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Dialogue is what the characters in your short story, poem, novel, play, screenplay, personal essay—any kind of creative writing where characters speak—say out loud. For a lot of writers, writing dialogue is the most fun part of writing.
It’s the magic that makes characters leap off the page, immersing us in their world. As a writer, I’m fascinated by the mechanics of great dialogue. So here are 20 of the best examples of writing dialogue that brings your story to life.
Dialogue is the exchange of spoken words between two or more characters in a book, play, or other written work. In prose writing, lines of dialogue are typically identified by the use of quotation marks and a dialogue tag, such as "she said." In plays, lines of dialogue are preceded by the name of the person speaking.
- Barbara Kingsolver, Unsheltered. In the opening of Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered, we meet Willa Knox, a middle-aged and newly unemployed writer who has just inherited a ramshackle house.
- Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice. In the first piece of dialogue in Pride and Prejudice, we meet Mr and Mrs Bennet, as Mrs Bennet attempts to draw her husband into a conversation about neighborhood gossip.
- Naomi Alderman, The Power. In The Power, young women around the world suddenly find themselves capable of generating and controlling electricity. In this passage, between two boys and a girl who just used those powers to light her cigarette.
- Kazuo Ishiguro, Never Let Me Go. Here, friends Tommy and Kathy have a conversation after Tommy has had a meltdown. After being bullied by a group of boys, he has been stomping around in the mud, the precise reaction they were hoping to evoke from him.
Here's how to write great dialogue in 9 steps: 1. Use quotation marks to signal speech. 2. Pace dialogue lines by three. 3. Use action beats. 4. Use ‘said’ as a dialogue tag. 5. Write scene-based dialogue. 6. Model any talk on real life. 7. Differentiate character voices. 8. "Show, don't tell" information in conversation. 9.
Key terms. Why dialogue matters. How to format dialogue. Effective vs weak dialogue. Dialogue devices. Dialogue examples. This guide to writing dialogue is all about using speech and conversation in storytelling to make your characters’ voices drive plot, tension and drama.
Apr 11, 2022 · Great dialogue moves the action of the scene forward and gives more information about the characters. Learn how to craft great dialogue and make your writing sing.
