Marcus will be partying tonight. Nothing like a promotion to raise your spirits, eh?
ANGELA: What did you say? Promotion? Why didn’t you tell me?
DAVE: Well…
ANGELA: Spite I s’pose!
DAVE: No, Angie, listen!

    
I could easily have introduced the character of Marcus but in this two-hander he’s not needed. This gear change is the beginning of the end of the play and flues the conversation between Angela and Dave for a good 20 pages.

When I began submitted my first radio play for critique, I received the comment: “Work on voice – all the characters sound very much alike.”  It’s a lesson I have never forgotten, but I believe in order to truly understand the idea of varying all the voices in your writing, you first must find your own. Some writers’ voices seem to shine through naturally from the very beginning - this, however, is rare. Your speaking voice is often very different to your written voice, although elements are bound to creep in - which is no bad thing. There is only one way to find your ‘true’ voice – practise. Sit down and write whatever comes out until you start to feel comfortable. Finding your voice is about cultivation rather than hard pruning!

In general, good writing relies on things we recognise from our own lives: the places and characters with whom we relate. Dialogue is no different. To vary your character voices, think about the components which make up everyday language.

“I’ve taken the day off, you know, to look after Mum.”
“Is she…like, really bad today?”
“Yeah,” Karen lowered her eyes and then looked again at Patrick. “The postman, he was lookin’ fer you.”
“I’m known in these parts?” Patrick asked with a smile.
“Yeah, he got some post of you -  I took it.” She began to search. “He said it were from an old friend.” Linda and Patrick looked at each other in dismay.

In this passage, the dialogue has examples of words which have become conventions of modern speech such as, “you know” and “like” in the middle of a sentence. Karen uses words such as “yer” instead of “you”. In this section, I have tried to convey the rhythm of speech by using the comma after ‘postman’ as this can be affected too.

“So, how are you feeling?”
“Numb. What’d yer expect – my husband’s just died.”
“Sorry,” said Patrick. “I didn’t mean-”
“It’s OK. How’s yer Dad?”
“In the Crem down Wardle Street.” Patrick stopped and then said, “Sorry!” and then he added, “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!” This was just to make up for any other occasions when he might put his size twelve in it, but he thought, for the moment, that it might be best to keep quiet.

Notice the word ‘sorry’ is written: ‘“Sorry!” followed by “Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!”’ By taking the things you do or say in everyday life, you’ll make your dialogue more varied and interesting. Interesting language is not just achieved by spoken expressions such as these; formatting plays a part too. “I’m known in these parts?” illustrates this. Now, you know exactly how that sentence should sound, don’t you? The italics give you a clue as to which word should be emphasised.

I’m writing the first draft of this article in my notebook before it is word processed. I always tend to buy the same type of notebook; it’s slightly smaller than A5 and fits easily into my pocket. I keep it with me so I can note down what I hear of other people’s conversations. This can be instructive, particularly in areas where an accent is very prominent, as you can practice words such as: ‘th’’ which (used in Northern England and Scotland as a contraction of  “the”) or ‘luverly’ (an excellent elongation of ‘lovely’ - think My Fair Lady!) The only way to experience and explore real dialogue is to listen to what’s around, but let’s face it, listening to other people’s conversations can be informative and rather fun too!

I hope these tips will help you to write successful dialogue. Good luck and remember to speak as you find!     

Tom Wentworth is a teenager who loves to write! He has always been enthused about the written word, whether it be in it's written or spoken forms - acting is his other great love - he tries to use it where ever he can. He has been published in local press, as well as an anthology of poetry by young people, entitled 'Tree' from the Arvon Foundation. He has just written, directed and starred in a short film which will be online in late September.

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