Can You Hear Me Now?

Writing great dialogue is a terrific talent. But few people start out that dexterous with it. So honing that skill will stand a writer in great stead.

I've given workshops on dialogue, and a few excellent tips for making sure you write it to the best possible effect for your story?

Listen.

To the actors in film and television. How do the different "types" sound? Heroes? Heroines? Villains? Especially for someone like me, who may want to right, say a kid character, but I have no kids around me. What are the cinematic writers offering up in the way of dialogue? How do they distinguish "characters"?

Read.

Read plays (dramatic literature). They run solely on dialogue - everything that must be conveyed is done via the dialogue (and staging, of course, but primarily the dialogue). It moves the plot and the action forward, conveys character emotions and details, and is a great way to see how potent dialogue can be. I've heard that Shakespeare used a lot of "s" words in his dialogue for his villains, like Iago and Richard III, giving them that reptilian "SSSSS" sound to enhance the image of their villainy for the audience.

Eavesdrop.

On everyone around you. Family, friends, co-workers, strangers. Listen for accents, speech patterns, cadence, pitch, speech problems. How people talk in different environments (most everyone speaks differently with their parents than their lover - at least I hope so! - and differently when with their friends at a bar than their bosses). How do emotions impact how people speak? Faster, louder, more terse?

Do men and women utilize their dialogue differently? How do people argue? Listen to a man try to soothe a woman's ruffled feathers. Or a mother calm a child. Or a police officer deal with a troublemaker.

When people read, barring those who have deafness or hearing issues, they "hear" the words your characters are speaking. So the choppy sound, the hissing sound, the smooth, languid tones, the violent angry outbursts - they will hear it all. Give them lots to listen to, use dialogue as a means not just of conveying details about the story, but helping to flesh out your characters.

Dialogue is all around you. And the tuition is free! Just keep your ears open.