 Hello, hello, writers. I'm Christine Kiefer, author of fantasy fiction and creative writing resources, and you are listening to the Well-Sturried podcast, where I share insights, encouragement, and actionable advice designed to help you craft sensational novels and build your best writing life, always in 30 minutes or less, so you can get back to writing, of course. Ready for the show? Let's get talking. Hey writers, welcome or welcome back to the Well-Sturried podcast. I'm your host, Christine Kiefer, and today's episode was an article originally published on November 13, 2015. Today's episode is titled 19 Ways to Write Better Dialogue, and if you'd like to read along as you listen in, you can visit well-sturried.com slash dialogue. Now let's dive in. For years, I struggled deeply with the dialogue in my stories. I didn't have a natural knack for writing conversations that felt real and true to character, and I let this weakness deter me from striving to improve. But stories need dialogue, and my own was suffering for a lack of attention. Finally, I decided that enough was enough. I began reading every bit of advice on writing dialogue that I could get my hands on. I studied the novels that I read and I rewrote the conversation in my stories again and again, until at last I began to see improvement. More importantly, I came to understand dialogue as the complex literary powerhouse that it is. Unfortunately, it's this very complexity that can make quality dialogue so difficult to craft. That's why I'm breaking down 19 steps for writing better dialogue in today's episode, beginning with 10 tips for crafting richer, more nuanced conversations. Tip number one, every line of dialogue must serve a purpose. Dialogue shouldn't exist simply to give your characters something to say. Rather, effective literary conversations serve many powerful purposes. They can explore characters, advance the plot, ramp up tension, reveal context, establish mood, and so on. If you can remove a line of dialogue from your manuscript, or worse yet, an entire conversation, without impacting readers' understanding of your story, then there's a good chance your dialogue lacks strong purpose and direction. Tip number two, don't keep it real. Writers are often encouraged to craft realistic dialogue, but in fiction there is such a thing as too realistic. Just think of all the fluff that fills the conversations in your day, the small talk, the stammering, the simple statements repeated three times before they're heard. These moments certainly have their place in fiction, but only when the author is trying to make a point. The most realistic dialogue isn't that which mimics the language you hear every day. It's that in which your characters' voices ring true. Speaking of which, tip number three, developing voice is crucial. Choose three characters from your story and write a conversation about whether pizza is humanity's greatest food, all without using dialogue tags. Would readers be able to tell which character says each line? Voice is a term often applied to the verbal and non-verbal ways a character communicates given their personality, experiences, beliefs, self-esteem, worldview, and cultural influences. The stronger your character's voices, the more authentic their conversations will be. Tip number four, people don't always say what they mean. People are complex creatures. Rarely do we say what we want to say in the way we want to say it. Instead, we tailor ourselves to our surroundings, striving to fit in or stand out, to cut deep, to flatter, or appease. It's no wonder that on-the-nose dialogue can ring so false. Crafting nuanced conversations that take voice and circumstance into account can be tricky, but it's always well worth the effort in the end. Tip number five, relationships play a key role in conversation. Speaking of circumstance, every conversation your characters have should be shaped by the context in which it takes place, especially as concerns their relationships. How your lovers talk about the weather should differ from how the same conversation would play out between an estranged father and son or between co-workers or strangers on the street. Tip number six, make use of body language and expression. People say just as much with their expressions and body language as they do with their mouths. Posture, eye contact, mannerisms, and reactions should all play a prominent role in the conversations your characters hold. Tip number seven, don't be afraid to get messy. Realistic conversations rarely take place in perfect polite sentences. People are messy after all, and our dialogue is too. So don't be afraid to allow your characters to speak in fragments and unfinished sentences, to eschew grammar and use slang, or to curse up a storm. Tip number eight, balance the players. Crafting dialogue between four or more characters can be tricky. Fortunately, it's rare that so many voices share equal weight in conversation. When writing such scenes, resist the urge to ensure every character speaks just as much as the next. Instead, let power dynamics play out naturally. Tip number nine, work with the tension of the scene. In fiction, nearly all dialogue exists to create or resolve tension in some way. After all, it's tension that keeps readers turning pages, eager to discover what will happen next. To ensure your story's dialogue doesn't stall your story, pay special attention to the threads of tension in each scene. How can you manipulate tension through dialogue in a way that keeps readers engaged? Tip number 10, you don't need to write every detail. Dialogue doesn't need to play out word for word on the page. Often, it's easier to work mundane details such as greetings or words of acceptance into the narrative, or to simply allow readers to infer these details for themselves. Remember, every word you write has the power to bore readers or slow the pace of your story, so make sure you're choosing your character's words