Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Tuesday's Writer's Tip - People Talking - Dialogue #MFRWauthor #Becoming Your Own Critique Partner #Jane Toombs #Janet Lane Walters

 On to a new subject using a bit inspired by Becoming Your Own Critique Partner." This time it's to talk about Dialogue. Sometimes those reading your story can't figure who is talking without the tabs. All the characters sound the same.

There are some things to think about here. Your character's background, education, career choice. Also where are they from regionally. Not everyone in the US or any other country sound the same. There are little tells in their dialogue. When you're out, listen to other people and hwo they talk.

Another thing to consider is all those interruptions in dialogue. Uh is one. Those little remarks like Um. Sounds that people in real life use when they're forming their sentences. We all use them, "you know." This doesn't work in fiction except occasionally to showcase a particular character.

So when writing dialogue, try to make your characters sound natural and yet not speaking the way we usually speak.

Next time I'll talk about the two kinds of dialogue. Internal and external.

No comments: