User blog:Zathronas/Author's Advice: Dialogue

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Hello and welcome to author's advice.

Ah! The dreaded dialogue! So much to think about when you write it. For those of you who has read my blog from the start, you know I believe you should read your story out loud to yourself. It is a very good technique to know if you phases are properly written.

It goes double for dialogue.

A lot of dialogue I've read in fan fiction do not feel as a conversation between two character. They try so hard to establish some thing like, oh... I don't know, how your character would react in a situation that they never stop to think if the dialogue makes sense.

Another problem I've seen is character believability. Often when you write dialogue, you need to keep in mind if the conversation is in synch with his personality. I've just read a RWBY fan fiction that wasn't all that bad but established character did not looked at all like the character we know. I believe it was intentional and I could have accepted that... except for the dialogue. It wasn't consistent with the rest of the personality he tried to establish and completely removed me from the story. So make sure that when you write dialogue, it is consistent with your character's personality.

Another thing, be concise but take your time. What I mean by that is make sure your doing dialogue for a good reason, having your characters talk without you trying to make a point is the best way to have your story slip from its intended destination. At the same time, once your committed to writing dialogue, make sure you write enough to pass your point AND make it believable.

But by far the most important advice. Read your dialogue out loud and see if it makes! Sense!

Next time on Author's Advice. Consistency in a story.