wisely. With all that said, you should have a stronger understanding of how to craft nuanced and engaging conversations. Now, let's turn our attention to the technicalities of well written dialogue. Tip number 11, ditch unnecessary dialogue tags. Dialogue tags exist to clarify who is saying what, with the most common tags being said, asked, and replied. Other common tags, such as shouted, whispered, and hissed, expound upon how a line of dialogue is said. Dialogue tags are doubtless and important aspect of fictional conversations, but too many tags can also slow the pace of your story, or even draw readers out of your story entirely, so use them with caution and care. Tip number 12, said isn't dead. The clarity that tags provide is often vital, but bear in mind that dialogue tags are also a sign of authorship, that is, a narrative element not written in the point of view character's voice. The occasional sign of authorship won't pull readers from your story if they're deeply engaged, but the more ubiquitous you can make your dialogue tags, the better. Readers will graze right over words like said and asked while still registering the identity of the speaker, ensuring your story keeps on affluent. Tip number 13, utilize action tags instead. Action tags are the small, attributive actions that precede or follow a line of dialogue, such as the following examples. Amanda fiddled with the hem of her shirt. I don't know if that's the best idea. Are you sure that's what you really want? Brad raised a brow. Making use of action tags is a great way to attribute dialogue while also keeping readers engaged and adding motion to the scene. Tip number 14, choose strong dialogue tags. If you're going to use a dialogue tag and the tone in which a line is spoken is important to impart, then choose your tags with care. Consider whispered instead of she asked quietly or hissed instead of he said in a nasty voice. Tip number 15, use realistic tags. Many writers mistakenly use attributive actions in place of attributive tags, a grammatical error that's sure to drive copy editors up a wall. Here are two examples of attributive actions used improperly. I can't believe it, Emma gasped. Or that's hilarious, Henry chuckled. If you check out today's transcript, you'll see that these attributive actions are used as dialogue tags rather than action tags. And unless you're superhuman, you probably can't gasp or chuckle words. Yet this is exactly what the examples I shared a moment ago imply. Instead, let's take a look at two ways to properly attribute to these lines of dialogue. I can't believe it, Emma said with a gasp. Or Emma gasped. I can't believe it. That's hilarious, Henry chuckled. That's hilarious, Henry said, chuckling. See the difference between the two? Again, you might want to check out today's episode transcript for this one. Your dialogue might not need to be entirely realistic, but your dialogue tags certainly should be. If you want to learn how to properly punctuate all forms of dialogue, then you can also check out the post from the editor's blog linked in today's episode transcript as well. Tip number 16, cut redundancies. Many inexperienced writers also make the mistake of working redundancies into their dialogue. But there's no need to write, uh, she groaned, or ha, she laughed, when just one or the other will do. Tip 17, avoid name drops. People rarely address the person they're speaking to by name, unless they're greeting one another or trying to get the other's attention. Yet many writers work their characters' names into dialogue left and right. Annie, stop it, you're making me laugh way too hard. You started it, Michael. Maybe Annie, but you're killing me here. See how false that feels? If such frequent forms of address are common in your character's culture, or if they serve a distinct purpose in your story, then have at it. But otherwise, such heavy name dropping will only pull readers out of your story. Tip number 18, use dialogue to break up narrative. Narrative that spans page after page can become taxing to read, no matter how theoretically exciting it might be. Adding a line or two of dialogue can be a great way to give readers' eyes a break, especially if you allow your point of view character to engage with or react to the world around them. And finally, tip number 19, read dialogue aloud. Even after putting these last 18 tips into practice, it can be difficult to tell whether you've written effective dialogue. In my experience, the easiest way to determine whether your character's conversations ring true is to read your work aloud. Do your characters sound like themselves? Does their conversation follow a natural flow? If it doesn't, reading their words aloud is a sure way to reveal where you went wrong. Feeling overwhelmed by all the advice I've shared in today's episode? Don't feel you need to master dialogue overnight. Practice is key to improving skill, and perfecting any part of your manuscript requires a healthy dose of revision. Focus on implementing just one or two of these dialogue tips at a time, and you'll be writing rich and compelling conversations in no time. Thank you for listening to today's episode of The Podcast Writer. I hope you found it helpful to your writing journey. If so, make sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss a new episode, and to give the podcast a quick rating or review. Doing so goes a long way toward helping the podcast reach new writers, and lets me know that you're enjoying what I'm creating. You can also give me a shout out directly on Instagram at christen underscore keeper. For additional guidance as you work to craft sensational novels and build your best writing life, be sure to head on over to www.well-storied.com where I share blog posts, workbooks, e-courses, and other helpful resources for writers. Again, that's w-e-l-l-s-t-o-r-i-e-d.com. Thank you again for tuning into today's episode, my friend. Until next time, happy writing!